No 54: 5 Life-Hacks for Becoming a Doctor

1.      Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by BJ Fogg

2.      The Bullet Journal Method: Track Your Past, Order Your Present, Plan Your Future by Ryder Carroll

3.      The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life by Hal Elrod

4.      How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

5.      Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance by Atul Gawande     

I’ve thought about this list long and hard. There are so many possible tips, hacks and recommendations that could go in this list and these 5 maybe not be “the best”.

But, if you follow these 5 hacks, I guarantee you will find they make becoming a doctor much easier.

It has taken me years to find and develop these habits, and I’m confident this recipe is universal.

Books = life-hacks = in a few hours you can absorb the author’s entire lifetime of learning and wisdom. Just think of that return on investment.

If you want a quick introductory life-hack, find that book on Audible, put it on 2x speed and listen while you do the laundry. Now you can absorb even more wisdom, even faster with less effort.

So, here is the recipe:

Life-Hack #01

Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by BJ Fogg

Getting into medical school, through medical school and out into post-graduate medical education and beyond is not just a career. It’s a life style.

That lifestyle requires habits. And the first, last and most important habit, is being an independent learner. This takes practice and dedication.

There is a reason some things are cliché and repeated all of the time, but “first things first”, “learn to walk before you can run” and “any journey starts with the first step”. The first step in becoming a successful doctor and successful learner, is to learn how to build good habits – in small, easy steps!

If you haven’t come across this book before, then it is a goldmine. Its short, simple, easy to read and full of good advice. The author is an expert who has spent a life time experimenting and has codified how to optimise our psychology and biology to build good habits.

Work smart, not hard. Make life easy and build good habits as soon as possible.

Life-Hack #02

The Bullet Journal Method: Track Your Past, Order Your Present, Plan Your Future by Ryder Carroll

Hack #2 may look boring and this is what I thought when my good friend Amrit recommended this book to me. But, Amrit is a smart bloke and so I thought he must be onto something…

Developing the good habit of using a journal is a surprisingly effective tool. And then learning how to use a journal effectively just multiplies that impact many times over.

This book is inspirational, it’s well written and its full of good advice on how to be productive.

These tips don’t just apply to studying or project management, they can be applied to every aspect of your life and can work on any goal you want to achieve.

A piece of pen and paper, used wisely and regularly can help you breakdown any challenge that medical school throws your way.

Life-Hack #03

The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life by Hal Elrod

Now, you have a way of developing good habits, and a way of keeping track of those goals and habits. Next, its time to learn how to start every day with a bang.

This book may strike some people as wishy washy pop-culture voodoo self development. However, the basic principles of thinking about what makes you tick, what your goals are and how to set up and plan your day to achieve what you need to is a valuable life lesson.

This book has a simple message and explains it brilliantly.

You may not be a “morning person”, but it is probably worth you spending a few hours to skim read this and see if you can apply the principles to your life, no matter when you wake up.

Since, I read this book I have developed a morning routine that I try to use everyday. Somedays, I finish this routine and I feel like its a weekend, even if its mid-week. Does life get any better than that?

Life-Hack #04

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

One of the oldest and best self-development books. The reason that its sold millions of copies is, that it works!

Getting into medical school is hard. Getting through medical school is harder. Surviving as a doctor can be rough. Talking to patients, colleagues and families can be incredibly challenging.

Save yourself a lot of time and effort by reading about how to make good conversation. It doesn’t matter if you call it “polite conversation” or “communication skills” or “history taking”, the art of being able to listen and ask good questions is essential to being a doctor.

Being a well rounded conversationalist will make medical school interviews easier, it will help you make friends and it will help you talk to patients. Making lots of friends and being good with patients and colleagues will make your journey so much easier and more fun.

This book is short, witty and wise. It will teach you the same comm skills as any of the dry clinical textbooks and it will entertain you at the same time.

Life-Hack #05

Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance by Atul Gawande     

The last life-hack in this article is by none other than Atul Gawande. For me, this is his best book but I could have chosen any of them.

Trying to become a good doctor is a long, hard slog. Sometimes, it feels like there is no end in sight. At times like that you need something to keep you going.

Some people call this “The Why”. The big reason that keeps you going. Your motivation and inspiration. It doesn’t really matter what that reason is, as long as it keeps you going.

I read Better when I was a 3rd year medical student and it just struck a chord with me. That drive to be the best you can be. The drive to learn from the best in the world. The drive to give patients the best possible care. It really motivated me.

This book is full of inspirational stories. And sometimes, when you are reading the Kreb’s Cycle for the millionth time you need to hear about role models, who have been through what you are going through and went on to do better things.

The last life-hack is to be inspired.

Thanks for reading. If you agree or disagree with these hacks then please let me know. At some point, I will put up the definitive list of self-development books that have smoothed my way through medical school but that will be a much longer list (some of us needed more development that others, COUGH rough diamond COUGH).

If you want to recommend any books that have really helped you then please do, I am always keen to find new reads.