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Excerpted from the Medical School Companion by Mary Ross-Dolen, M.D., Keith Berkowitz, and Ali Eyad. 
Time is always a precious commodity, but it is even more so during your years in medical school. There is a lot to be accomplished, but there are still only twenty-four hours in the day. If you are disorganized and don't learn to set priorities, stress will be the overriding factor in your entire medical school experience. If you set up workable systems for yourself early on, your anxiety level will decrease dramatically. Setting up a System The "to-do list" is a simple tool that can make a world of difference in a day in the life of a medical student. Some people keep a running list that they constantly update. Others prefer to make a new list every day. Either way, prepare your list each night before you go to bed. When you wake up, you'll be fresh and focused, and you'll know what needs to be done that day. Your list can include everything from the urgent to the mundane -- reminding yourself to do laundry or to send a birthday card to Mom can keep you from feeling buried in the minutiae. Every medical student faces the same dilemma: how to make the best and most productive use of time. If you constantly feel pressured, if you're always worrying about all that you have yet to accomplish, you won't be able to concentrate on the task at hand. That's why time management is an absolutely essential skill for a successful medical school career. Time management is based on organization, priority, and focus.
The most important rule in time management is this: Don't let anyone tell you there is only one way to manage your time. Devise a system that works for you, and keep it simple. Each of us has unique, individual priorities. Purchase a daily planner or notebook in which you can keep your schedule. Write down how you plan to spend each day, and be sure to incorporate every aspect of your school schedule, including classes, labs, and exams, as well as adequate time to study. Then allocate time for those individual activities you have promised yourself, including time for your significant other, spouse, and/or children, time to participate in sports or hobbies of interest to you, and time to socialize with friends. Unless you have written down a practical schedule, you will constantly be wondering where the time has gone and why you have not gotten to one thing on your to-do list.
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From Gary Lockwood's Business Success newsletter: You may think you have as tight a rein on your time as you possibly can, but it doesn't hurt to step back occasionally and put yourself to the test. The following audit is designed to give you a quick reading on how well you're taking charge of your time on the job. Be honest with yourself -- the clock can't be fooled. Just put a check in front of the statements that apply to your way of working. Each represents one of the cardinal building blocks of effective time management -- the good habits that help you get results faster, better, and with less stress. GETTING SET ___ I start each day by identifying the single most important task I have to accomplish today, no matter what. ___ I realized some time ago that I can't do it all, so I've learned to trust my teammates to do things I used to think only I could handle. ___ I leave some unscheduled time in my daily plan for the unexpected. ___ I don't overload my to-do list to the point where I end most days feeling totally frustrated. MANAGING THE DAY ___ When I'm doing an unpleasant task, I often try to make myself envision something positive that will come of it. ___ I've learned to say no to people's requests when I know I can't honor them. ___ I assign a priority rating to each day's tasks and try to tackle them one by one. ___ I realize I can't be accessible to everybody at all times and make no apologies about it. ___ If the boss disrupts my schedule with unexpected assignments, I diplomatically ask which goal is most important. ___ I routinely ask myself what would happen if I didn't do something at all -- or handed it over to someone else. ___ I try to reward myself after completing a task that's difficult ___ I like to plan my phone calls ahead and make sure I've written down the two or three things I want to accomplish during the conversation. PLANNING ___ When establishing deadlines, I enter at least two dates in my calendar: a warning date as well as a final "drop-dead" date. ___ I've eliminated several activities in the last few months because they weren't worth the time I was spending on them. ___ I like to keep a list of easy, mindless tasks that I can tackle during "dead moments," e.g., when I'm tired or waiting for someone. ___ At the end of the day, I plan my priorities for tomorrow and take one step toward accomplishing the most important one. THE RIGHT GOAL: Your time-management skills may be top-notch, but the real measure of accomplishment is whether your key activities are moving you toward the right goals. As management expert Peter Drucker put it: "It's not enough to do things right. You have to do the right things." |
This painting by Bosch was influenced by a poem by German satirical poet Sebastian Brant (1458-1521). Called the "Ship of Fools" (1494), is a bitter satire on how a ship loaded with fools sailing to a fool's paradise called Narragonia. The picture shows two nuns and a monk passing merry time while sailing in a company of peasants in a strange boat. The May tree mast symbolizes spring folk festivals, a time of moral license for folk and clergy alike) The banner has a Muslim crescent instead of Christian cross. |
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One day an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used a illustration those students will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of high powered overachievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz." Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide mouthed Mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?" Everyone in the class said, "Yes." Then he said, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the space between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?" By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," one of them answered. "Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?" "No!" the class shouted. Once again he said, "Good." Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?" One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!" "No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all." What are the 'big rocks' in your life? Your children.... Your loved ones.... Your education.... Your dreams... A worthy cause.... Teaching or mentoring others.... Doing things that you love.... Time for yourself.... Your health.... Your significant other. Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll never get them in at all. If you sweat the little stuff (the gravel, the sand) then you'll fill your life with little things you worry about that don't really matter, and you'll never have the real quality time you need to spend on the big,important stuff (the big rocks). So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the 'big rocks' in my life? Then, put those in your jar first.
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Even if you don't have Attention Deficit Disorder, check out Yahoo's list of links, among which include:
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"He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short." —Revelation 12:12 (NIV) |
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