Time management is a timeless dilemma and is a problem that’s faced by every single person. Arguably, us medical students have it the worst! I mean, how the hell are we supposed to pre-read, post-read all the lectures, turn up for the prees and the inevitable night-out, bang out gym and still make it to the 8.45am lecture!

Let’s begin my story at the very end. As you all know, I’m a final year medic and neuroscience supervisor at the University of Cambridge. But, I also gym 2-3 hours a day, I’m involved in research, I write, film and edit for askCamDoc, I always make time for family and friends and I still get a minimum of 7-8 hours of sleep. And honestly, I feel like I could be doing more! However, this is the rosy end remember. Getting to this point of optimal efficiency and time management, was a long, long journey. 

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.

Here I’ve answered some common questions I get asked regarding time management, including “how I stay motivated”, “how to minimise procrastination” and “how to maintain spontaneity”.