Happy New Year! My hope is that all of you have an amazing 2016 filled with love, happiness, adventure, and unforgettable moments. If you’re anything like me, you see the start of the new year as a moment to reflect, grow, and become a better person. I love making (keeping few, breaking some) resolutions. I make resolutions at the top of the year (which I reevaluate at the start of each month), prior to the start of Lent, and on my birthday.

As some of you faithful readers probably would have guessed, I have a system for making resolutions. I start with five categories — academics, personal health, faith, passion projects, and relationships — and make 1-2 goals per category. In short, these resolutions push me toward finding more balance in my life.

I doubt that you’d all like to see all of my resolutions for the year but I wanted to share my academic resolutions: (1) strive to study more efficiently, (2) don’t let USMLE 1 preparation make life miserable, and (3) don’t  be concerned with other people’s study habits / high stress levels.

For those of you in school, now is as good as time as any to reflect on your coursework over the past semester. Drop the study techniques that take too long or are less enjoyable than your other modes of study.

Is Robbins causing more grief than knowledge acquisition? Drop it.

Do you find yourself more stressed out after you chat about medical school / studying / your workload with other members of your class? Talk about anything else.

Let’s make 2016 our best year yet — wishing you all the best!