Success Happy

how to balance my time for study, research, TA, community service and workouts?

I am a rising sophomore at one of the most competitive schools in the nation, and I hope to go to medical school in the future. I sort of lost focus in the second semester of my freshman year. I fell for a girl who wasn't that into me, could not concentrate as well as I did in the first semester, and had a terrible roommate situation, and so on. Next semester, I will resist all sorts of temptation and just focus on my work. I will put social life aside. I plan on doing many things: studying my butt off, getting involved in an undergrad research project, being a TA for general chem, becoming a member of this student organization called Community Health Advocacy Program, and working out, which is like my only way of dealing with stress. These are things I want to and must do. However, I am not so sure if i am capable of balancing out my time for all of those activities. The life of a pre-med is indeed tough. Please give me some tips on how to distribute/manage my time.

Public Comments

1. It's excellent that you are so motivated but the key is to not overextend yourself. You are only going to be a sophomore and you have plenty of time to TA and do research. I'd say, first decide what you WANT to do the most (not just what you think you SHOULD be doing). While it's definitely possible to do all of these things you are going to have make your schedule very specific and stick to it. If you decide that you want to work out from 10-11 pm on such and such day, do it and don't make excuses. Start any and all research as early as you can in the semester so you can work at it over time rather than cramming it all in at the end which will make keeping other obligations difficult. That said, before you dive into all of these things, please please please take a step back. I also go to a competitive school and sometimes seeing some of these kids who are doing all these so-called amazing things, getting A+ while curing diseases and having 2 jobs makes the rest of us feel like we are not doing enough. I don't know why you feel you "must" do all these things next year, but like I said, it's important to do things because you truly want to do them and know that some things can wait for later in your college career. And do not put your social life aside. College isn't only about the books. Seriously, sometimes it is necessary to put off social activities for a little while to get some things done, but for a whole year?! That's a recipe for misery. Sometimes, spending an hour with friends is exactly what I need to make the next round of studying less painful.