Pomodoro

I've upgraded my Windows 8 to 8.1 and had to re-install and readjust many things on the PC. Took about 2 hours of work but I'm glad I upgraded! I really like the little things they've done with the OS. Anyway, I took it upon myself to fix my up study location to be geared more for studying than before.

• I re-positioned the monitors so that they are both facing me
• I started using the Pomodoro app more now and the results have been fantastic.

It's nice to have a little app on the side of your screen telling you to focus for 25 minutes; it's almost as good as having someone nearby you cheering you on and telling you not to give up. I've used it for 5 sessions today and have made some decent progress in my notes for Kaplan Step 1. I would like to continue this trend of solid work  and get better at working faster!

I've also realized something about Medical School. It's not really about memorizing EVERYTHING that you've learned in the years you've been here; it's more of knowing everything you need to know for a test and let it show as proof that you learnt it, at least for that exam. People are going to forget a lot of what they know I suppose, unless they have an established method of keeping most of it in long-term memory. 

Maybe that's it.

Maybe it takes a lot more dedication to put things into long term memory and, in turn, those people do the best. They review yesterdays notes, make notes for today, review notes from last week, review their new notes, make more notes, etc.

Reviewing puts things into long term memory, as well as making new notes of stuff you've already made notes for but putting it into a different format. Like, making concept maps on notes that you've made in the past already.

That's brilliant! I'll have to keep this in mind.

V

Insomnia

I haven't been able to sleep lately. I've become the prisoner of my own fear. I will overcome, I must.

V

Study realization

Ok.

I've been getting better at reading medical books. What's most important that I've learned, though, is HOW to take notes from books.

I tried reading the book first and then writing notes later after I re-read it ("review it"[with Dubin's]) and that was alright.

Next with a much denser book (Robbins pathology) reading it once through and writing notes on it is a pain.

For these types of books (and there are a lot of them), I will write notes as I go along. As I read and finish a paragraph, I will highlight/underline the important aspects of that paragraph and then write notes on it. This way, I don't have to read the book again and I will have a quick review of the text.

This will probably make reading a lot slower, but it will make me pay attention to the text a lot more.

Let's see if this works. I'm sleepy, need to sleep.

V

Wednesday Night - 10/2/2013

Tomorrow I need to: [Red means do at home]

1. Pay rent
2. Send e-mail to Jose about the payment
3. Get checks from Wells Fargo
4. See if I can get a bank account that DOESN'T have a $300 minimum balance
5. Capture one area in Lab.
6. Complete Capstone form
7. Cut 50 Note cards in half using the cutter on the 4th floor of AHC2
8. Turn in two more contest entries for the headphones
9. Email BeHip girl to see if we can change the meeting time for Friday
10. Write notes based on the first lesson in Kaplan Step 1 high yield thing. The next day, go through the next lesson and then immediately review and write notes on it.
1. Then review the notes you made for the first lesson
11. Drill 5 more katakana
12. Drill 5 Kanji and make notecards for them
1. Will be more clear on what to actually write on the notecards later.
13. Perform the first work out for freeletics
14. Run around the school
15. Make note cards for the following and have it categorized under "Japanese the Manga Way: Intro"
1. Include: 
1. Front:
1. Word in Japanese (Kana and/or Kanji)
2. Back:
1. Definition
2. Non-past version and leave space for Past version
16. Read Lesson 1 for "Japanese the Manga way"
1. Make note cards for the following and have it categorized under, "Japanese the Mange Way: Lesson 1"
1. Include:
1. Front:
1. Word in Japanese (Kana and/or Kanji
2. Back:
1. Definition
2. Non-past version and leave space for Past version
2. Write in composition notebook about lessons and concepts that are important for that chapter.
17. See if you can't finish reading Dubin's today. If you don't have time, just do the 20 pages.
1. If you do finish it today, the next day start reviewing the book and writing note cards and a written note companion for the book.
1. Maybe each day, write for one chapter (There are 10 chapters)
2. Summary pages can be useful for this!
2. If you finish reading Dubin's today, start reading Goljan pathology the next day!

Schedule:

• Wake up at 6 am - Take your pill
• Get ready for the day, eat breakfast. Prepare some food (protein shake, coffee, salad) since it will be a semi-long day at school. DON'T WASTE TIME WITH VIDEOS IN THE MORNING
• At lab today, you're going to be watching something anyway. Watch a ghibli film while you capture.
• Get to lab by 8 (leave the house by 7:30 am), capture an area while watching totoro or something.
• Also, print out the capstone form from the lab printer.
• Get bike and head to the gym, change, then run around the school. If you're not too tired from the run, do the freeletics workout on the second floor of the gym.
• Shower and change then head to Wells Fargo to:
• Withdraw money
• Ask about checks
• Ask about a change in the minimum balance
• Head to GC to turn in those two entry forms.
• Go to the 4th floor of AHC2 and cut out the 50 notecards.
• At this point, it should be about 2 pm. Try not to take longer than this.
• Pay rent.
• At this point, either head on back home to do the rest or first go to a Starbucks or someplace nice to read the rest of Dubin's. The rest you can do at home :)

At home:

• Set a time limit for each of the things you want to do at home. This way, you can be more efficient and MAYBE fit everything in to one day!

V

Tuesday - October 1st

I downloaded this color relaxing app on my tablet. It makes for good meditation; oddly enough in the bathroom where light can reflect easily in the dark. Anywho, I figured out what I wanted to do while I was contemplating in there. Sounds weird but it worked.

Things I want to do today:

1. Do Introduction of Japanese the Manga Way
1. Write notes on the important things for the introduction.
1. Make note cards for the following and have it categorized under "Japanese the Manga Way: Intro"
1. Vocabulary
1. Include: 
1. Front:
1. Word in Japanese (Kana and/or Kanji)
2. Back:
1. Definition
2. Non-past version and leave space for Past version
2. Write in Composition Notebook lessons and concepts that are important/pertinent.
2. Read 20 pages of Dubin's
3. Run with the Running Club Canceled
4. Do the first workout for Freeletics Strength
1. Perform one max exercise to see where you stand Couldn't do it. Will try harder next time.
5. Capture one area in lab
6. Download ringtones and customize sounds for tablet
1. Ideas:
1. TF2
1. Sounds/OST
2. Attack on Titan
1. XL-TT
2. Opening 1
3. Earthbound
1. Saturn Valley
2. Pokey's Pokeys
3. Theme of Bad Boy
4. Porky Means Business
4. Starcraft 2
1. Sounds
5. Inception
1. BWAHHHH
6. Portal
1. Sounds/OST
7. Meal planning for the week.
8. Write Annum update for DCMA meeting.
9. E-mail Allison about the numbers after your crunched them (with what you have analyzed)
10. Car maintenance while the car is cold
11. Car maintenance while the car is hot
1. Transmission fluid and Tire pressure
12. Turn in contest slip at GC
13. Install Rosetta Stone on PC Downloading a new version
14. Get Dragon working on the PC
15. Contact people for LOA return
16. Do laundry and put it away
17. Wash dishes
18. Apple lawsuit thing
19. Install Windows 8.1 after installing new rosetta stone
20. Fill out Capstone paper work
21. Take out songs you don't like in your phone
22. Make a smart playlist for your phone that will exclude the goljan audio.
23. Write out values for your tablet lock screen
24. Use the paper cutter on the 4th floor at school to cut about 25 note cards in half.

So I've completed a good majority of things on this list. For tomorrow, I'd like to get to school by 9 am and do the following:

- Go to lab and do that area

- Car maintenance while it's hot

- Turn in contest slip in GC

- Freeletics work out then gym later?

Then come home and do the rest.