You’re NOT stupid, Your Schedules Are. | The Anti-Study Plan Method
Summary
TLDRIn this video, medical student Fay discusses her disdain for traditional study plans due to their rigidity and tendency to prioritize quantity over quality. She argues that studying should be flexible and adapt to individual needs and topics' varying complexities. Fay shares her alternative approach, which includes setting daily goals, focusing on quality over quantity, and using 'batch tasking' to improve efficiency. She emphasizes the importance of self-encouragement and the flexibility to adjust plans based on daily performance and well-being.
Takeaways
- 📚 Fay, a final-year medical student, shares her personal journey and insights on study planning.
- 🚫 Fay initially struggled with rigid study plans, which she later found to be counterproductive.
- 🐌 The 'snail vs. worm' analogy is used to illustrate the inflexibility of study plans compared to a more adaptable approach.
- 🕰 Study plans can lead to neglecting high-yield topics and not accounting for varying difficulty levels of subjects.
- 🌀 Fay emphasizes the importance of personal well-being and how study plans can overlook the impact of daily feelings and energy levels.
- 🎨 Fay discusses the time-consuming and often fruitless endeavor of creating color-coded study plans that are rarely followed.
- 🍫 The 'Brussels sprouts vs. Lindor' analogy highlights the preference for quality over quantity in studying.
- 🎯 Fay suggests setting goals and identifying weaknesses at the start of an exam season instead of detailed study plans.
- ✅ A daily ritual of planning in half-hour slots, with flexibility to adapt based on the day's progress and feelings, is recommended.
- 🔄 Batching tasks and checking off completed tasks provides a sense of accomplishment and motivation.
- 🌟 Fay encourages finding small joys in studying, like crossing off tasks, to maintain motivation without constant self-pressure.
Q & A
Why did the speaker initially start making study plans?
-The speaker started making study plans after failing their A levels and not getting the grades needed for medical school, as a way to structure their study and eventually get into medical school.
What is the speaker's opinion on study plans after six years in medical school?
-The speaker believes that making a study plan could be harmful to one's grades and suggests an alternative approach to studying.
What is the 'worm versus the snail' analogy referring to in the context of study plans?
-The 'worm versus the snail' analogy refers to the rigidity of study plans compared to the flexibility needed in studying. The snail represents a rigid study plan, while the worm symbolizes a more flexible and adaptable approach.
Why does the speaker dislike the rigidity of study plans?
-The speaker dislikes the rigidity of study plans because they do not account for varying times needed for different topics, the importance of high-yield topics, and the individual's feelings or condition on a particular day.
What is the 'colorcoded plan that never gets cross-out' issue mentioned by the speaker?
-This issue refers to the time spent creating elaborate study plans that are never followed through, leading to a sense of guilt and failure instead of actual study progress.
How does the speaker feel about the balance between quantity and quality of study?
-The speaker believes that quality of study is more important than quantity. They argue that several hours of focused, quality study are more beneficial than forcing a large number of hours without focus.
What does the 'Brussels sprouts or the Lindor' analogy represent in the script?
-This analogy represents the preference for quality over quantity. The speaker would rather have a few Lindor chocolates (a treat they enjoy) than many Brussels sprouts (which they dislike), emphasizing that doing a few enjoyable and effective study tasks is better than many tedious ones.
What alternative does the speaker suggest instead of a rigid study plan?
-The speaker suggests setting goals, identifying weaknesses, and creating a flexible daily schedule based on how the day is going, rather than a rigid study plan.
How does the speaker plan their day during exam season?
-The speaker writes a daily schedule in half-hour slots, planning out their day based on previous performance, weaknesses, and how they feel that day.
What is the speaker's view on batching tasks during study?
-The speaker is a strong advocate for batching tasks, which involves grouping similar tasks together to improve efficiency and reduce the energy spent on task switching.
Outlines
📚 The Downfall of Rigid Study Plans
The speaker, Fay, a final year medical student, shares her journey of academic struggle and success. Initially failing her A-levels, she later secured a place in medical school and consistently passed her exams. Fay argues against the traditional study plan, likening it to a snail with a rigid shell, and instead praises the flexibility of a worm. She believes that study plans can be detrimental due to their inflexibility, failure to account for varying topic difficulties, and neglect of high-yield topics. Fay also criticizes study plans for ignoring individual feelings and states of well-being, which can significantly impact study effectiveness. She concludes by sharing her dislike for the guilt associated with uncompleted study plans and the time wasted on creating them rather than studying.
