The Study Game 👾

I came into this book with an open mind not expecting anything. After reading it, I can definitely say that I have a much stronger appreciation for how challenging the life of a doctor can be. The book did a great job at portraying the life of Paul who transitioned through many phases in life from student to doctor and eventually patient. An interesting aspect about Paul is that he was always striving towards a big goal for him and his wife; this is especially shown by his persistence to finish school and become a great neurosurgeon. I found Paul’s struggle with cancer the most moving. He goes into detail describing the mental and physical effects the disease had on his body which was really eye opening to read about firsthand. I was especially humbled when he was switched to chemotherapy and could no longer experience the tastes of certain foods and found himself vomiting more often. The book is a reminder to appreciate time spent with family too because Paul never had the chance to w...

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, begin! These are the countdowns towards probably one of the most profound moments in life pushing us to achieve our greatest goals. Lately, I've been listening to the audiobook for Mel Robbin's "The 5 Second Rule." I've also heard a couple famous Youtubers recommend this book and even Mel's famous motivational speeches were enough for me to check out this book. She's probably as motivating as Tony Robbinson, the moment you hear or read the body of this book you can immediately pick up how strong and confident Mel truly is. I recently wanted to try and apply some of the methodology behind the book by first pushing myself to start by beating my alarm clock. Let me elaborate, in the book, Mel describes one of the biggest reasons for her failures towards success starting out was always hitting the snooze button on her alarm and going back to bed beginning a sleep cycle. For me, I personally don't hit the snooze and just enter another sleep c...

Lately, life has felt like a constant search for trying to find hope in everything. Looking at the news and social media can easily place me in a hopeless mood. It seems like every day the corona virus outbreaks are getting worse. People in the community are uncomfortable being near one another and are forcing themselves to find reasons to stay home and quarantine. I find myself reminiscing on times when life was normal, and we had no reason to wear face masks. I have not seen my family in almost a year now. Online communication and video calls don’t bring about the same type of connection that physical presence and touch has in life. Even if it may take a long time for things to return to normal, I have chosen to see the hope in this situation and take time to appreciate nature and the fragility of this life. During these times, there truly is no point in dwelling on the negative because it is literally everywhere now.

Recently, I started testing out a new study method now that we're all stuck at home for online classes I've started looking into the study art of writing out material and slides during study periods. Normally, I would just stick to using flashcards but since its a new semester and probably the last semester of taking regular classes for me before graduation I thought I'd give this method a try and see if I benefit from it, gain new insights, and improve my exam grades. Here is how I'm implementing this method: Plan : Obviously, during the writing sessions I'll eventually grow disengaged with the material so I plan on throwing on something interesting in the background such as music, podcast, or audiobook to keep myself engaged. Quantify:  During study sessions, I will be using Pomodoro timers to keep account of how much hours I'm logging into this practice and reward myself accordingly. Knowing how much hours to dedicate to this practice is essential so I plan o...

 Lately, I've been listening to the audiobook for "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle and it has absolutely been addressing majority of mine and probably also mainstream society's fears and worries. The reason why we become anxious or uncomfortable is because our mind is outside of the now. Our minds aren't focused on accepting who we are and where we are right now and that is what is truly holding us back from becoming great. One night, I couldn't sleep and decided to throw on this audiobook and soon realized the reason I couldn't sleep was because I was anxious about the future, specifically anxious about online classes and online exams this school year. I didn't quite get comfortable with the fact that these things are outside of my control and sphere of influence. If we try to control and change the future without identifying and recognizing our state in the present we cannot produce valuable change. It is in the recognition of ourself and our curr...

 Welcome back to this life of a graduate student blog. Today, I just finished climbing one of the heaviest and deadliest metaphorical mountains that is my email inbox. Since school started literally today, I've been fighting to stay on top of my work and also trying to make time for myself. My mind is still in summer vacation mode it seems and is more willing to take numerous breaks or lying hours than focus on looming over imminent exams. As these school hours have begun, I realized I become jealous very easily of my classmates. It seems like everyone else is on top of things and has it all together in school making me feel like a complete wasteman despite my continuous efforts to stay on top of my work. The school year, they say, is when we drop a lot of our free time and hobbies. However, I beg to differ. I prioritize my health this semester. This is my last school year of regular didactic work so I'm hoping to make this the most productive and rejuvenating of them all. A fi...

