to do lists

To do lists. Do they make you more or less productive?

I appreciate the irony of being sat here with a massive to do list of revision for my big exam Friday - whilst procrastinating for half an hour playing around on my computer. It's hardly making me productive. However whether that's the to do list to blame or the length of time I've spent revising is anyone's guess...

I seem to be finding myself focusing far more on my Easter holiday plans and 'to do' list than my impending exam. There is something very satisfying about writing it all down neatly (especially in coloured pens!) and then crossing them off when you've achieved it.

However, it seems that I spend more time making the to do lists than I do actually doing the items on them. Hmmm. There's a concept I've heard about called bullet journalling - which is all about to do lists and plans at speed, so you can quickly and objectively look at what you have and haven't done, and move items around when necessary. I think I might try this in my holiday!

2 sleeps until my break - and I really can't wait!

switching off.

Med school. From the moment we get here, the necessity of a good work-life balance is drummed into us. It's the hope that the scales will align, that our schedules will be juggled sufficiently enough to prevent the pressures of the course causing nervous breakdowns before we even enter the medical profession.

Like most things, however, it is easier said than done. Whilst juggling impending exams & deadlines, attempts at a healthy lifestyle and a social life can become a little...weak. And with all the time spent hunched over textbooks and your laptop, trying to figure out what yet another acronym means, mental breaks can get few and far between.

I'm definitely not the best person to be preaching this, but I definitely believe that sometimes, you do just need to disconnect. It's definitely easier said than done, but sometimes all you need is to take a day to yourself. Whether you spend it with friends, or glued to a book - or even just doing nothing at all, thinking about something other than your education can do wonders to recharge your batteries.

I'm a firm advocate of organisation being the key to success; both academically and emotionally. It enables you to juggle far more than you thought you were capable of, and can help you to plan a healthier lifestyle. But it's important not to compartmentalise every minute of your day. In doing this, your life becomes separate segments - not the integrated complexity weaved together that you are. The fibres of your being are infinitely weaker separated out than they are knitted together.

I'm not quite sure of the purpose of this post. Call it intense procrastination - whatever. But sometimes, I think it's important to stop being a student, and just be. We all need to forget about work every once in a while. And who knows - maybe the work-life balance will follow. 

musings

I seem to hit bursts of creativity in life. From songs to stories, thoughts flutter around my head and they seem impossible - like butterflies - to snatch out of the air and put down on paper. As soon as I attempt to do so, they dissolve and leave me grasping at nothing.

I love the idea of blogging - a record of my life, my thoughts and feelings as I progress through life. More cohesive than a diary, but it somehow seems less personal too. However I seem to get too caught up in the 'perfection' and the visuality of it - not wanting it to go up until it looks 'right', and often failing to achieve this. Maybe I should work on getting my thoughts down, and working on its look second. To just write, and let my brain whir.

So I guess this is a post. Not so much a promise, or a commitment. But an idea. I hope that maybe, I'll be able to kick myself into gear (although how soon I am unsure - exams and deadlines are looming). Maybe I'll work on the concepts before the aesthetics. But we'll see.