🍫 Quality Over Quantity in Studying
Fay discusses her disdain for study plans that emphasize quantity over quality, using the analogy of choosing between 50 Brussels sprouts and five Lindor chocolates to illustrate her preference for quality. She recounts her experience of setting a high quota of practice questions, which led to exhaustion and diminished learning effectiveness. Fay advocates for a balance between the amount of study and its quality, suggesting that focused, quality study sessions are more beneficial than prolonged, low-efficiency ones. She shares her alternative approach to study planning, which involves setting goals and weaknesses at the start of an exam season, followed by daily planning that adapts to her performance and feelings on that day. Fay also emphasizes the importance of batching tasks to improve efficiency and reduce the mental cost of task-switching.
📆 Daily Rituals Over Long-Term Plans
In the final paragraph, Fay explains her daily study ritual, which involves creating a flexible schedule in half-hour slots, taking into account her performance and feelings on the previous day. She emphasizes the importance of adapting to her weaknesses and the day's demands, rather than sticking to a rigid long-term plan. Fay also highlights the psychological benefits of checking off completed tasks and the use of small rewards to maintain motivation. She concludes by encouraging viewers to find joy and satisfaction in their study routines, suggesting that these positive reinforcements can be more effective than constant pressure and guilt.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Study Plan
💡Rigidity
💡High-Yield Topics
💡Burnout
💡Quantity vs. Quality
💡Daily Schedule
💡Batch Tasking
💡Dopamine Kick
💡Mock Papers
💡Flashcards
💡Adaptability
Highlights
The speaker emphasizes the importance of not having a study plan after failing to get into medical school initially.
A daily study plan was implemented during the struggle to get into medical school and was successful in passing all exams.
The speaker argues that making a study plan could potentially be harmful to one's grades.
An analogy is made between the rigidity of a snail's shell and the flexibility of a worm to illustrate the downsides of study plans.
Study plans often neglect the fact that some topics take longer to learn than others.
The rigidity of study plans can lead to overlooking high-yield topics that frequently appear on exams.
Study plans may not account for how one feels on a particular day, which can affect study effectiveness.
The guilt associated with not sticking to a study plan can be a significant drawback.
The time spent creating a detailed study plan can detract from actual studying.
The speaker shares personal experiences of not adhering to study plans and the negative impact it had.
A preference for quality over quantity in studying is advocated, suggesting that focused study is more beneficial.
The speaker outlines an alternative approach to studying that involves setting goals and weaknesses at the start of an exam season.
Daily rituals of planning are used instead of a rigid study plan, allowing for flexibility and adaptation.
Batching tasks together is recommended to improve efficiency and reduce the mental cost of task switching.
The importance of giving oneself small rewards and moments of joy during the study process is highlighted.
The video concludes with encouragement to find a study method that suits the individual's needs and avoids burnout.