 Today, I'm trying something new utilizing my hearing to try out audiobooks to see if it helps me to work on my productivity. Lately, I noticed that listening to audiobooks is a trending aspect online for learning. Books are full of large amounts of knowledge so easily available to us. I wanted to give it a try and surprisingly it did not turn out as well as I had expected. Usually, when I listen to voice audio such as a podcast I'm very much engaged, however, I found it a bit difficult to stay focused for certain audiobooks. Maybe this takes getting used to so I will update with any new insights I discover in the near future. Today, I tried out an audiobook and found myself asleep in my bed. I'm going to try and experiment with listening to audiobooks outside of my bedroom in the near future. I do see the appeal. These books full of vast knowledge are now being consumed using a different sense which is sound. I did experience the benefits of being to multitask and found my...

 With all of the changes that have been going on with COVID-19, many are returning to classes this school year socially distant from home but that doesn't mean we can't do it in style or in the most fun way possible! One of the difficult parts about in-person classes is driving or commuting long distances to your school location. Online classes removes this time barrier giving students more time for just about anything whether it be preparing for a class or logging more hours of sleep. This is definitely time to be taken advantage of. Although many of us enjoy face to face interaction, not many of us are essentially tech savy, so being able to master establishing online connections and communicating our ideas clearly through text is a skill in itself. A skill that many can master in the course of one year. Taking breaks would probably be one of the biggest benefits of online classes. Feeling overwhelmed in lecture? Take a breather, use the bathroom, have a snack, and immediatel...

 Hello there social butterflies! You probably already know this but one of the best parts about sharing this blog is being somewhat social with others to share some thoughts and weekly conundrums that come about during my day. Today, I recently volunteered for an event and had no idea who would be there. The event was for COVID-19 screenings and healthcare workers needed volunteers to facilitate people to maintain social distancing while keeping a low crowd size.  I came to the event not thinking of needing to be social at all and to my surprise I found out some old friends were working the same shift as me and some slight acquaintances. After engaging in some small talk, I immediately found myself getting more comfortable working with everyone. I noticed during these times of quarantine the thing most introverts need the most is some social activities to keep our hearts floating and energetic. It was an 8 hour long shift so I found it surprising that having conversations abou...

 Lately, I've been trying to learn how to enjoy doing more difficult and challenging activities specifically in the realm of studying difficult material such as medicine and chemistry. My level of focus for studying this material I find very difficult to keep up with. However, lately I've been trying this new technique of "sandwiching" my difficult tasks between my more enjoyable and chill tasks.  The problem with difficult tasks is that it can feel like there's just too much resistance to actually start studying material so I've found that starting off with a task that you enjoy or you find productive then do that first because it has a low barrier to resistance and immediately after you can transition to your difficult topic with a more positive mindset and level of energy. Plus, you will slightly grow an ability to switch between tasks. Another benefit is that you have something to look forward to after your study session because you'll have the opportu...

 The mind can be a very fragile instrument. It can take us to amazing places in life or hold us back from reaching our truest potential. With all these in account, it's important to recognize that there is such thing as too much stimulation. If you own a computer, you know what I mean. Consistent emails barging their way into your day or ads appearing on the worst of times. It's safe to say in this feast of digital consumption before us there is such thing as overstuffing ourselves. Well, I've had my last piece of pie and realized that the modern age can be too much especially with the large amount of madness on the news these days. It makes life look like the end of times so as a result I said, "nope, I'm taking a break." Similar to everyone, I spend a large amount of time on my devices and realize that if I spend too much of my time making decisions such as what I'm going to where or eat today my mind fogs up and it wants to take the default/cop out opti...

 As a new nightly ritual, I've built a habit of journaling and noticed one mistake that has slipped my fingertips literally every single day and that's sleeping on time. I realized that on my most productive days I still found this becoming an issue where I fall behind on my sleep. Especially during the school year, I find myself making even less time for much needed snoozing. So how does one win the endless battle for sleep? For me, although I've noticed that I couldn't completely to commit to long hours of sleep because as an adult it seems that there's still so much to do that it makes sleeping just not feel like a less attractive option. The benefits of sleeping more include improved focus, health, and mood. All of these are of course important in modern life but the sweet spot is knowing when to hit the snooze button and getting our bodies immediately in the snooze mode. Recently, I set alarms on my phone telling me to downshift or prep for bed by 10:30pm meani...

