67 - Focusing on the things

Tips for improving focus

The medic life is one of constantly having to prove yourself. One of the ways by which we do this is by taking assessments and exams. As a trainee in my chosen speciality, I have to sit (and pass) two exams to qualify for my Certificate of Completion of Training. The first of these two exams is now exactly 29 days away.

As my exam date draws closer, I’ve had to practice a lot of my preaching even more and I thought I’d share some of the things that have been helpful lately.

• Saying no to things - As the days are getting longer, the invites to things have also been rolling in. I’ve found myself having to turn down a number of invites that I would ordinarily have loved to accept. I’ve had a few “it’s not one day that will make you fail your exam” conversations. However, I’m the one who had to pay a non-refundable four hundred and seventy Great British Pounds for this exam so I’d rather not take that chance.

• Starting small and remaining consistent - I started studying for this exam in November last year by doing a minimum number of questions every day.

  Every. Single. Day.

  The fact that I started with a very low bar, doing only a handful of revision questions daily, made it possible to maintain my momentum. Plus, if you’ve been reading this long enough, you know how much I love to maintain an unbroken streak.

  This has helped me tremendously because I have now managed to review almost every topic in the very extensive curriculum at least once, even if not in great detail. The consistency has also helped with improving my knowledge retention and consolidation.

  I have since ramped things up as the exam draws closer, but I am not as overwhelmed as I’d have been if I had started preparing any later or with less consistency.

• Optimizing my environment and minimising distractions - As part of my efforts to improve my focus, I’ve had to have some serious conversations with myself about my mobile phone dependence. As a result, I’ve implemented a few changes including turning off all notifications on my Apple watch except for phone calls; leaving my phone and laptop outside of my bedroom; employing Alexa to do the things I used to tell myself I needed my phone for, such as setting alarms and telling the time. I’ve also logged out of my main Twitter account and should probably do the same for Instagram but I still need some entertainment so I’ll hang on to that for now.

• Maintaining balance by relying on established systems - As a seasoned exam taker, I am well aware of how easy and draining it is to lose yourself in exam preparation. Thankfully, I have many established routines that have helped me to maintain a healthy balance. As a result, I am still able to do all my usual things, including writing this newsletter. I am also not compromising my sleep in the process by pulling all-nighters because I still have a full-time job after all.

• Using accountability partners/finding community - Although I usually prefer to do most things alone, I have recently joined a couple of study groups with other colleagues who are preparing for the same exam and this has been surprisingly helpful. I am able to learn things that I haven’t covered myself and the discussions help to improve my knowledge retention. It is also nice to have friends check in when they don’t see you logged on for the study session. Or remind you to complete your exam registration by booking a test center.

Overall, I am feeling quite positive about my upcoming exam. I’m doing my best not to put too much pressure on myself. I like to think that I am not afraid of failing because it wouldn’t be the end of the world, but I also know I would be very upset if I have to spend another FOUR HUNDRED AND SEVENTY GREAT BRITISH POUNDS to retake the exam, so I had better pass.

Wish me luck. And good success.

This week I read

Sex Cult Nun by Faith Jones. This one was recommended by my friends at twonightstands - my favourite book review blog. Many words come to mind to describe this book but the main one for me is - Wild. The book is a woman’s account of her life in a religious cult started by her grandfather - a perverted sexual deviant.

She started the story as a child who was born into this cult, to an adult who left and found healing. It was in parts harrowing but also hopeful. Important trigger warning that there is a lot of child sexual abuse casually interspersed throughout the whole book. I kept thinking all of it couldn’t be true but I have since done a quick internet dive which corroborates everything mentioned in the book.

I felt a great sense of pride in the author at the end of the book. I have more thoughts than I can articulate about this book and I think that is also a testament to how well it was written.

This week I listened to

Episode #35 of TKP podcast. This one was with Robert Greene, author of the famous 48 Laws of Power. He shared some insight into his writing process and I was intrigued enough to consider reading his famous book. Until I found out the audiobook is 23 hours long. Still, he shared some very actionable insights and I think this is an episode I’ll definitely come back to.

Spring has finally sprung, even though the current temperature doesn’t feel very springy. I am thankful for the longer days and look forward to wearing less and hopefully going out more (once I get this exam out of the way).

I hope life is being kind to you in your own corner of the world. Here’s wishing you a week of focusing on the important things.

Chioma.

P.S: I know I said something up there about balance and systems and still being able to produce this newsletter. However, if you don’t see me in your inbox in the next couple of weeks, blame my exam.