The Secret Life of an Organized Pre-Med
Staying organized as a Pre-Med is messy, disastrous, stressful, overwhelming…and a lot of other things I shall not say.
So how do the creme de la creme do it? What are their secrets? How do they remember their 6 appointments, 4 classes, and 7 extracurriculars all while staying on top of assignments, deadlines and meetings?
This was the question I was asking myself as I sat in the waiting room after I forgot I had scheduled to shadow. A few hours late, I was hoping to profusely apologize, but as a nurse re-entered, she let down the devastatingly news that the doctor had gone to lunch and wouldn’t be returning to the clinic afterward. One silent drive home (no Sabrina Carpenter for me) and apologetic email later, I resumed shadowing, this time with five reminders set and six alarms.
So, What should you do?
To begin this; I will emphasize that everyone stays organized differently. I have a friend with a 4.0 who trusts solely their memory as a form of calendar. But! I will definitely say that for people who can’t do that (me) having a system and abiding by that system aids in staying disciplined, not missing appointments, and staying organized when life feels incredibly chaotic.
1. Pick One Place
One of the worst feelings is when one class uses four different websites to access four different homework assignments all with their own due dates. Keeping track of it gives me a headache and pushes me one step closer to carpal tunnel.
In my experience, Google calendar covers a good chunk of the bases. With a built-in to-do list that also displays on the calendar, it’s very useful for keeping up to date with everything. Assignments through the to-do list feature and then the appointments and classes through the calendar.
Though I will stress, one of the most important aspects of doing this is making it a habit to constantly put things in your calendar. Don’t trust your mind; she will often play tricks on you.
Notion also works well for this end, and it commonly comes with templates and other things of the like to aid in not only beautifying the calendar (this helps with incentivizing coming back to it) and also it has a variety of features that can be helpful.
Hour Tracking is also important however, and notion and google are two great option for continuity (or keeping things in one place). For google, I would track your hours in google sheets and for notion it would be utilizing another template. This aids in easy accessibility.
2. Set Your Calendar 15 minutes Fast
This was a tip that didn’t necessarily help with ‘organization’ in the common sense, but more so my punctuality and therefore organization of my entire day.
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Making sure that I was early for all of my appointments not only helped offset traffic, commute times, etc. but also ensured that when I finished things through the day I was finishing them on time since I would start on time and therefore the rest of my day was open for the things they needed to be open for. Essentially: I would avoid that ‘catching — up’ phase that can throw off the entire schedule.
3. In Sight, In Mind
When something is constantly in your sight, it’s constantly on your mind. Whether that means putting a to-do list on your closet door or opening a widget on your phone for your calendar app of choice, putting things in your line of sight helps with keeping them on your mind so that you don’t conveniently ‘forget’ or let something slip your mind.
Another upside to this, though not for everyone, is it can help those arounds you (siblings, dorm mates, etc.) help you keep track of all the things you have to make sure you’re doing. For example, my tasks for the week or month are usually on the whiteboard in my room, and when my brother sees it, he will remind me throughout the day that there’s something I have to get done. And while it can get annoying (as brothers tend to be), it is also very helpful because it incentivizes me to get it done, even if that may only be to get my brother off my back.
4. Block Time
Even if you’re going to do something personal (like go to the gym at 6PM), add it to your calendar. Block out the time.
This will not only help you stay on track (You’re more likely to go to the gym when it’s scheduled), but it helps you keep to what you planned for the day. Its 4PM and it’s time to study. It’s 6PM and it’s time to shower. It’s a signal to your brain that you need to switch tasks and it also helps your brain focus on one task at a time.
Many times I find that during my study hour I’m worried about my work emails, or during my work hours I’m worried about my exam, but with blocking I can make sure to give adequate time to the things that need it. It also helps with keeping your mind focused on the task at hand becuase the time for the other things is already blocked out.
5. Log Everything
Even if you feel like you don’t want to. Logging things like a big event after a clinical experience or can come in handy even if you might think they won’t. In addition, logging your hours makes filling out the AMCAS application (or just applications in general) a whole lot easier, especially if you have been logging the hours from the beginning.
All this to say, I have yet to find a tool that effectively does all of this in one place. The tracking, the calendar, the to-do list, the hours — all of it together, intelligently. For all the time that goes into staying organized as a premed, you’d think someone would have built something for exactly this by now. Until the inevitable comes out, these systems work just as well!
I still think about that shadowing appointment sometimes. Not with the same level of horror as I did that afternoon, but enough to make sure my calendar is always up to date before I go to sleep. Some lessons are expensive. This one cost me a lunch break and a very awkward apology email, but it’s a lesson that was well-learned and, in hindsight I’m almost glad I was late to that appointment. Almost.
For more secrets, tips, and strategies — subscribe! I started this because I wished someone had just been honest with me about all of this earlier. Consider this that honesty. Because this information should be accessible to everyone trying to walk this path!