 As difficult as this may sound, the reality is that not everyone is going to like you or the things you post and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Humans are extremely diverse with varying interests and mood levels. All of these things we have zero control over, therefore, it would only sound right not to overthink the many things we see on social media if we aren't hitting the same number of likes we would usually receive on a post. In the grand scheme of things, the number of likes you get is about equivalent to a bag of candy you purchase at your local gas station. You work hard to earn your money sacrificing your time and effort to purchase some candy you want and it feels great at the moment to treat yourself, however, that feeling doesn't last long and you eventually find yourself craving more of the candy. In a similar way, the number of likes we receive on anything provides the same dopamine rush. We see many people like our post so we are excited and rush t...

 Despite, all the amazing benefits music has in our lives we must also remember that there is such thing as too much music. Listening to large volumes of music for more than even 30 minutes may be bad for productivity. Tonight, I fell off schedule pacing around listening to great music losing track of time. I believe the biggest problem here is inaction if we only listen and never act we won't be able to produce anything special with the good feelings. Some of the best works I've seen or heard was inspired by music at one point so it's important to know how important it is and how to balance how much of it we consume. Sometimes, music can be used to kill time but do we really need that much constant stimulation? Recently, I listened to a TED-Talk on how silence is in itself, music. That's right, literally the sound of listening to nothing is still music because the researchers discovered that there will always be a sound no matter where we are. So if we know that we hav...

 I have definitely tried meditation in the past and gave up on it due to lack of commitment devices in my life or friends who were interested in doing it with me. Recently, I've discovered the app Vibely due to an email recommendation from famous Youtuber Lavendaire, who I've been following for quite some time now. To my surprise, I found a community of people on the app just like me who are searching for peace and I really am surprised of the safe space these content creators have made for people to share their lives with others. In terms of meditation, I took up one of the challenges on the app to do a 10 Day Meditation Challenge. I'm currently 2 days short but that's totally fine with me. I began by listening to a guided meditation video that Aileen (Lavendaire) posted on Youtube. I followed the prompts and sat in a criss cross position on my floor and to my surprise I felt clear and at peace. In fact, I felt like I had entered the spirit world. I'm a fairly reli...

Need to be honest. This has probably been the most difficult part of the summer which is actually thinking about school when school is over. Not many would enjoy the idea of research and memorization during the summer. However, I decided to not view it with such a negative lens and instead view it as just skim reading a boring book. The mindset to jump into this with is to just know that you are getting exposure to information rather than completely memorizing a large volume of it in one sitting. That's honestly how I view a lot of the studying we do for tests and exams during the school year which is literally forcing down large volumes of information into our brains. I would say it's similar to being forced to eat mystery food that your parents force you to eat even though you don't know what it is exactly. In the end, depleting you of motivation and willpower to actually enjoy the food. No, to actually enjoy the food you need to actually answer important questions about ...

 I came into this book with an open mind and was actually had it assigned to read for one of my classes. After finishing the book, I realized just how hardworking and difficult the life of a doctor can truly be. The book is a memoir for Paul. Besides being a doctor, he is a great man and eventually a great husband and father. Reading about his upbringing brought to mind the importance of experiences and upbringing. A person's family and environment truly do play a large role in a person's career choice and mentality. Paul worked hard to become a great doctor and pay off as much of medical school as possible. I didn't read much about student loans or debt, but I'm assuming these were all implied to come with the territory. I admired his persistence to finish school and become a great neurosurgeon. He was always striving towards a big goal for him and his wife to become better.  The biggest fears were soon realized with cancer. No one really sees it coming and it truly is...

 A problem I've been struggling with lately is falling into the same trap of constantly making the same mistakes over and over again without failure of trying to change up my tactics. Doing this has definitely brought me a lot of dissatisfaction in all honesty as well as humbleness by consistently failing. Since it is summer, I found myself posting on social media a lot mainly the art I've been creating on Instagram and Deviantart. A lot of people on Deviantart seem to enjoy my art, however, on my personal Instagram I have a bad habit of taking the number of likes I get too seriously so I parted ways with my previous bad habits and do the exact opposite by not using Instagram. The result, I could not have imagined how useful I was able to use that time to exercise, brainstorm, spend time with friends, make plans with friends, set up an art commission, and just be in an overall good mood.  I originally got this idea of opposites from listening to a self-development podcast wher...

