How I Study With a Full-Time Job: My Strategic Scheduling

Summary

The video script details the personal struggles of the speaker, who was overwhelmed by the demands of medical school and multiple jobs. To manage their busy schedule, they experimented with various planning methods, which often led to boredom and a dislike of work. The speaker then introduces a new approach to planning, inspired by psychology and motivation theories, aiming to make work as addictive as leisure activities. They discuss the importance of balancing work and non-work activities and the psychological impact of rewards on behavior. The script explains four types of reward reinforcement schedules and advocates for a flexible planning method that incorporates randomization of rewards to maintain motivation and energy levels throughout the day. The speaker also shares their experience with Sigma OS, a browser that helps organize work and improve productivity. The video concludes with a reminder to be kind to oneself and to others, acknowledging the limitations of the advice given and inviting viewers to share their own strategies.

Takeaways

• 📅 **Recognize Work and Non-Work Activities**: Both work and non-work activities affect each other and should be considered in your schedule.
• 🔄 **Understand Reward Reinforcement**: Actions taken after work can act as a reward, influencing motivation for future work.
• 🎯 **Types of Reward Schedules**: Fixed interval, fixed ratio, variable interval, and variable ratio schedules affect how we approach work.
• 🚫 **Avoid Strict Scheduling**: Having a hard start and stop for tasks can make work less appealing in the future.
• 🛠️ **Flexible Time Blocking**: Use buffers and avoid back-to-back tasks to reduce mental energy spent on project switching.
• 🌟 **Identify Your Rewards**: Understand what you naturally reward yourself with after completing tasks to better plan your schedule.
• 🧘 **Randomize Rewards**: Introduce randomness in rewards to keep work interesting and maintain motivation.
• 🌡️ **Work with Your Body Clock**: Schedule tasks according to your natural rhythms to maximize productivity.
• 📈 **Balance Stimulation**: Choose rewards that complement the stimulation level of your work to maintain energy levels.
• 📝 **Audit Your Tasks**: Regularly audit and understand your work and reward tasks to optimize your schedule.
• 🤝 **Social Interaction**: Including social activities as rewards can provide a pleasant break and help to re-energize.

Q & A

What was the speaker's life like in 2018?

In 2018, the speaker's life became extremely busy as they started medical school and had to work three jobs to afford it. They also discovered Medical Art and began studying it, signed up for philosophy courses, volunteered as a mental health responder, and took on more jobs, all while studying medicine.

Why did the speaker feel their calendar was a nightmare?

The speaker felt their calendar was a nightmare because it was overly full, leading to stress and the potential for a mental breakdown. Any small disruption, like a bus being late, could cause them to fall behind on their packed schedule.

What is the psychological principle that the speaker discusses regarding work and non-work activities?

The speaker discusses the principle that the actions we take after a behavior act as a reward for that behavior. The type, timing, and frequency of these rewards can reinforce or weaken a behavior, making it easier or harder for us to work in the future.

What are the four types of reward reinforcement schedules mentioned in the script?

The four types of reward reinforcement schedules are fixed interval, fixed ratio, variable interval, and variable ratio. These schedules determine how likely we are to repeat a behavior based on the predictability and variability of the rewards we receive after the behavior.

Why does the speaker suggest that fixed schedules for work may be less effective for motivation?

The speaker suggests that fixed schedules for work may be less effective for motivation because they often lead to a consistent hard start and stop for tasks, followed by a more pleasant activity. This can make the work action less appealing in the future, as the brain begins to associate the end of work with a reward, and varying the timing of these rewards can increase the likelihood of wanting to repeat the task.

What is the solution proposed by the speaker to make work more engaging?

The speaker proposes a solution that leverages addiction psychology to make work more engaging. This involves not knowing when the hard end of a task is and what comes after it, which makes us more likely to want to do the task again in the future.

What is Sigma OS and how does it help with work organization?

Sigma OS is an internet browser that replaces traditional browsers like Safari and Chrome. It offers separate workspaces for different activities, allowing users to maintain a clear organization and mental separation between tasks. It keeps important tabs open and organized, reducing clutter and increasing efficiency.

How does the speaker recommend auditing one's work and reward tasks?

