Congratulations on reaching another milestone in your life!

After one whole month of orientation camps, ‘fresher’s week’ and whatsoever reunions, it’s time to start preparing for your first semester in college. As a pharmacy newbie, how would you prioritise the 5 University Affairs*? Should study top the list? Or is your boy/girlfriend the all-time-#1?

The workload of a pharmacy student may seem daunting, but it is crucial that you spend time with your family and friends as well. In a nutshell, my life is pretty much dominated by studying, exco, part-time tutoring, dating and university team training. I did not fulfill all the tasks to perfection, but at least I managed to keep myself preoccupied while fitting in everything pretty well (I guess).  So, this is how my timetable looks like:

Time	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
0630-0730	Get up	Get up	Get up	Get up	Get up	zzZ	zzZ
0730-0830	Chill	Chill	Chill	Chill	Chill
0830-0930	Pre lecture Prep	Assignmentsssss	Pre lecture Prep	Pre lecture Prep	Assignmentsssss
0930-1030
1030-1130	CLASS		CLASS	CLASS		Get up	Get up
1130-1230						Chill	Chill
1230-1330	Lunch (+Nap)	Lunch (+Nap)	Lunch (+Nap)	Lunch (+Nap)	Lunch (+Nap)	Revision	Revision
1330-1430
1430-1530	CLASS	CLASS	LAB	CLASS	CLASS
1530-1630
1630-1730		CLASS		Travel…
1730-1830	Travel…		Travel…	Part Time	<3
1830-1930	Part Time	Team Training	Part Time
1930-2030				Dinner
2030-2130	<3		Team Training	Revision
2130-2230		Revision
2330-0030	News	News	(News)	News	News	Yoga	Yoga

0645

Alarm goes off. No snooze.

Wake up and have a bowl of granola cereals or a delicious homemade no sausages no butter full English breakfast (fry the bacon first and you will have all the oil you need) and a nice cup of coffee.

[I thought I could get up at 6 so I can head down to the gym, but since I feel healthy and have sufficient exercise I have no motivation for it at all.]

0730

Check emails, Facebook, Whatsapp and walk through my priorities and to-do list of the day.

0750

Shower and dress.

0830

Prepare for today’s lecture or confront my assignmentssss (yes they’re so hard and the amount is like nothing on earth)

1000

Leave for class.

1030

Get the pharmacology or Latin terminology threw in your face so hard that makes you feel like you have learnt nothing in the past 18 years.

1230

Revise, assignments, or more nap.

1415

Grab a quick lunch and get ready for another drug profile blast.

After class

Survived the assault.

Leave for tutoring, training, or go on a date.

Review the day, news then bed.

After a complete 6 hours of mind-f*ing torture (I bet all students feel the same as I do) it’s always nice to have a nibble or movie with my darling. On the days we don’t get to see each other, he would ring me and have a half hour talk before he goes to bed ☺ On weekends I spare myself a couple hours cuddling with my bed, and when I get up I spend the entire day digging into piles of lecture notes until its yoga time (okay there’s some convo time with my family during dinner). Given that I’m part of HKP now, I have to take more time and get my work WELL done *meh*

I must admit my schedule is packed and dull (maybe?), but this is how I make every second counts. And based on my personal experience, here are some tips for you guys:

1. Study before you do your assignments. This will save you a lot of time.
2. Make use of the travelling time or breaks between classes to do your social networking. [I forbid myself to go on facebook at home or in the library, and that’s genuinely a real deal!]
3. Prioritise. For instance, if you think hanging out with your boyfriend/girlfriend/friends is taking up too much of your time, tell them.

No one is born to be an excellent time manager – “It is the devotion of thought to an honest achievement makes the achievement possible”. Afterall, you get what you strived for. If you find it hard to take up extra simple tasks, perhaps it is time you first deal with your self-discipline.

P.S.: Warning: These suggestions may not be effective for you. If this happen, do not blame anyone.

P.P.S.: The 5 official affairs of a pharmacy student is more or less the same, namely Lecture, Tutorial, PBL, Mid-Term and Final.

Written by: Crystal Fung