Here is a fun video project I was able to work on this summer using my favorite KND character Numbuh 4!

 Personally, I didn't care much about K-pop 2 years ago. I didn't really care much about the dancing, music, or stunning Korean performers at the time. I just saw it similar to anime soundtracks where it all just sounded like random gibberish in my ears. As college went on, I noticed a lot of my classmates were female at the time and obsessed with this kind of music. Especially the boy group: BTS, they seemed to pop off every time someone brought up the subject of K-pop. My curiosity eventually grew and I remember asking my brother's girlfriend one night how someone can actually learn to like or listen to K-pop because I wanted to be as interested as my friends were at the time. I wanted to experience for myself what this genre of music had to offer to the world. What advice did she give me in the end? Simple. She told me to just have the music running in the background while I was doing something as simple as studying. I gave it a shot. I have never turned back since. My j...

As summer and quarantine is allowing us all to take sometime to stay home longer and spend time with friends and family. I realized it can sometimes feel challenging to make time to stay focused on our goals and academic pursuits so I wanted to give you guys some helpful tips I've been incorporating to push through these challenging moments. My mornings would usually start off by ensuring I get at least 7-8 hrs of sleep minimum because during the regular months I would find myself getting a lot less during regular school or work hours so it's important to take this time to recharge to give you the mental energy to tackle your biggest tasks for the day. My biggest keystone move after waking up is already having planned out what my biggest task for the day will be and how I plan on tackling that. I make this my first move after taking care of usual maintenance activities such as hygiene, skin care, and hydration. All of these will ensure you immediately hit the ground running fro...

Lately, I've been reading the book "The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg where I've been studying a lot about Keystone Habits but most importantly for this post, willpower. Based on multiple studies conducted, it seems as though willpower can allow us to take on the most difficult of tasks while keeping our emotions and feelings in check. In the job market, I believe this skill is absolutely essential in order to find success in your career. Reading about this brought to mind an important question to me; how does one increase their willpower to get through the day. To make this even more applicable to quarantine, the art of increasing willpower is even more accessible because it literally is this idea of finding comfort or in a sense, "treating yourself first" before taking on the big task. Treating yourself includes taking care of your immediate health needs such as food, water, hygiene, dressing up, making your bed. All of these small things and then rewa...

These days it feels like one of the most important people in our lives is truly ourselves. With all the social distancing that's been going on lately it can feel difficult at times to recognize just how important the way we talk to ourselves on the inside can affect the rest of our day but in all honesty it truly does affect it. Last night, I didn't want to be around anyone. I wasn't having that great of a day as I liked and spent the whole day moving from one home to the next. If you've ever moved before, you would know just how mentally and physically exhausting that can be. I knew it was time to call it a day because when night came I found myself saying a lot of negative words to myself that don't align with how I view myself personally as an overall productive and hard working individual. To combat these negative moments I have listed some ideas below that have helped me get over these difficult times. 1. Get Sleep: This may seem like a no brainer but when you...

One night, I found myself pondering whether I had been making the right choices in life. There I was wandering the library close to after hours searching for answers to my problems hoping the answer would pop up in front of me. I soon realized the answer had been staring at me in the face all along. The key was to examine who is around me on a day to day basis and ask myself, does this person align with my goals and values? Obviously no one can match your goals and values 100% so it's important to take note of who is meeting at least partial of them and if you believe that they are still pushing you more towards your goals rather than holding you back. For me, I examined the people around me and asked myself how these people I've been surrounding myself daily with have been literally supporting me unconditionally and how they would also accept me for who I am. Are you comfortable around the people in your life? Many of us force relationships upon ourself that can honestly be to...

Lately, I've been reading the book "The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhig and have learned about the importance of building what the book calls a "Keystone Habit." In other words, the one change that is made to your routines that will instantly double your level of productivity once modified. For me, this has been not finding time to go to bed on time at night. Yes, even adults struggle with this issue too. My goal with applying this concept is to see what making one change to my routine can have on the rest of my daily routine for at least 1 week. Here are my methods and results: My first step to begin applying this was to identify what has been causing me to sleep late and what were some of the detrimental effects that sleeping late has had on my body. Another important area to look at was logging my nightly habits at night, each step so that I would be able to eliminate bad habits ruthlessly. Once I finished this step, next, I had to get clear with the concret...