The speaker recommends identifying both work tasks that are often procrastinated on and reward tasks that serve as self-reward after completing work. This includes understanding what one does first thing in the morning, before sleep, and to relax, as these can indicate what the attention is likely to want to go to when it feels it has the freedom to do so.

What is the new type of time blocking the speaker introduces?

The new type of time blocking introduced by the speaker involves adding large buffers to the start and end of a task, avoiding a hard stop time for tasks, not scheduling back-to-back different tasks or projects, and not scheduling specific tasks or things that need to be done rigidly into the calendar.

How does the speaker suggest managing rewards after completing a task?

The speaker suggests randomizing rewards after completing a task by using a dice with different activities written on each side. This introduces an element of unpredictability and can make the rewards less expected and more engaging.

Why is it important to consider the level of stimulation in rewards after work tasks?

Considering the level of stimulation in rewards is important because it helps maintain higher levels of energy throughout the day. High stimulation rewards can exhaust a person quickly, making it difficult to transition back to high stimulation work. Choosing rewards that are less stimulating or stimulating in a different way can help re-energize and maintain focus.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Overwhelmed by Work and Study: Finding a Better Scheduling Method

The speaker describes their life in 2018 as chaotic, juggling medical school, three jobs, and additional interests like Medical Art and philosophy. They discuss how their packed schedule led to a mental breakdown and the need to find a more effective way of planning. They introduce the idea of using psychological principles related to dopamine, motivation, and reward systems to make work more addictive and enjoyable. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of considering both work and non-work activities in a schedule and how they affect each other.

05:02

🎲 The Psychology of Reward Reinforcement in Scheduling

The speaker delves into the psychology behind reward reinforcement schedules, explaining how the timing and frequency of rewards after a task can influence our motivation to work. They outline four types of reward schedules: fixed interval, fixed ratio, variable interval, and variable ratio. The paragraph highlights the ineffectiveness of fixed schedules in maintaining motivation and suggests that variable schedules are more conducive to a productive and enjoyable work-life balance.

10:04

📅 Creating a More Engaging Calendar with Buffers and Variable Rewards

The speaker proposes a new approach to calendar planning that includes large buffers at the start and end of tasks, eliminating hard start and stop times. They recommend avoiding back-to-back task switching to conserve mental energy and suggests leaving tasks broad and open-ended to allow for intuitive decision-making. The paragraph also discusses the importance of working with one's body clock and randomizing rewards to maintain high energy levels and prevent burnout.

15:04

🧘‍♂️ Balancing Work and Reward with Low-Stimulation Activities

The speaker shares their personal strategy for balancing work and rewards by using a dice to randomly select low-stimulation activities such as journaling, meditation, stretching, walking, calling a friend, or listening to music. They explain that this method helps to avoid high-stimulation rewards that can lead to exhaustion and suggests that complementary rewards can energize and motivate better. The paragraph concludes with a note on the limited applicability of the advice and an invitation for viewers with different circumstances to share their techniques.

Keywords

💡Medical School

Medical school refers to the educational institution where students study to become medical professionals. In the video, the speaker mentions starting medical school, which is a significant part of their life that contributes to their busy schedule and the need for effective planning and time management.

💡Workaholic

A workaholic is a person who is obsessed with work to the extent that it negatively impacts other areas of their life. The speaker identifies as a chronic workaholic, which is central to the video's theme of managing a hectic schedule and the potential for mental breakdown due to overwork.

💡Dopamine

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with the brain's reward system. The video discusses the role of dopamine in motivation and how the timing and frequency of rewards can reinforce or weaken behaviors, which is integral to the speaker's proposed method of planning and scheduling work.

💡Reward Reinforcement Schedules

Reward reinforcement schedules are psychological concepts that describe how rewards are given after certain behaviors. The video outlines four types: fixed interval, fixed ratio, variable interval, and variable ratio. These schedules are crucial to the speaker's strategy for making work more engaging and less burdensome.

💡Time Blocking

Time blocking is a productivity technique where a calendar or schedule is used to allocate specific time slots for different tasks or activities. The speaker criticizes traditional time blocking for being too rigid and instead proposes a modified approach that incorporates more flexibility and randomness to enhance motivation.

