Medicine at Auckland (and study in general): 3 ways to maintain a balanced work, social and study life

So it's been a few days since I've posted because I just haven't been feeling under the weather. Sick and feverish.

But today I'm feeling a bit better and want to discuss something that's near and dear to our hearts. How do we succeed academically yet maintain a balanced work, social and study life. 

Because when has our desk looked like this and we've just taken a nap instead. 

Let me just start off by saying that I highly doubt anyone has really got this figured out. It's an impossible task, one that we can only hope to attempt. And a key thing is to remember is that you are not your grades. Don't let them define you. This means valuing friends, family and other relationships. I lost sight of this in premed and was so preoccupied with grades, getting into med and part-time work that I started to burn out and get depressed during Semester 2. It took me a while to realise this and my goal this year is to focus less on my grades and more on other aspects of life. Aspects that will be permanent while grades are just temporary. Year 2 was a huge improvement in this regard, and I hope year 3 is even better. 

1. Prioritising is a key step to maintaining a balance. 

While you may want to go out, if you've got an assignment due you should probably take a rain check on the hang out, otherwise you'll just stress out and pulling an all nighter is not ideal. While you may feel the need to study, if you've got a close friend's birthday party coming up you should probably go, otherwise you'll risk your friendship.

Writing a to-do list or keeping a diary can help. Plus, it feels great to scratch something off the list. 

2. Time management and organisation. 

This is a key one. Do you really need to watch the next YouTube video? Probably not, but you click it anyway because let's be real, who wouldn't? And this is fine if you've got nothing due, but if you have a test coming up and only know half the content you might want to start on that. 

Write down deadlines, test dates and meetings on a calendar, diary or wall planner. It helps you visualise and is a great reminder of when to stop binge watching your favourite TV show. 

3. Get it done as soon as possible. 

Again, this is a far stretch since we're all victims of procrastination but even finding some potential articles for your research paper, or quickly completing your prelab report on the bus can decrease your stress - trust me when I tell you that Uni work really piles up. In high school, missing one week of school could be fine. In Uni, missing 2 days will cause tears, frustration and playing a never-ending game of catch up. 

Just remember that even though you should prioritise study - since you don't want to fail and have to spend time and pay thousands to re-sit your papers - you also need to maintain a good support network. 

All the best! 

-Diana