I love my all my planners, digital and paper. Over the years I have tried and tested different ways of planning depending the the different stages of school or life.
Passion Planner
I have been using Passion Planner planners since my 1st year of university in 2018. Over the years I have tried all the sizes; small, medium, and large. The large will still be my favorite for all the space and there is a folder in the back, so if I need to carry documents or notes, all I need to bring with me is my planner. The back of the planner also has lots of blank and dotted paper for anything you need to write down.
The Passion Planner is a great way to organize your week during the school year. Over the years, it has helped to keep track of the different lectures with time blocking. Each class is color-coded which makes planning my 'work to-do list' and 'next week' more organized.
Planning 2 weeks at a time is always helpful in pharmacy school, since exams and assignments can creep up on you. I like to use the 'space of infinite possibility' to set up any big assignments or exams for the next week. By the end of the week, it can get pretty messy, just like a week of pharmacy school, with writing myself notes in the blank spaces.
Going into my PY4 rotations, I will be temporarily retiring the passion planner as I will be having a consistent 9-5 schedule and will not be utilizing the time blocking consistently.
Notion
Notion has been my new addiction over the past year. I am always on my computer so having this page open at all times keeps me on track. I keep it very simple, keeping track of events, personal tasks, work tasks, school tasks, and more. My favorite part of Notion is that I can link many things to my To-Do list including different pages in other sections of my Notion.
If you sign up for Notion using your student email account, it is automatically upgraded for free which is a plus. Another great thing about Notion is there is app so you can have your agenda, lists, and sections on the go.
More about organizing my Notion and what my pages include to come.
Sticky Notes
You would think with all my different methods of planning I would not need all the sticky notes. But I love sticky notes, all sticky notes, digital and paper. This is a way for me to plant random ideas that don't have a place in my planner, notion, or PY4 schedule (surprisingly).
Yes I am that girl who made her mood board her desktop background. But I mean aesthetic with all the calm vibes, affirmations, and some pictures of my homes (Seattle, Whidbey Island, and Vancouver).
PY4 Schedule
And lastly my pride and joy. First I'll get into why I decided to make my calendar this way, then how.
The last year of pharmacy school can be overwhelming as you are rotating through multiple sites, working 40 hours a week or more year round, while balancing life, hobbies, and work AND while preparing to take the two exams that lead to you becoming a licensed pharmacist.
I wanted to customize my schedule to plan ahead so I could have a general idea of what the next year would look like. This may be extreme to some people, but for me it helps to settle my anxiety with all the changes that are about to happen in the next year.
The 'PY4 Schedule' is formatted into two sections:
1. two 6 month spreads from May 2021-April 2022 and
2. monthly overviews from May 2021-May 2022
Some insight to why this time span: May 2021 is when I start my year long rotations and May 2022 is tentatively when the PEBC (Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada) Qualifying Exams take place.
The 6 month spread helps to visualize what rotations are happening and when I need to start preparing for Jurisprudence Exam (the law exam for licensing). When exam dates get released, this will start to fill up with my exam study schedule.
Having the monthly view helps to more specifically plan out my month. Adding the large 'sticky note' on the side helps to 'park' anything that needs to be done that month that does not have a specific date or deadline. This also helps for months to come, where tasks need to happen in another month that also need to be 'parked'.
How to Make Your Own Monthly Planner for ~$25: General Tips
Using PowerPoint, Canva, or any other program, make a set of documents. I used Canva since the formatting is very clean but creative.
Create a rough outline of how you want your design to look. I.e. which months, how many months per page, including a notes section, etc.
Download calendar templates from anywhere on the internet to insert as pictures.
Print documents in your preferred layout.
Take to a store that binds documents such as Staples or FedEx. They will take the documents and ensure the front and back pages are 'laminated' then bound together. If you want to do it yourself, then laminate the front and back pages before attaching them all together. This ensures that the pages inside are protected and formatted similarly to a planner that you would purchase.
Hopefully some of these planning strategies are insightful and can be applied to whatever stage of pharmacy school you are in!
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