💡Variable Ratio Pattern

The variable ratio pattern is one of the reward reinforcement schedules where a reward is given after an unpredictable amount of work. This pattern is likened to gambling, where the uncertainty of when a reward will come can make the activity more engaging. The speaker suggests this pattern can make work feel less like a chore.

💡Buffer Time

Buffer time refers to the additional time added before and after scheduled tasks to provide flexibility. The speaker recommends adding buffers to tasks to avoid the pressure of rigid start and end times, which can help reduce stress and make work more sustainable.

💡Stimulation

Stimulation refers to the level of mental or physical excitement or activity. The video discusses how high levels of stimulation from work can be exhausting and how varying stimulation levels in rewards can help maintain energy throughout the day.

💡Interest-Based Nervous System

An interest-based nervous system is a term used by the speaker to describe a tendency to prioritize tasks based on immediate interest rather than importance. This concept is key to understanding why the speaker's previous scheduling methods failed and how they adapted their approach.

💡Randomization of Rewards

Randomization of rewards is the practice of introducing unpredictability in the types of rewards given after completing tasks. The speaker uses a dice to select from a list of activities, which prevents the brain from anticipating a specific reward and keeps the work process more engaging.

💡Sigma OS

Sigma OS is a web browser mentioned as a tool that the speaker uses to organize their work and improve productivity. It is highlighted for its ability to create separate workspaces for different tasks, reducing clutter and increasing focus, which is a practical example of the speaker's approach to managing a complex schedule.

Highlights

The speaker's life became overwhelming with medical school and multiple jobs, leading to a mental breakdown and the need for a new planning method.

Medical Art and extracurricular activities like philosophy courses and volunteering added to the speaker's busy schedule.

The importance of considering both work and non-work activities in scheduling to avoid burnout is emphasized.

Psychological principles suggest that the actions taken after work can act as rewards, influencing future work behavior.

Different reward reinforcement schedules (fixed interval, fixed ratio, variable interval, variable ratio) impact motivation and work habits.

The speaker proposes a planning method based on years of experience with mental breakdowns and insights from human psychology.

The traditional fixed schedules for work are less effective than variable schedules in maintaining motivation.

Introducing randomness and flexibility in scheduling can make work more engaging and less likely to lead to resentment.

The concept of 'reward tasks' is introduced as a way to identify and manage activities that provide a break from work.

Sigma OS is recommended as a tool for organizing work and browser tabs to improve productivity.

An audit of work tasks and reward tasks is suggested to understand personal productivity patterns.

The speaker discusses the impact of high stimulation reward activities on energy levels and the need for balance.

A new type of time blocking is introduced that incorporates buffers, avoids hard start/stop times, and prevents back-to-back task switching.

The importance of working with one's body clock and not scheduling tasks too rigidly is highlighted.

Randomization of rewards is proposed to maintain high energy and motivation, using a dice roll to select from a list of activities.

The selection of reward activities should be complementary to the nature of the work done to avoid burnout and maintain energy.

The speaker acknowledges the limitations of their approach and invites others to share techniques that work for them.

A reminder to be kind to oneself and not to believe everything one thinks, emphasizing self-compassion and critical thinking.

