My schedule as an MS-2

Happy Friday, readers.  Unlike Rebecca Black, I'm not gripped by the high-stakes decision of taking the bus or getting a lift from my friends.  Instead I'm at home takin' it easy and enjoying my time off.

Everyone hears that med school is hard, grueling, a "mindset" in the words of one doctor, and the rest of your life.  Basic sciences is tough, and I just wanted to give applicants and those interested a glimpse into my schedule.

This is my daily schedule now as an MS-2:

450am: wake up, shower, eat breakfast
until 6:45am: study, read, bike to school
7am: on campus to read/facebook
8am-12pm classes
1-3pm: Usually afternoon things (8am-12pm doesn't exist in medical school despite what people try to get you to believe)
5pm: not too busy by then, heading home to study

530pm-1145pm study

I used to get up at 6am as a first-year, then 530, then 5 then 450.  I partly do it because there's so much to keep up with, but also as "conditioning" for rotations because you might as well get your body used to it now and struggle less later.  However, you have to  do even more balancing, eat healthier, find more time during the day for naps and rest, and exercise and stress-reduce as much as possible. 

And I basically repeat that everyday until after finals.  It's tough and I always feel like I could be accomplishing more, but you just let that go and do your best to relax.

I'm trying to be better about exercise too, mainly I've been lifting weights and seeing good results, but I really need to get better about cardio.  Ironically when I lived in a city known to be much healthier than Houston, I weighed 18 pounds more than I currently do.  Keeping weight off is a pretty good feeling, but I think that even though if you are fit, you should still be running and keeping your heart healthy and properly exercised.

I'm trying to be much better about it because it's so easy to not work out with so much work you have to do and then before you know it, it's been months since you were last really active, and the some of the worst changes that can happen to your health happen insidiously overtime yet are preventable.

I hope everyone enjoys their long weekend!  Work hard and keep a good balance!