Schedule for Droppers Living in Hostels and Attending Offline Classes

Hello future doctors. A timetable is the first step towards studying with discipline. As a NEET dropper, discipline is ten times more important than a fresher. There is less time, 2 years worth of syllabus to cover, more pressure and expectations, less relief. All in all, it is a very stressful time.

I believe that having a good timetable takes off a lot of pressure from your mind. It relieves the anxiety of the syllabus, gives some structure and direction to your work and makes staying disciplined much easier.

The problem with most of the time-tables available online is that they include only 4-5 hours of sleep, they do not include eating time or even time for necessities like taking a shower. As a hostelite or paying guest, we have just double the responsibilities as that of a student who stays at home. Thus, we also need to include some time for our daily chores. I have included all mentioned above and also included short breaks in long study sessions in this time table.

Let’s take a look at the time-table before talking about it in detail.

Important points to note about the timetable:

1. Time blocking: I do not expect you to follow the timetable minute by minute, I am just trying to make you understand that you must have a rough idea about your day’s work. In this timetable, I have included some early morning hours for revision, followed by offline classes, some review and relearning in the afternoon and question solving in the night.
   
   It is okay, if you do not work exactly according to my given times. If you eat later than 8, you can easily switch out a task for the allotted dinner time.
   
   The takeaway from the timetable should be an orientation of the number of work hours and how you’re going to delegate them.
   
2. Flexibility: Somedays, you will not be able to follow your modified time-table either. This can be due to unexpected events such as class exams, cousin’s wedding, family program, festivals, etc. You need to be able to work around the wasted time. If you know that you will be spending 4 hours on a family function tomorrow, work an hour extra for the next four days. 
   
   Cover up your backlog as soon as possible, do not let it pile up.

3. I used to go for offline classes too, and I know that it’s very difficult to get back in an hour and start studying. So, as you can see, I have kept a lot of buffer time after class. Usually, in good offline classes like those in Kota, there is not much material left to understand on your own. So, according to this timetable you have till 5:00 PM to settle down after class. This will also help you relax before you start studying.

4. Most important aspect is ‘question solving’. I’ve kept question-solving late in the evening to ensure that you feel fully refreshed from the morning tiredness till then. If you do not have a lot of homework, you can also use up that slot for question solving. Don’t skip revision.
   
5. You HAVE to be disciplined, there’s no choice here. You HAVE to work more than a fresher, you have to sleep less. Also, you will have to be even more disciplined than a NEET dropper that lives with their parents. You have to work to provide yourself with the basic necessities too. 
   
6. Make sure that you keep your space clean and tidy. I know how untidy hostel rooms can get. Keep your space clear, this will make your mind clear to work too.

What if you work better at night?

As I already said, you decide your working hours. I am only giving you an orientation of the type of work and how much of it is expected.

You can wake up 5 minutes before class, and put in an extra hour of studying the night before. Anything that works for you, there is no one way for success. Anyone who tells you that night owls cannot crack NEET are lying. Yes, waking early and sleeping early works better with your body’s natural rhythm but most of us are more productive at night.

But, most medicos pull all-nighters during exams. It is a common thing to do, don’t worry. The quality of the work hours is important, not the exact time when you are working

That’s all for this blog. I hope you have a better idea of an ideal a=yet realistic time-table now.

All the best, dear aspirant.