Transcripts

in 2018 my life started to go crazy I'd

just started medical school and had to

work three jobs to be able to afford it

I then discovered Medical Art so I

started studying that too I signed up

for extra courses in philosophy

volunteered as a mental health responder

got some more jobs all while still

studying to be a doctor I loved my life

but it was a nightmare my calendar was

so full I would want to cry if a bus was

even slightly late and I had to fall

behind on things because I couldn't

forward to absolutely no one had asked

me to do any of this but through a

combination of need curiosity and

stupidity my schedule was leading me

into a mental breakdown so I had to

change the way that I did things I've

experimented with lots of ways for

planning work some better or worse than

others but what they all have in common

is that they end up one always boring

and I quit them and two they end up

always making me hate work what what I'm

going to suggest is a method of planning

based on years of mental breakdowns of a

chronic workaholic alongside these

clients and books on human psychology

dopamine motivation and planning in

order to hopefully create a schedule

that makes work just as addictive as

games chocolates and allegedly casinos

hopefully if your brain is anything like

mine the principles here will help you

understand why your calendar or time

blocking hasn't worked in the past how

to approach your schedule and how to

sustainably make better use of your time

let's get straight into it the first

important thing for me to recognize was

what exactly Falls within a schedule and

this might sound completely obvious but

it is exactly where I kept going wrong

in the past because when I filled in my

calendar I used to focus on the work

that I needed to do I would separate it

into bits schedule it in have some

overview and plan and by only focusing

on the work I would completely ignore

any sort of nonwork activities and the

big problem with this is that psychology

states that both work and non-work

actually really affect one another and

the way that we combine and permutate

these two actually determines if we are

more likely or less likely to want to

work in the future let's go into a bit

of psychology here the actions that we

take after a behavior will act as a

reward for that behavior for example

when you are done reading writing

working or studying and you proceed to

rest sleep scroll on your phone watch

YouTube videos talk to someone eat cry

any of these actions will be seen by our

brain as a reward for the work that we

did the issue is the type timing and

frequency of these rewards will in the

long term either reinforce or weaken a

behavior making it therefore harder or

easier for us to get work done if this

sounds intense please bear with me a bit

longer because it will really start to

make sense there are four relevant types

of reward reinforcement schedules

everything that we do falls into one of

these SCH sches even if you don't have

any calendar or planning at all and

think you are just doing things randomly

that Randomness will be one of these

schedules and the reason this is

important is because some are better or

worse than others the first type is a

fixed interval reward this is where you

get a reward after a fixed interval of

time so for example if you put on a

pomodora timer to work or if you put on

a forest to work and you think I'm going

to stop working in half an hour or an

hour and then I can do whatever I want

the second type is fixed ratio this is

where we get a reward after a certain

number of tasks is done thinking for

example I'm going to write 800 words

right now or I'm going to do 50

questions next we have the variable

interval pattern this is where we get a

reward after a certain amount of time

that keeps changing and is undetermined

so for example when you stop working

when you feel that you've done enough

when you're too tired when someone else

tells you to stop this is similar to

winning in a video game when you don't

know when exactly you're actually going

to pass that level specifically lastly

there is the variable ratio pattern this

is where you get a reward after doing

doing a certain amount of work but that

amount changes all the time and you

don't know what it's going to be so this

is again thinking stopping work when you

feel that you've just learned enough or

when you have done enough for the day

this one is similar to playing a casino

where you keep doing actions but you

don't know after which action you will

get your reward now you might have

already noticed that the first two the

fixed ratio and the fixed interval type

are the ones that we tend to use the

most when it comes to scheduling because

it's easier to divide our work into

chunks and make sure that we've done

everything and to plan our day we say

that we have to do 50 questions a day

for the next 20 days to prepare for the

exam or that we have to study from 2:00

to 4:00 today and we tend to fix things

in this way they can be very attractive

or easier to plan and schedule in work

but the issue is they are a lot less

effective than the variable schedules in

making us motivated to complete the work

if you have a consistent hard start and

a hard stop for an action which is Then

followed up by a more pleasant activity

you are going to be less like likely to

want to do this work action in the

future and this is where my scheduling

always failed there is what I believe to

be a very simple solution that leverages

the same type of addiction psychology in

order to make the work itself more

interesting for us if we don't know when

the hard end of a task is and what comes

after it we're much more likely to want

to do that task again in the future but

how the hell do we plan in this way

before I continue with how to create

this calendar I'll talk about Sigma OS

the sponsor of the segment of the video

if you have these three things in common

with me one you need to wear various

different hats two you do a lot of work

on your computer three your environment

has a tragically large impact on how

