Scroll down to learn more about my free calendar template!

So many people have asked me how I balance everything between being a doctor, studying to get my MBA, and social media/blogging, while still having time to work out, eat healthy, and catch up with family and friends. Answering this question has been a large part of why I started my blog and social media accounts in the first place - to help people like you reading this get on track and stay on track. My posts are to inspire, educate, and challenge you to be more efficient with your time and energy. Ultimately, the goal is to do more of what makes you happy.

As July 1st marks the start of intern year for newly graduated physicians, I thought I would share some of my favorite tools of the trade. For all my Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation colleagues, be sure to pack your white coat pockets with plenty of safety pins, q-tips, and jelly, especially for those spinal cord injury ASIA exams!

Of course, when it comes to success, my color-coded calendar template is the ultimate savior. I have been creating these since college to take the stress out of planning and streamline it all into one simplified graphic. As a visual person, this always helps me stay focused and organized between deadlines, exams, conferences, appointments, holidays, birthdays, and vacations. I color-coded this one by month but in the past I have done it by my two-month clinical rotations. At the start of every new year of residency (for me this has always been July 1), I print my 3-page calendar out, tape it together and fold it up to pin to my bulletin board or fridge. When I need to plan for future dates, I'll unfold and lay it out to give me a better sense of the year. By sharing this with you, I hope it helps your own time management skills.

For the full calendar, check it out HERE as a PDF or if you'd like to edit it yourself, you can access the Word document HERE.

The cake and party icons at the top are for you to add to remember your own important dates. Feel free to share this with friends.

If you're looking for a little more inspiration,  I highly recommend creating a mood board. I made this last year with Health Magazine and feel like seeing these images as a reminder every day empowered me to achieve many of my goals. From cleaning up my diet to toning my muscles, getting my dream job, and surrounding myself with supportive people, I found joy, love, and laughter in all the little moments (despite the many challenges this year has brought all of us). The final goal? A puppy!