The Guide

Right, let’s do this. I’m going to share a logical approach to planning time, allowing you to do everything you want to be doing, whilst still keeping on top of medicine. The process is based upon 5 key principles: prioritisation, flexibility, planning, efficiency & discipline and is split into 5 steps. Click here for the video.

Step 1: Identify your long-term and short-term goals and tasks.

Begin by identifying your long-term goals. Then derive the short-term tasks that need to be done in that day, week, month, term etc. to enable you to achieve the long-term goals. Examples of long-term goals include passing exams to become a doctor with associated short-term goals such as pre-reading, attending lectures, supervisions, ward rounds (WR), clinics etc. However, we inevitably will also have non-academic goals. These can be extra-curricular tasks such as attending society meetings, sports training, chills with friends etc. Identifying all your long-term and short-term goals allows you to gain a sense of perspective and facilitates the next step. 

Step 2: Decide the priority and flexibility of each task: “Bi-factor coding”. 

This will vary on an individual basis of course. For example, for me, attending a lecture or supervision in pre-clinicals was “high priority” and “low flexibility”, as they were important to me and were at fixed times and dates. In contrast, attending WR in clinicals was “low priority” and “high flexibility”, as I had been to loads already and I could just attend it another day. As another example, the “bi-factor coding” for gym (from my perspective) is “high priority and “medium-high flexibility”, as it’s something that’s important for me to do, but I can do it almost whatever time of the day as my gym is 24/7. Carrying out this “bi-factor coding”, allows you to plan your tasks logically and efficiently; see part 2 of the Guide. 

Step 3: Allocate time for the task and create a plan. 

Following “bi-factor coding” (deciding the task’s priority and flexibility levels), you can fix certain events and tasks in your schedule that can’t be moved (low flexibility) and have to be done (high priority). After you’ve fixed the high priority, low flexibility events/tasks, you can start to allocate time for the “high priority”, “high flexibility” tasks around these. Keep in mind efficiency when you do this. Say you have a 2-hour gap between 1 lecture and the next, plan to do a flexible, high priority activity in the gap. For example, if the lecture is near the gym, then go to the gym, if it’s near a library, plan to pre-read/post-read etc. Underpinning the success of this is of course discipline, once you make a plan, try to stick to it! 

Step 4: Evaluate the plan’s success and design necessary changes. 

Use indicators like attendance, performance in supervisions, essays, gym, societies, level of tiredness, happiness, sustainability etc. Why is this important? Well, because this will tell you if you need to focus more on your work, or if you could be spending more time training or more time sleeping etc. Basically, it’s a check to make sure your Bi-factor coding and planning is working and alerts you to any required changes. The most vital thing here is your health, both physically and mentally, constantly assess these to make sure you’re keeping healthy whatever you may be doing! 

Step 5: Implement changes and continue to evaluate. 

Continue to reassess and improve the plan. Be prepared to alter plans and Bi-factor codings according to deadlines/exams etc. For example, revising should take a “higher priority” and “lower flexibility” closer you get to exams and social activities should decline in “priority” accordingly. But obviously, the extent to the changes will depend on individual goals etc., but hopefully an awareness of the need to modify plans by re-evaluating will stop you from panicking.

Click here for the video.