successfully you work Sigma OS will

change your life it's nothing new that

you add to your routine or your work

it's an internet browser so it replaces

things like Safari and chrome and it is

very embarrassingly for them genuinely a

million times better I would never

thought that tiny changes could have

made such a huge difference in this

regard but in Sig having separate Works

spaces for everything you do so for me

that's like medical student YouTuber

writer business things procrastinator

means that every time that I go into one

of these spaces I'm in a different headp

space mindset and therefore much more

likely to successfully complete those

work there's no bookmarks but all

important Tabs are always locked and

open at your computer at all times I

have hundreds of open tabs but unlike

before there is absolutely no clutter

everything is so well organized renamed

and labeled it's

amazing the shortcuts for everything so

your computer becomes a literal

extension of your brain it even carries

all of the chem extensions like video

speed controller without which I'm not

going to lie this would have been a

complete deal breaker for me if you want

to see how I plan use and organize with

Sigma OS specifically they didn't ask

for this but I'm genuinely so passionate

about it I've made a whole video walking

you through my computer setup so you can

watch it if you want to see the unlisted

video linked below it's not a f but I do

have a link that will give you free

access to Sigma OS for you to see what I

am raving about genuinely I could not

recommend it more I cannot imagine going

back to Chrome after trying this so yeah

back to the main video to build this new

type of calendar you first need to audit

what your work task and reward tasks are

now the work tasks that we're

procrastinating on are a lot easier to

find I'm sure but the rewards are a bit

more difficult to identify there are

many different ways I reward myself I

have one a good work done reward so this

is what I do when I am done completing a

task and it can be things like being

allowed to scroll on my third

getting some food lying down playing a

game talking to my friends then I have

the second type which is the reward for

not doing work so this is what I do to

lower my anxiety basically what do I

procrastinate on when I'm not working

and this tends to be things like

watching random Youtube videos or

playing more games or just scrolling on

my phone or spending hours and hours

trying to find the perfect black T-shirt

online so there's those things to

complete this list you can add what is

the first thing that you tend to do in

the mornings and next what you do when

you are falling asleep especially if you

do things like Revenge bedtime

procrastinate so this shows you what

your attention likely wants to go to

when it feels that it has the less

guilty freedom to do it and lastly what

do you do to relax or calm yourself down

everything that falls into this category

of reward is really important because it

always tends to come after the work that

we need to do and very often tends to

compete with it this is very important

to identify especially if you have like

me an interest based nervous system

versus a importance-based nervous system

if you find it very easy to do the most

important thing next on your list maybe

just click off this video because

actually it's going to be completely

unhealthy or you might not even be here

in the first place but if you have an

interest based nervous system this means

that the things that you find rewarding

or interesting or that hold your

attention most in the moment are the

ones that you are going to be most

likely to want to do when interesting or

stimulating Things become much more

attractive than the important or

necessary ones this is a huge problem at

I'm going to talk later about the

importance of identifying managing and

producing stimulation but at the moment

it's very important and helpful to have

this audit of what your work and rewards

are and if you're embarrassed it's fine

so am I I'm working on it now hopefully

by this point an obvious realization is

while we tend to work on our strict

fixed schedules we tend to pay or reward

ourselves on variable schedules we don't

plan when we're going to scroll on our

phone we don't plan when we're going to

procrastinate and so we're making these

addictive behaviors lot more addictive

by the way that we do them while we're

making our work behaviors a lot less

interesting and more likely for us not

to want to do them by scheduling them in

strictly so how do we fix this and I'm

not going to recommend scheduling in our

scrolling and procrastination time don't

worry I'm going to recommend a new type

of time blocking which on paper looks

exactly the same but in practice makes

all the difference when it comes to

wanting to work the first one is When

approaching your calendar and scheduling

in a Time block for a task add as big

buffers as you can afford to the start

and the end of that task so do not have

a hard start time this is not a time

where you need to be working this is a

window of time where you have the

availability to work letting yourself

intuitively start when you feel like it

the second and this is why the buffer is

important do not have a hard stop or end

time to your task this of course

involves no Pomodoro and no Force if

those work for you and time blocking

it's absolutely fine but in this case I

would strongly recommend that you stop

working when you feel too tired or when

you feel that you've done or learned

enough 31 time blocking I fill in a

whole window and I don't backto back

different tasks or projects so project

switching takes a lot of mental energy

to go from one to another and I don't

like to do this because in the long term

it lowers my energy in the day overall

and I have to stop working sooner than I

would otherwise in this case if I feel

like switching a task would I to instead

is even take a tiny short break and

reconsider very often I find that I'm

wanting to forast inate rather than

