Happy Sunday!
One of the most common questions I get is how to be organized, and rightly so. Getting and staying organized is a continuous process. As life changes, so do our priorities and responsibilities. Now as a professional student, organization is an absolute necessity.
We all remember grade school when we first learned how to write in our planners, right? Well, I'll be honest, that was one of my favorite things ever #NerdSinceDay1. Opening up a fresh planner and filling it with tasks was so exciting for me. Granted, the tasks back then were much simpler and now sometimes cringe at all that I have to do. Nevertheless, a system that keeps you organized like a calendar, planner, or both is priceless. My favorite calendar to use is iCalendar. It links to my macbook, iPad, and iPhone so I can check it on whichever device I have on me. It's not a special app, but it's practical and accessible. Plus, I can set alerts a day ahead so I don't forget about important events - this is totally necessary, I can't tell you how many meetings I would have missed without my calendar alerts. Here's a snapshot of my calendar from back in June when I had a week of meetings, required school sessions, and appointments before starting clerkships. I don't get too fancy with the color coding, but I do use purple for personal events, green for extra-academic tasks, and blue for school-related things.
I still love a good planner, though. Even though I mostly used to-do lists during the first two years in addition to my iCalendar, I totally believe that a planner would have substituted nicely for both of those things. There are some great planners out there, in a wide variety of styles to fit any schedule. These are some of my favorites (click the pictures for links)!
So after you've got some visual tools like a calendar, an app, or a planner (or all three!) to organize your responsibilities, the next step is staying organized. I think the two most important elements to staying organized are flexibility and accountability.
Things change, often unexpectedly, so whatever plans we make must be flexible enough to be rearranged. That can seem as simple as erasing a task in your calendar but it's really more than that. A calendar and planner are tangible things, but the stress of altered plans or additional responsibilities can lead to internal stress. But expecting change can be a great tool in mindful organization. Personally, it helps me stay flexible and less stressed when things do change.
Accountability is another timeless component. At the end of the day you should decide what your goals are for staying organized. Are you trying to do a stellar job in undergrad to get into med school? Are you a med student just trying to get through the craziness of juggling academics and things like research, volunteering, and clerkships? Or are you someone who has multiple roles like being a spouse and a student? Understanding your goals is important because it is what shapes the trajectory for your success. At the same time, not holding yourself accountable can hurt you greatly. For example, replying to and keeping track of emails is something I'm constantly working on. I've missed a meeting just because I didn't check my email again to make sure when it was taking place and it looked bad. I'm far from perfect but I'm constantly holding myself accountable and identifying areas of improvement and I like to think it's helped me grow.
I hope this post was helpful to those wondering about organization. The best way to organize your life is to use things that work for YOU. No one's schedule, goals, or responsibilities are the same so tailor your organization strategy to your own needs and don't be afraid to reassess and change things up.
Thanks for reading
