Like placing a central line, the setup is everything. Once you’ve created a reading habit, it will be easier to read everyday than to skip this behavior. In addition, since I am unlikely to stop reading after only five minutes, I will probably have exceeded my goal of 150 minutes per month and be well ahead of my peers who are still watching a Real Housewives marathon. After four weeks of daily reading, I will have established this behavior as a habit. This is a much more manageable goal, and I will feel good about being able to achieve it. Instead of telling myself that I will read for one hour everyday, which is an unrealistic and intimidating goal for most people, then I will set a goal to read for five minutes every day (a total of 150 minutes per month). Let’s say I want to create a daily reading habit to stay up-to-date on Internal Medicine.
I utilize micro-habits whenever I am trying to change or adopt a behavior. Most people overestimate the amount of exercise (or reading) that they need to get and stay in shape. There is a minimum effective dose to achieve and maintain results. Most of what I’ll share with you below are things that I figured out during the course of my medical education, things that I wish someone had told me along the way. you prefer to read and highlight print journals and textbooks), then don’t fret because I have some suggestions for you too. If you’re more of a classics nerd like me (i.e. We live in an age where most people can’t keep their eyes off their iPhone (even while driving), so why do people say they are too busy for studying and continuing medical education? I say it’s time to either put down your phone or put it to good use, and I’m here to teach you how.
Most people make the mistake of setting their expectations too high, which leads to procrastination, inaction and probably binge watching a Property Brothers marathon (or even worse, any show on Bravo). Studying and keeping up with the literature is not that hard and you shouldn’t be afraid to do it.