Transcripts
I have not made a study plan ever since
I got into medical school when I flopped
my a levels and didn't get the grades I
needed to get into medical school I made
a study plan every single day fast
forward 6 years after resetting my exams
and eventually getting my place at
Medical School I passed every single one
of my exams and not only that I got into
my Top Choice area for my first job as a
doctor coincidence I think not I am
about to drop a little bit of bombshell
on you and explain why making a study
plan could be harmful to your grades and
not only that but also what I do instead
if you're new here then my name is Fay I
am a final year medical student in the
UK and the aim of this channel is to
unashamedly explain all the silly silly
mistakes that I've made over the past
few years in the hopes that you guys
could learn from mine and avoid making
those mistakes for yourself if living a
more successful and fulfilled life
sounds like something that you would be
interested in then make sure to click
the Subscribe button down below reason
number one why I hate study plans the
worm versus the snail now the snail has
a shell on it it is rigid it is hard and
if you have ever seen a snail move it
does not move very quickly versus the
worm worms are slippery slimy flexible
overall just a lot more superior to the
snail previously when I would make study
plans I would create a rigid robust 6
week schedule that I would try to stick
to when each topic would be allocated a
onh hour slot if it needed any more time
than that allocated 1 hour slot tough
they won't getting it a lot of the times
study plans completely neglect that some
topics are going to take longer than
others some topics we going to be weaker
in some topics we're going to go over
them once and then a week later forget
and then need to recap it and then
unpredictably need to recap it at a
later a date the rigidity of study plans
is one of the reasons I hate them the
most studying is an art it is fluid it
is not prescriptive we all have
different brains we all have different
memories there are some topics that just
will always stick in my head for some
unbeknownst reason whereas individuals
who are of equal intelligence May
struggle with that individual topic but
a topic that I might really struggle
with sticks with them another aspect of
the rigidity of study plans that is
detrimental is the neglect for high
yield topics now not all topics are
created equally there are some topics
that you will learn about for any exam
that will almost certainly come up year
after year after year and then there are
some topics that are incredibly Niche
and may never come up and honestly if
you never touched upon them once you may
still be able to get a pretty decent
grade in an exam another reason that I
hate the rigidity of a study plan is how
it neglects how you feel on that day
this may sound really fluffy and really
wishy-washy and I can just tell that
some of you are probably thinking F bill
build a bridge steady is not meant to be
easy we don't need to Bubble Wrap
everyone it is hard it's draining it's
boring you just need to get over it I
100% get that however from doing 5 years
of medical school exams there have been
days where I have tried with every
answer my being push myself through the
burnout and I physically have not been
able to and I would have just been so
much better to take the evening off rest
recuperate and come back to it in the
morning I think the issue that I always
found with the study plan is if my days
were so rigid ly structured and then I
got to the afternoon and I just wanted
to curl up in a ball and sleep I would
feel so much more guilty doing that
because then I would be behind on my
study plan and I'd never be able to
catch up for women if you're ill or
burnt out or at a certain point in your
cycle a lot of the times these aren't
things that can be predicted 6 weeks in
advance kind of moving on from the guilt
that I would feel when I used to make a
study plan is my second reason that I do
not like study plans and that is the
colorcoded plan that never gets cross
out now when I used to create study
plans I would allocate a couple hours
out of my day to create my study plan
for like the next 6 weeks 8 weeks 3
months whatever and those 3 hours would
eventually engorge the entirety of the
day because I would be having way too
much fun organizing my topics on a
colorcoded daily chart that I would
neglect the actual activities that are
actually going to get me better grades
in my exams and the worst part is I
would convince myself that I would was
being productive the cherry on top of
all of this is I would spend an entire
day creating this study plan and I would
never and I mean never stick to it now
if you're someone who creates a study
plan and religiously sticks to it then
well done you this video probably isn't
for you keep doing what you're doing I
certainly was not one of those
individuals Not only was it a complete
waste of my time but it felt like a huge
Cloud hanging over my head for the
entirety of exam season a reminder of of
the failure I was at being able to
allocate and delegate my time correctly
and not procrastinate final reason that
I do not like steady plans is the
Brussels sprouts or the Lindor analogy
would you rather 50 brussels sprouts or
five Lindor now personally I really do
not like brussels sprouts if you really
like brussels sprouts then again well
done to you this video probably isn't
for you I would much prefer Lindor just
because there is 50 brussels sprouts it
really does not make me want them any
more than the five lindel if you haven't
CAU on already I am referring to the
ageold saying poliy over quantity I
myself was sucked into thinking that
quantity was more important last year
when I was studying for my medical
school exams I set myself a daily quota
of how many practice questions I had to
complete in a day to the point that by
