Medical school is exhausting—both physically and mentally. This is precisely the reason why med students should not give up on extracurriculars. Having outside interests is a very good way to decompress and unwind from the whirlwind of classes, reviews, and clinical duties. There are a lot of extracurricular options for students, both related and non-related to the medical field. Most med schools have free-run clinics where students can volunteer. Students can also choose to travel overseas and join as medical assistants to broaden their experience. On the other hand, it’s not unheard of for med students to establish completely non-related extracurricular activities during med school—and completely understandable. Those who wish to unwind and separate their outside activities from medicine may want to seek ways to hone their skills in crafts, painting, or even singing. The only problem remains: how do you juggle your time? Med school is already demanding enough as it is--wow do you find time to enjoy your extracurriculars? Here are five tips to help you maintain a school and personal life balance even while in med school. 1.) Schedule Time for Your extracurricular Activities As with most things, you have to make sure you find time for yourself. Otherwise, you’ll always find something else more important and you’ll be forced to push your hobbies aside. When you plan your schedule, look for pockets of time where you can take some time off and have fun. In fact, it doesn’t have to be an entire day off. You could have a few hours per day where you enjoy some time to yourself. Join a dance class, go to your local gym, sign up with a book club, or just go on a run. Make sure you schedule these pockets of “me” time. 2.) Follow Your Interests It can be tempting to pick the activities that would look good on your curriculum vitae, but the truth is that forcing yourself into things you’re not interested in will only burn you out. Don’t sign up for school projects or organizations that you’re not truly invested in. If you don’t think you can handle volunteer work and would much rather decompress with your karaoke club, there’s no shame in that. It may not be something you can pad your CV with, but your general well-being is really more important than how impressive your CV is. 3.) Fatigue Does Not Equal Success Some med students think that they can only be successful if they run themselves ragged. The truth is that pushing yourself to the brink of fatigue is not good for you at all. It won’t help you perform better, and you’ll likely be so sluggish that you’ll not be able to absorb your lessons properly. Fatigue is never a good thing. Give yourself the right to relax. It’s not selfish to want to take some time off. In fact, if you’re happy and rested, you’ll be able to focus more and work more once you’re back performing your med school tasks. 4.) Don’t Procrastinate The common downfall of many students is the severe inability to stick to the schedule. It’s understandable, in a way, because all the task sand duties involved in med school can be quite overwhelming. However, procrastinating or blowing assignments off will only make things worse. Once you fall behind, it becomes more and more difficult to catch up. This is why it’s important that you stay on top of your projects, assignments, and other duties. Don’t slack off, because then you’d be scrambling to catch up instead of humming along with routine work. 5.) Don’t Forego Personal Relationships It’s easy to get lost when you’re busy with med school, but your friends and loved ones can be your lifeline to keep you afloat. Spend time away from school when you can spare it and just have fun with the people you care about. A book club, a choir, a knitting group—join whatever extracurricular activity you enjoy and enjoy it with the people love. source
