Do you have a daily or weekly routine that balances your study priorities with your personal activities? Having a predictable routine is really important… especially when you’re extra busy or stressed.

Speaking of stress: There’s a lot to cover when you’re prepping for the INBDE. A lot. Do you have a routine specifically to help you do it? Having a routine will help you cover all of the material in a productive, confidence-boosting way.

But why, exactly, is having a routine so beneficial?

Benefits of a Routine

Some days, you wake up stressed. So many decisions to make, so many tasks to complete. We’ve all been there. But having a routine helps take some of the decision-making, list-checking stress off your shoulders because you already know what you’re going to do first.

Knowing what to expect each day gives you a sense of control, which helps lower stress! Not only will establishing a routine help you to feel more at ease, it will help you feel more productive and more focused.

We can agree that having a routine is helpful, especially for INBDE prep. But, how do we build one?

Here are some helpful tips for creating a daily or weekly routine.

7 Tips for Building a Routine

1. Write It Down. Writing down your daily routine is pretty essential. This can be as general as making a “to-do” list or as specific as making an hour-by-hour schedule. Either way you choose, writing down what you have to do for the day or the week helps you visualize what’s coming and decide how to fit everything in to your schedule.
   
   
2. Structure Your Day. Scheduling your day hour-by-hour may be too restrictive, but at the very least, try dividing your day into morning, afternoon, and evening blocks. That way, if you have classes or work in the morning, you know to plan on doing your INBDE prep in the afternoon or evening.
   


3. Pick Your “Top 3.” Every day is a little different, but it’s important to make sure and identify the things you absolutely have to do every day or week. Prioritize those activities over everything else and make sure they get done! Obviously, INBDE prep is going to be one of your top three.
   
   
4. Start with the Hardest Task. If you start with the hardest thing you have to do each day, you’ll have the energy and focus to get it done. If you wait until the end of the day, you’ll be too tired to give it your best effort. Plus, you’ll feel good about getting it out of the way early!
5. Focus on One Task at a Time. When we have a lot to do, we tend to try to multi-task. Spoiler alert: no one is actually good at multi-tasking. When we try to do multiple things at once, we end up accomplishing less and feeling more stressed.


6. Limit Your Distractions. Once you’ve made your schedule for the day or week, identify areas where you really need to focus and limit your distractions
   
   Pro-tip: turn off your notifications. If your phone is constantly pinging with social media or text notifications, it’s going to be hard to focus and tempting to check them. Instead, turn them off while you’re doing your INBDE prep, and check them when you take a break.
   
   
7. Be Flexible. When you make your schedule, remember to be flexible. Life happens, and things don’t always go as planned. When things come up and throw off your schedule, be flexible, re-prioritize, and give yourself some grace for getting off track.
   
   

Dental Decks Will Help You Build Your Routine!

Good news: Not only is Dental Decks the most comprehensive and most recommended INBDE study aid, it’s also super easy to work into your routine.

Our 60-day and 45-day INBDE study schedules divide the materials by day, so you can just plug what’s on the schedule for that day into your daily routine.

Add Dental Decks to your daily routine to effectively and efficiently prep for your INBDE!