How do I balance school and study as a future nursing student?

Hello My-an!

I've never studied nursing, so I can't give direct advice on that : ) but I did get my study habits / work life balance skills ramped up quite a bit through Grad School. I've listed out some tips below that hopefully will help.

• Plot out your week, month, semester, whatever the furthest point out that you can is. One of the best tools I ever used in school was a Semester Calendar. Monthly calendars are great, but if you flip the calendar / get to the next calendar page on your phone and theres a big exam on the 1st, you might not be ready. A Semester Calendar lets you plot out 3 months to see what is coming and you can cross out each day as you go so you can feel accomplished moving through the academic calendar. If your school doesn't offer one, a quick Google Images search will show you what it is to create your own
• Learn your learning style. Are you a visual learner? Audio? Hands on? Whatever type of learner you are, seek out ways to practice and learn in that fashion. If you are a hands on learner, listening to audio in a lecture may not be enough. In my case, I found re-writing my notes from class a few hours later would help to reinforce what I had learned in class and would allow me to get that hands on experience.
• Schedule yourself break time. Work life balance is key. Grinding through a 8 hour study session may work for some people, but I preferred to do 2 hours on, and then break for an hour. Giving the mind rest and re-calibrating with your favorite hobbies can be a life saver.
• Find productive study groups. Finding the right group to study with can be difficult. My first year of undergrad, I studied with some friends and this was not very beneficial for me. They were very intelligent people, but it was too easy to get off topic. Instead I found working with folks from class that I didn't know very well helped me to stay accountable, and as the year went on, would help to grow my social circles as well. The biggest thing here is to be honest with yourself on the group. If you can study with friends, awesome! But knowing that you are getting pushed is a very real measure of success.