Social Media is Killing your Gains
And by this I mean both literally and figuratively, unfortunately.
I’m not gonna be one of those people that harps the negative repercussions of social media. I’m sure everyone has already heard an earful of that. I’m really just here to talk about my own experiences regarding it.
It’s funny because during med school, studying is basically your job. And unlike other jobs where you can sometimes get by by putting off or delaying a project, procrastination in med school could actually mean that your entire future could change. All that studying you did up until undergrad, all those research papers and extracurriculars you did, all those hours you spent, could end up being for nothing, or arguably worse, you end up in a specialty you hate.
Think about it like this, every day you’re studying, nonstop. Say that you decided to take a week off, that’s basically 40 hours of studying gone. Every test cycle essentially requires at LEAST a solid 160 hours of studying. 40 hours off that 160 means you only know 3/4ths of what you should know, and I’ll be honest, everyone clocks in that full 160 hours (times and test cycles are variable per med school, this example is purely a hypothetical). The average score of that test will be about anywhere between 60-80%, meaning you’ll get at least 25% below that which is a fail, which is a retake, which is time lost, which is possibly having to redo another year while your friends graduate. All from taking a week off. Crazy right? Yeah that’s how bad and fast paced things can be in med school, but that’s not usually how it plays out.
Unfortunately knowledge is compounding, just like most things (muscle mass, money, social skills) and it creates a snowball effect when you have more. It takes a while to get it started but once you get the momentum building, you’ll be ready for that test, full speed ahead. So what happens when while you’re rolling that snowball you stop to check your phone, maybe for 10 seconds, oh wait your best friend just posted something, 20 seconds. Oh wait now you have to reply to it, 30 seconds. Aw shoot someone responded to your comment so now you have to like it and respond back, 60 seconds. Ehhh, you know what I need a break anyways, lets just scroll for 5 minutes. Your alarm goes off, but you studied pretty hard so you deserve at least another 1-2 minutes, but now it’s 7 minutes so rounding up should be okay. 10 minutes. Sound familiar? Yep, story of my life. You’re not alone. The increments play out a little differently but everyone has probably experienced something similar.
The issue is that those minutes add up. Those 10 minutes become at least an hour throughout the day. That hour becomes 5 hours throughout the week. In 1 month that’s 20 hours, half of that 40 (yeah believe it or not, I can do math too). The worst part of it is, is that you felt like you were studying the whole time, so it shocks you when you see your mediocre score on the test. Over a period of months, those test scores determine the score you get on your board exam, because guess what, the habits you’ve been following this whole time stays with you while you study for boards too, so there’s no magical “lock in” period if I’m being honest. You have to change now. But how?
There are many ways, some people use the gray screen technique which works, but it’s disgusting and aesthetically unappealing, or you can just delete social media. Now before you stop reading, thinking that “oh man this guy is an anti social media freak”, no no no. I love social media, it’s great. It’s entertaining, and it helps you connect with people, and when using it correctly you can improve yourself. But when you do go through these lock in periods, it’s important to just not even take the risk of distraction for the minimal benefit of entertainment or “connection”. The entertainment and your friends will always be there and also who cares if you’re not up to date on the trendy cat meme of the month. If there’s a serious update with your friends or family, they’ll find a way to contact you directly don’t worry. Just remember that if you’re going through any sort of lock in period of time, whether that’s school, work, or exercise related - and this is coming from someone who has really struggled with it all - getting rid of the distraction and/or making it incredibly hard to access will be your ultimate aide in achieving whatever goals you’ve set for yourself.
