Holding Yourself Accountable

Spring break is coming up next week (thank the sweet God above), and such as what happens with any break, the temptation to lay around and do absolutely nothing is oh so strong. Who needs tropical paradise when I could just cuddle up with my blanket, my dog, and Bravo for a week straight? But as we all know, this isn't an option for us pre-professionals, and even if it was an option, the guilt that we have to deal with from not accomplishing anything is persuasive enough to get us off of Netflix and into our books. (Just me?) Holding ourselves accountable for our own success is something that has been instilled in us since day one of college, when our BIO 101 professor  refused to put the powerpoint slides up online. And as it very well should be. In the "real world" (don't you hate this phrase?), we'll only have ourselves to rely on when we're doing procedures and conducting our typical day-to-day affairs. The ability to persevere on despite the temptation to fall behind and fall into a 14-hour marathon of Breaking Bad instead of our textbooks is a necessary skill that we all need to develop and maintain.

14 hour? More like 62.

I have a love-hate relationship with "To-Do" lists. On one hand, I think they're great for organizing our tasks for the day and the feeling of satisfaction that comes with crossing off each item one-by-one does provide a certain high unattainable through most other paper/pen interactions. But  they also have the ability to become destructive. Sometimes writing everything down can overwhelm us and discourage us from completing its contents - which is the exact opposite of what it was intended to do. This is why instead of writing every little thing down day-to-day, I usually make broad, general goals to complete by the end of the week. This allows me to have more flexibility in my schedule and accomplish things when I have time to do so. However, I've always been lax when it comes to planners, and if you're Type-A with these sorts of things feel free to do whatever makes you happy. (Yes, I'm talking to you with the color-coded Lilly Planner.) (...I'm actually insanely jealous.)

I want them all.

Spring Break is the perfect time to get caught up on class material. These past few weeks have been crazy busy with mid-terms and what-not, so I know I'm going to be using some of my break to learn material from other classes. That being said...

Spring Break Goals:
1.) Shadow 10+ hours at dentist office
2.) Get caught up on Cadaver Lab material
3.) Do Psychopathology project
4.) Study for Psychopathology Exam
5.) Work on personal statement

Seems like a bit, but I do have a full week to get it all done. And I need to find room for #6...

6.) Relax a bit

This is important. It is a break after all, right? Sometimes having a mental health day can be the best thing for us. (Which is something I need to keep telling myself over and over since I never seem to find time to just relax.)

So I hope everyone has a relaxing, yet productive Spring Break! And if you are going anywhere warm and tropical, have fun and be safe! I leave you with this graphic I saw on twitter the other day:

Until next time,
PJ