Ep 34: What to Study Over the Christmas Break

Hey, it’s your girl Mare here. I’m excited to do this solo episode for you where we’re going to cover off what to do over the Christmas break to make sure that you are properly prepped. Now, I want to start off being a little bit of a Christmas Grinch because I want to talk honestly about the Christmas period. There’s probably a lot going on in your life. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, this is the time of year where things get a little bit crazy. There are loads of Christmas parties, plenty of alcohol, food, family, expectations, and all sorts of things happening at once.

So I want to be your guiding light in the GAMSAT world so that you know exactly what to do during this time. I’m going to be really blunt about it because I want to make sure you are making the most of the time that you have. Right now, you are like you’re training for the Olympic Games, except these Olympics have nothing to do with sport and everything to do with what’s inside the coconut over here, what’s inside your brain. So we want to be training like you’re going for gold, even though there are all these distractions going on around you.

The way I’m treating this Christmas period with my current students in our bootcamp is that this is like a StuVac period. This is a study vacation, not a holiday. Let me say that again. It is not holiday time. It is time to get serious. It is time to get real. It is time for you to know exactly what you’re studying, when you’re studying, and what you’re doing so that you can make a really big chunk of progress while everyone else is out partying. There does need to be a bit of planning so that this goes really smoothly.

You can absolutely borrow my Christmas Grinch attitude when you’re talking to family and friends because that is going to be your first step. Your first step is planning properly so you can truly be in StuVac mode. That means telling your family, telling your friends, telling your partner when you’re available and what your focus is. This is a very short time in your life that you are going to be fully focused on the GAMSAT. Realistically, for most people listening to this podcast, you’re focused between now and March. That is not a long time.

Being able to set everyone else up so they know your priorities and why you’re doing this is huge. So when they say, “Hey, do you want to grab a drink? So-and-so is in town,” and you turn around and say you can’t make it, it’s not because you’re unsociable or being difficult. It’s because they understand that your focus is on this one goal you’re trying to achieve.

The way I would handle it is something like, “Hey Mum, hey Dad, I know the cousins are coming around, I know there’s a lot going on for Christmas, I know we’re shopping and preparing, but I’ve made a commitment that this is the last GAMSAT I ever want to sit. That means I’m going to be a bit of a hermit crab during this season. If you have expectations of me, can we talk about them now? What do I need to buy, what do I need to cook, when do I need to be available? Because outside of that, I’m really only able to do the bare minimum.”

Then you can say, next Christmas you’ll be there with your Santa hat on, your Christmas earrings, your elf energy, helping out until the cows come home. But this Christmas, your Christmas wish is to become a doctor, and this is what it’s going to take. Having those conversations and mapping expectations gives you a massive timing advantage.

I also tell my bootcamp members, and shout-out to anyone listening from the bootcamp, that this is when we implement what I call the November rule. The November rule actually applies all year when you’re studying for the GAMSAT, but we really implement it in December, January and February. When someone asks you to do something outside your normal routine that’s going to take your time, your focus, or most importantly your energy, you say no. As in November. The first two letters. Just no.

It might not be fun and it might not be what you want to do, but in the long term we have to look at this as a small sacrifice now for a massive lifetime reward. A little bit of sacrifice now means you get to be a doctor for the rest of your life. When you’re in medicine, saving people’s lives every day, you won’t even remember missing this Christmas.

So my first Christmas Grinch recommendation is to set expectations early and implement the November rule. It’s November every day of the week now.

That brings me to the next step. Once you have the time in your diary and you know you can actually focus on the GAMSAT, what should you be focusing on during this Christmas period? If you’re asking yourself what to do just over Christmas, that question is actually too small. Tony Robbins taught me that the quality of your life is dictated by the quality of the questions you ask yourself. If you only ask what to do over Christmas, you’re only planning short-term. We want a plan that takes you from now all the way to exam day.

That plan is not just about knowledge like chemistry, biology and physics. Of course those matter, but we need to focus on skills. How you reason through questions in Section I, Section III, and even the writing skills for Section II. First, we identify the skills. Second, we have a systematic way of building those skills. Third, we lock in the dates where each skill is being built.

That’s the real plan. Christmas study is just one part of a much bigger picture.

If you’re a student and you suddenly have five, six, seven or even eight hours a day to focus on GAMSAT without uni distractions, that’s incredible. Use weekdays properly and take your weekends off. Have coffees with friends, relax, because you’ve already put in 30 to 40 hours during the week.

If you work full-time or do shift work, a long-term plan becomes even more important because you’re not suddenly getting heaps more time. You might only have 10 to 20 hours a week. That’s fine, as long as you know exactly what you’re doing in each of those hours. This is what we call outcome-based study. You are not just filling time. You are targeting skills.

First, figure out what skills you need to build. You can use our free diagnostic tests for that. Second, decide exactly what you are going to do to build each skill and how long it will take. Third, lock those tasks into your actual calendar.

If at any stage you realise you don’t even know what your weak skills are, or you don’t have the resources to fix them efficiently, then that’s when you book a call with our team. They can help you work out exactly what needs to go into your plan, whether the bootcamp is right for you, and what direction to head in next.

We are closing the office on the 19th of December and we will not reopen until the 5th of January. If you know you’ll need proper resources over the Christmas period, get in before then so you are fully supported during that weird week between Christmas and New Year where time doesn’t exist. That week is a goldmine if you use it properly.

If you take nothing else from this episode, take this. I have never, in 18 years of doing this, heard a student say they wish they started later. I have heard thousands say they wish they started sooner. This is your wake-up call.

This does not mean you cancel Christmas entirely. It means you plan it properly and protect your energy. Energy management matters just as much as time management. Do things that genuinely recharge you. Dr Tom, for example, lifts weights. If he doesn’t, he gets cranky. That’s his recharge. Sitting on Netflix and TikTok all day is not a recharge.

Think about what energises you. Short walks, movement, proper food, supportive people. Fuel your body like an Olympic athlete, not with Christmas chocolates and sugar crashes. Protect your focus.

You need a solid plan. You need the right resources. You need to implement the November rule. You need to recharge properly. If any of this is missing, reach out to the team and get support in place now.

With that, I’m signing off for this episode. If you know someone who is procrastinating and needs this, send it to them with a bit of love. If you found it helpful, subscribe to the channel. I’ll see you on the other side of Christmas. Bye, guys.