actually genuinely being invested in

something else which is more important

the fourth is never to schedule in tasks

or things that you need to do

specifically into your calendar you

might do bigger projects in terms of

saying that you have studying to do

versus like YouTube or whatever but the

bagger and the broader that I leave this

the better I find that I end up working

I'm still recovering from having to

force my brain to do stuff all the all

the time I'm like really struggling with

that so at the moment I find it more

helpful to think intuitively on the spot

what do I think is the more reasonable

thing to do deciding on the spot also

means that I'm always working on a

brandom my schedule because I don't know

what to expect on that day I don't know

when I'm going to start when I'm going

to finish so it naturally builds

randomization into the task therefore

lowering the chances that I end up

resenting it in the long term the fifth

one is to learn and work with your body

clock for example if I have a day of

working from home I will usually not

schedule anything before 10: or 12

because I know that not being morning

person it's unlikely that I'm going to

do anything productive before usually

12:00 p.m. so when 12:00 comes I can

either think I've already failed at four

things I needed to do today or I can

think oh I could start working right now

so kind of being a bit more reasonable

and not too strict with how you know

that you work might be really helpful

after completing this calendar the most

important thing is actually what doesn't

get written down in the schedule and

this is the randomization of rewards

after a task in the previous step we

will have identified what we tend to do

when we finish a task for me it is

automatically always scrolling on my

phone or watching a YouTube video while

playing snake it has to be one of these

things and so now what I've done is I've

completely changed this I've created a

random selection of six activities and

I'll explain why I picked these

specifically later and instead of doing

my 100% guaranteed reward when I know

it's going to come which is phone scroll

YouTube what I do instead is get these

on a metal dice which has one on each

side and I roll the dice and I have to

do one of these actions this means that

I never know what my reward is going to

be so now I have an extra layer of

availability and Randomness in My

Rewards during the day the actions that

I have are journaling meditation

stretching walking calling a friend or

listening to music these tend to be

really really helpful activities

especially exercise if it's rigorous can

give you some extra Focus after it so

that tends to be a really energizing and

good reward activity now the reason I

picked these is because one of my

biggest pitfalls in the past used to be

having very high stimulation reward

activities and this is so so so bad

because going from an activity of high

stimulation to reward of high

stimulation to trying to force myself to

do an activity of high ation is so

exhausting and I run out of energy a lot

quicker throughout the day it's a newish

thing for me to consider but thinking of

and knowing how stimulating certain

activities are for me and taking this

into consideration will then mean that I

maintain higher levels of energy

throughout the day for example I find

public spaces very very stressful and

stimulating and even though listening to

Super energetic music or an audio book

is normally quite a stimulating activity

if I do it in public it then reduces my

overall stimulation if that makes sense

because it's it's more relaxing for me

to do that than to listen to this thing

on the other hand what I usually tend to

do is go from activities like listening

to a lecture to listening to another fun

YouTube video on two time of speed which

has basically the same levels of

stimulation and keeps me quite high and

easily very very very exhausted

throughout the day so in this case I

need to complement this with an activity

which is stimulating in a different way

or less stimulating overall ideally for

an action you want to pick out

complimentary rewards which will then

energize you more and make you more

likely to be happy and do more work the

reason I pick these activities on my

dice is because most of my work is quite

mentally stimulating but it's alone

quiet and physically very under

stimulating so I've picked things which

are on the other side of the spectrum

they tend to have noise or sound or

music or be quite like physically active

so that I can re-energize myself and

lower my mental stimulation they have B

sensory elements and one of them

involves other people which is nice

because most of my work at the moment is

completely alone having a combination of

set time blocked workable but not set

work hours into intuitive start and stop

times which we pick on the spot lot of

careful attention paid specifically to

what we do in between tasks and in what

ways and how stimulating they can be has

been the best way for me to maintain

higher energy and motivation throughout

my day not burnout and in the long term

want to work more with this video

specifically I do want to mention that

I'm very well aware of how limited the

user case is and the usefulness

potentially of this video is to people

with circumstances quite similar to me

if you work mostly outside of the house

as I used to do if you're a parent or a

carer or face different sorts of

challenges this videos might not be

helpful at all and in that case firstly

I apologize if you're here to hear this

and secondly if you would want to I

would really really appreciate if you

named some techniques that you use or

resources that you found helpful that

are more specific to you so that would

be great in the end I do want to say

don't be too harsh on yourself we all

are really just doing the best that we

can and I hope that this helps if you

made it so far thank you so much for

spending this time with me I hope you

have a wonderful rest of your day be

kind to yourself and others and don't

believe everything you think thanks bye