The holiday season is peering around the corner and soon there’ll be family gatherings, travel, meal prep, and oh yeah, EPPP prep. You may have already decided to give yourself some grace and have chosen not to study and that’s okay – point for self-care! But many of you might be trying to figure out, “How do I juggle it all?!” or “How do I keep momentum, and not lose all the hard work I put in?” If you’re in that boat, check out a few tips below for studying effectively over the holidays!
Create a holiday-specific study plan with reasonable goals. If you’re trying to balance studying and quality time with family, this is not the time to go full steam ahead on your study plan. Your time is likely to be limited and your attention will be split. Can you really tackle an entire domain's worth of reading and active notetaking or even a full practice exam OR would your time be better used taking a short quiz, reviewing flashcards, or attending a lecture? Identify at least one achievable thing you’d like to accomplish by the end of each day.
Study in small chunks. The last thing you want is to set up a 4 hour study block and spend the majority of that time reading through study volumes while intermittently checking social media, daydreaming, or wishing you weren’t studying, and ultimately realizing you don’t remember anything you’ve read and have to read it all again! You’re aiming for quality study time over quantity. Find pockets of time where you can accomplish smaller tasks. You’ll leverage the attention you do have and won’t overwork yourself and ultimately feel like you got something done.
Study first thing in the morning. You’re more likely to get things done if you study before everything gets going. If the day gets away from you, you still got in a study session, and you don’t have to have the internal fight of, “I need to study, but I’m tired.” Or “I need to study, but I don’t want to.”
Give yourself grace. You’ve set up a reasonable plan and hopefully made some progress. If you didn’t get to everything you wanted or didn’t do anything at all, now is not the time to marinade in the guilt – it’ll only weigh you down and decrease your motivation. Use this as an opportunity to do some quality self-care, enjoy your time with your family and friends, and get back on track when things settle down.
Have you studied over the holidays AND made time for doing the things that are important to you? Share your tips and tricks in the comments!