Staying motivated while preparing your applications
Applying for residency is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s normal to feel your motivation dip along the way. Between submitting your application, preparing for interviews, and juggling electives, many applicants struggle to stay focused and positive. The good news is there are simple, practical ways to stay motivated. In this post, we’ll share strategies to help you maintain a positive mindset and keep moving toward your next chapter in medicine.
Shift your mindset
Sometimes it’s easy to shift into a negative mindset. Some days, even the simplest task just feels too big—and big tasks can feel almost insurmountable. Some ways that you can shift your mindset are:
- Tap into your inner motivation
- Why are you doing this in the first place? Remember what you’ll gain from this journey. Remind yourself of how this step will help you reach your goal.
- Create a positive mantra
- Is there something you can repeat to yourself when you feel your motivation slipping to bring you back? You can use this to help you shift back into a more positive mindset.
- Celebrate the small wins
- Celebrating the small wins can help make the process more enjoyable and help you better see the progress you’re making.
Make the task more doable
Sometimes when presented with an important task, it’s hard to get started because it just seems too big. Making this process seem more doable can help you stay motivated to complete it. Some ways you can do this are:
- Tackle it early
- Starting early will help you reduce your stress during the application period knowing you have plenty of time to work on your application—and imagine the relief you’ll feel when you’re to submit your applications well ahead of the deadline.
- Break it into smaller tasks
- Breaking your big tasks down into smaller tasks can help you trick your brain into making the entire process feel more manageable.
- Take breaks
- Taking breaks is crucial. Burning out from working nonstop is going to make it a lot harder to finish. Take a walk, schedule in a workout or just take a day off to recharge. You’ll thank yourself later for it.
- Make restarting easy
- Help make restarting your task easier by leaving yourself a note on where you need to pick up when you come back to your applications.
- Just do it
- We all do it. We find ways to talk ourselves out of cleaning our homes, getting out of the house for a workout, or completing an important task (such as working on your application). Getting started can be the hardest part, but if you even just start with 10 minutes of work, you likely will find yourself doing more than that.
Stay accountable
- Having an accountability buddy can be very helpful to keeping you motivated. This can be someone who is also working on their application, or a loved one who is rooting for you. Sharing your goals can help keep you on track and motivated.
