Hi to All,
I’d like to know how you’ve set up the schedule that works for you while in medical school. If you like to share it please say in which year of med school you are at (MS1-MS4) and try to outline the activity corresponding to the hours throughout the day.
The following is an example from a MS1 student I got the schedule from.
MS1:
Weekdays -
6:00 Wake up, prepare breakfast for kids and get them ready for school.
6:45 Bring kids to school
7:00 Eat breakfast, read news online
8:00-12:00 Attend class, labs or listening to lectures
12-1 Have lunch (I read some notes while lunch)
1-5 Study, memorizing notes, listening to lectures
5:00-8:00 Pick up kids from school, prepare and eat dinner, spend time with family
9:00-11:00 review
11:30 Go to bed
Weekends -
Saturday off and Sunday study 8-12 hours.
If tests are coming up: study all weekend long.
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Thank you all!
Gabriel
I want your friends schedule. Most days we have lecture and labs till 5every day…only Fridays we are typically done at 12. So it is up at 530 to get to the gym, on campus by 7 to preview the days lectures, lunch 12 to 1, which usually is accompanied with preview of clinical med material for the afternoon quiz or cadaver lab or writing my SOAP for the week. Dinner while studying till 11. Monday exam equals 8 to 12 hours in library both weekend days…no Monday exam equals Saturday off, and 8 hours of library on Sunday.
wake up between 2 and 3 am
study at home 3 am til 7 am
shower, breakfast with my daughter and wife 7am till 8 am
study at school ( study alone, with a group once a week or attending labs ) 8am til 5 pm
spending time with my daughter 5 pm till 8 pm
sleep 8 pm till 2-3 am.
during weekends I study one day and one day off unless it is exam weekend ( like it is today) than I study more.
I just started this schedule in January and it works pretty well for me. I wake up and can study with fresh mind. I used to study till midnight and then went to bed, but after all day I was tired so my study was not effective.
Right now we have exams every two weeks on Mondays so day of the exam and one or two days after I usually do not study , just watch movies and spend time with my daughter and let my brain to relax.
U will have to choose what works best for You. I prefer media-siting instead of going to lectures because I can listen on double speed and pause whenever I want and during lecture I got distracted too easily.
I have class 4 days a week from 8AM to 4PM with an hour lunch break at noon. The 1 other day is class from 9AM to 2PM. Hooray, more time to study! 
This is my schedule during the weekday.
7AM - Wake up and have breakfast with my family. Pre-read the day’s lecture.
8AM-12PM: Class
12PM-1PM: Lunch for 30 minutes, review for 30 minutes.
1PM-4PM: Class
4PM-7PM: Drive home, eat dinner with family, relax for a bit, take a shower, play with my son.
7PM-11PM: Drive back to school, Review day’s lecture, start to pre-read the next day’s lecture if I have time.
Weekends:
I try to get 8 hours of studying in each day.
I’m a MS1 on my 3rd week so my schedule will probably change over time. Lectures are recorded so I plan on skipping the ones that I’m not getting much out of. I started doing that this past week. Instead of going to those lectures, I use that time to study that day’s material from the lecture notes.
Our unit ends next week so I’ll find out how well I’m doing from the unit 1 exam (our units are generally 4 weeks long). Honestly, even with the amount of studying I’m doing I feel behind. It’s tough because everyone’s pretty smart and a lot of them are straight from undergrad as pre-med or biochem majors so I feel like there’s a lot of stuff I need to catch up on.
My schedule is pretty close to the original schedule posted.
MS1:
Weekdays -
6:00 Wake up, prepare breakfast for kids and get them ready for school.
6:45 Bring kids to school
7:00 Eat breakfast, read news online
7:30 - 9:00 commute in train/read notes
9:00-12:00 Attend class, labs or listening to lectures
12-1 Have lunch (I read some notes while lunch)
1-5: ANATOMY LAB and Lecture, OR clinics / activity with Physician mentor
5-6: commute in train read notes.
6:00-8:00 Pick up kids from school, prepare and eat dinner, spend time with family
9:00-11:00 review
11:30 Go to bed
Weekends -
Saturday - I work 9 to 3 pm. So I try to study 3/4 hours on Saturday
Sunday - half day family time, the other half split between my wife for her stuff and me for my stuff. I am lucky to get 8h of study time over the week-end.
I did well on my first biochem test (4th grade or something like that, 240 students). So even though I can’t study as much as I’d like, it is still doable if you are efficient with your time. Although I am not sure how long I can keep the rhythm. My days are very long and tiring, and at night, it is very hard to keep my eyes open.
The combination Biochem+ Anatomy is quite a load. Now I’d say without kids, it would be much, much easier. Everything is about time management. Have to take every minute I can get.