August Goals

Hi guys!
I know we're already 10 days into August, but I'm feeling pretty refreshed and motivated after my two weeks of holiday, so I  thought I'd share a few of my goals for the next few weeks. I've struggled a lot this year with setting my goals a bit too high and feeling deflated when I never reach them, so this month I'm trying really hard to start smaller and slowly build up some productive habits in my life.

Study:
One Hour Of Study Per Day- I spend the majority of my days at placement, so it can be hard to fit in the time and find the energy to study whenever I get home. I've found through trial and error that doing one solid hour of study can be infinitely more useful than trying to study and procrastinating away my time for 6 hours. Setting myself the goal of one hour of study seems to hit that sweet spot where it feels manageable enough that I can sit down and smash it out without getting too distracted or overwhelmed.  As exams draw closer, I hope to increase this to two hour-long sessions through the day, but for now I'm just focussing on forming that habit of one hour a day.

Good Habits- This is my theme for the whole month throughout all my goals really! I'm currently almost finished reading The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod, and although I'm not sure I'll be taking up all the recommendations right now, the book has definitely reminded me of the importance of having daily habits that will help you to achieve your goals.

Health:
3 x Exercise Sessions Per Week- I know 3 sessions might not sound like that much, but I'm the absolute queen of setting my goals and then doing nothing because I feel totally overwhelmed. This month is all about trying to get some consistency in achieving my goals, and once I have that down I can increase the amount of sessions I aim for. I went to my first 6AM gym class this week and really enjoyed, it made me feel super energised and happy for the day afterwards, so I'm definitely planning on trying to do more early exercise sessions over the next few weeks!

Stress Less- I mentioned in my last post that I've been struggling a bit more than usual with stress over the last little while, and with just 3 months to go until my final med school exams, it seems a pretty important time to get on top of my stress management strategies. I'm an organisation fanatic, so that always helps to control my stress levels, but I always need to remind myself to take the step from planning my study to actually doing it! Breaking my tasks down into chunks until they feel manageable and sticking to a routine really helps me to be at my most productive. Exercise also really helps keep the panic at bay, so I'm hoping to prioritise those 3 exercise sessions I mentioned above.

Life:
Save More Money- I've got so many things coming up to save for! At the start of next year I'll be going to both India and New Zealand for my elective placements, and I would absolutely love to have a decent camera to take with me for those trips. I also obviously want to save for the trips themselves, so I've set myself a target that I'm hoping to meet before I head overseas. 

Stay Positive- As I've just mentioned, I have so many good things to look forward to in my life! The next three months will be tough, but after that I'll officially be a final year med student and be off travelling and exploring new places for most of the next year. It's very easy to develop tunnel vision and feel like my entire life is just study and difficulty, but the good times are coming and it's important to stay hopeful and keep myself working towards that!

So, those are my main goals for August. Do you have any similar goals? What helpful habits are you trying to develop?
Sending all the positive goal-kicking vibes to you all!
Kate x