Things I'm doing to prepare for M2 - A Lifestyle Perspective

Hey friends,

I'm one week away from my first day as a second year medical student, and I have a lot of emotions about that. Excitement to get back to school (& actually know what to expect this time, unlike M1), anxiety about studying for STEP 1, ready to see my friends again, & jittery for our anatomy heavy block coming up, among other emotions. So I thought I would take this time to detail how I'm preparing to start my second year, from a lifestyle & wellbeing perspective. Meaning, I'm not gonna tell you "I'm studying like x,y,z this week to prep". Instead, it's gonna be "here's how I'm mentally preparing myself & my space for the rollercoaster I'm about to go on".

Step 1: Get organized. This week I intend to clean my house so I can start the school year fresh. On top of that, it's my plan to organize my study space so it's most comfortable for me to be productive. Currently, my bookshelves and desk are a mess. Organizing the space will allow me to have more mental clarity when I'm sitting down to study, instead of feeling overwhelmed at all the sporadic papers on my shelves.

Step 2: Meal prep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay. That number of exclamation marks may have been excessive. I hear you. But, I only did it because it is SO. HELPFUL. Physically, mentally, emotionally, meal prep makes me a better person. Let me explain.

Nutrition is such a vital part of your physical & mental well being. Being well nourished means you can function at your highest capacity, have sustained levels of energy, and have maximum endurance. All of which are things that help you succeed in medical school (and life). Whether it's challenging exams, long anatomy labs, or sitting at your desk for hours studying; sustaining your energy with the right foods is a key to success. On top of that, it helps prevent burnout, which is a big issue in the medical community.

Nutrition is unfortunately challenging to do when you're busy. It's not feasible to cook every meal every day. It's time consuming, dishes pile up, consuming your space & energy, and before you know it you've lost hours in the day. Meal prep has been my solution to eating the foods that sustain me & make me feel good, while also maximizing time.

I typically choose a time every week where I plan out all my meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and dessert options), grocery shop, and prep everything. If I'm making smoothies, I put all the fruits & veggies portioned into a container so in the morning I can dump it in my blender and go. For my after dinner sweet tooth, I'll have pre-made frozen smoothie popsicles in the freezer or washed strawberries at the ready. I'll have my lunches completely made & ready to eat, with my dinners prepped as much as reasonable (I may marinate meat & cook just that day of for example).

When I meal prep, I feel healthier (usually because I'm eating healthier, homemade food), meaning my energy levels feel more sustained throughout the day. It helps me focus better on school, and I get 'hangry' a lot less because I have food at the ready (instead of running out of time to grab lunch & ending up on campus starving all afternoon). I'm also mentally happier, less stressed, and my mood is generally better.

Step 3: Checking-in with academic counselors or coaches is a pretty important part of medical school, so it's my plan to meet with a coach this week & talk about my study plan for weekly content & STEP. We are lucky that my institution has tons of coaches at the ready to help us identify where we are struggling in our study techniques, & how we can improve in a way that works for us.

This year, I'm embarking on studying for STEP 1 like never before. Technically, you study for STEP 1 all of your first two years (because the content you cover for school is the content in STEP 1), but it's really in M2 that you start studying heavily. I want to start off the academic year with my best foot forward, and I know some professional guidance is going to help me do just that.

Step 4: Med school is really busy & overwhelming, so it's really important to be as time efficient as you can. For that reason, this week I'm going to go through my school schedule & using it to schedule my own time each day of the week. When I'm waking up, when I'm studying, when I'm working out or eating, etc. As well as setting goals for my study routine, & wellbeing. For example, how much STEP studying I want to complete in a given week & what exactly those milestones look like. How I want to approach studying for our content in med school, how often I want to workout & what exercise I want to do, what time I want to go to bed at night, etc. Doing this gives me a really concrete plan of what I want to achieve & how to achieve it. Making it one step easier to actually executing being a good med student & feeling balanced in life!

Step 5: Starting my exercise & sleep routines now (the week before), so I'm used to them (or more adjusted to them) during the first week. Once I've set the goal of how I want these routines to look, executing them now will only make the transition back to school easier. It's also important to set attainable goals for med school (meaning you're probably not gonna achieve Olympic levels of athletic-ness in med school, sorry to break it to you). Along with setting those goals, it's also important to set the boundary with yourself that its okay to change them if they aren't working for you. Your wellbeing is a fluctuating variable, so allow yourself to fluctuate with it.

For me, I'm thinking of setting step goals. Like, wanting to walking 10,000 steps a day 5 days a week. As well as maybe throwing in a cardio bike session on the weekend and some relaxing nighttime yoga. For sleep, it's my intention to not only set a 'go to bed' and 'wake up' time, but also a wind down routine. Sleep hygiene is super important (look it up friends), and a good sleep hygiene can really help you sustain energy levels through the day. So my sleep hygiene routine will be included in my sleep goal setting & practice this week leading up to M2.

Step 6: Small things: doing my routine doctors appointments, restocking/resetting my house (getting all the laundry put away, restocking soap & paper towels, etc), getting gas in the car, & other things like that. Getting all those small things done really makes a difference, because now it's one less errand you have to run mid week when you're exhausted after anatomy lab & need a nap. These little things are just another thing off your plate, and make transitions all the easier!

Step 7: Lastly, it's my goal to prioritize down-time this week. Personally, I'm transitioning from having my husband around helping me with all the house work, to not having him for a little bit. It's important for me to take care of myself & give myself patience during this time, because truly, I miss him. You should always give yourself the grace & understanding you give everyone else. On top of that, my downtime is about to really decrease once school starts - so I want to enjoy it while I can. In case you find yourself in this situation too - this is your sign to watch another episode on Netflix, take the bubble bath, have an extra long nap, or do whatever you need to do to enjoy your downtime while you have it.

This pretty much sums up my goals this week as I prepare for M2. I hope this was helpful for anyone embarking on a similar journey. I also hope this was a good reminder that a lot of preparation needs to come from taking care of yourself & your space, and not just working your booty off all the time.

Cheers to new chapters - may the odds be ever in your favor!

Sincerely,

Natasha LaGrega