the end of the day I was getting every
single question wrong eyes half shut
crying out for my bed and some rest
probably not remotely benefiting from
getting any of these questions wrong
because my focus was just purely to get
through the questions and hit that
number now the method behind my madness
was by doing as many questions as
possible I would get through the breadth
of content that was required to pass my
medical school exams and to an extent
quantity is important I could have done
one question every single day but if I
really done it thoroughly it still
probably wouldn't have been enough to
pass there's a balance but I think with
study plans it often puts the weight on
quantity over quality I truly believe
that four or 6 hours of good quality
studying is infinitely more beneficial
than guilt tripping yourself into
spending 12 to 15 hours in the library
slowly dragging yourself through each
minute so if I do not make a study plan
what is it that I do instead well at the
beginning of any exam season I lay out
my goals I lay out weaknesses from from
last exam season areas of improvement
rough targets of maybe how many
questions I want to have got through
rough goals for what I would have wanted
to achieve by the time I come to sit the
exam to know that I feel like I've done
enough for me I know that if by the end
of exam season I'm getting decent marks
on mock papers I'm getting decent marks
on my question Banks um I'm up to date
with my flashcards then I feel
relatively confident that I've done
enough to pass so I have my initial
laying everything out session and then
instead of having a study plan every
single morning I have a little bit of a
ritual for planning out my day I will
write out the date and next to it I'll
write you got this and a little
heart and then I will write a daily
schedule in half an hour slots and plan
out my day based on how I did the day
before any weaknesses I noticed how I
feel that day take for example I'm
Midway through exam season I have a
couple of past papers that I haven't
done that I want want to get done I have
my flashcards to go over and I also have
a couple of topics I noticed I was
particularly weak on the day before then
I will write out my daily schedule um I
might schedule in to do one of those
mock papers as I know that's part of my
overall goals for that exam season um
I'll also schedule in reviewing my
flashcards because I like to do that
every single day of exam season and
ideally not exam season but doesn't
always happen and then I'll also schedu
in a little bit of time to focus in a
lot more intensely on the areas of
weakness that I noticed from the day
before so normally I like to plan out
about 3 hours in the morning have a
little bit of break for lunch and then
come back and then based on how I did
that morning plan out the next 3 hours
and then after those 3 hours are done
depending on what stage it is in exam
season or how I'm feeling that day or
how productive the morning and afternoon
were I might then decide to go home have
a little bit of dinner have a little bit
more of a restful evening or if I'm
still feeling productive still feeling
energized it's quite late on in exam
season or I've had a particularly
unproductive unhelpful morning I might
choose to stay for another 3-hour
session in the evening if you've watched
any of my other videos you'll know that
I'm a big big big advocate for batching
tasks now batching tasks is just
grouping all the tasks that are similar
together to improve efficiency and to
reduce the cost of task switching I
can't actually remember what it's called
but I'll put it here it's basically just
the energy you use up by switching from
one task to the next so anyway I am a
big advocate for batch tasking getting
all your daily plans for the next few
weeks done so that you can just get up
get to the library and you do not have
to think about what you're doing on that
day for me personally doing my plan
every morning and afternoon and evening
usually only takes me about 5 minutes
and it's got to the point where it is
such a ritual in my study routine that I
actually feel like it really grounds me
it's almost like a little bit of a warm
up for me and it gets me in the zone of
knowing I'm in the library to get done
alongside it being so flexible and
allowing me to incorporate all my
weaknesses and adap the plant my knees
for that day one of my favorite things
is checking off each half an hour with
my little red pen and giving myself that
quick little dopamine kick that I need
to get me through the rest of the day
rather than having the guilt hanging
over me of an empty 6 week color
coordinated study plan studying is hard
and mundane enough as it is I think when
we can give ourselves these little
moments of Joy these little moments of
satisfaction motivation encouragement
then I don't think we should shy away
from that I think that we think that we
can achieve more when we beat ourselves
up and I get so scared that the
adrenaline hits me and I study a lot
harder however that is great for 5 days
before my exam if I was to constantly be
going through that for the eight weeks
on the lead UPS of my exam I would get
burnt out so quickly and it has happened
before the pressure ate me up and I
burned out I reckon about 3 weeks before
my exam these little moments of
encouragement really can just be as
simple as Crossing out your daily
schedule with a red pen or rewarding
yourself with going home early because
you've achieved everything that you
wanted for the day if you made it to the
end of this video then maybe you can
leave a little calendar and across Emoji
in the comment section I hope you
enjoyed this video if you did then
please don't forget to like comment and
subscribe to join the community I hope
you have a wonderful wonderful wonderful
week and I will see you in the next
video by
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