The Bottom Line
- Your plan should have intensity *and* recovery by design (not by accident).
- Use ‘desirable difficulties’ — effortful learning — but avoid chronic overload.
- The final week is a taper: consolidate, don’t cram-and-crash.
The principle (desirable difficulty, not chronic suffering)
Effortful learning can improve long-term retention when the difficulty is ‘desirable’ (i.e., you can still succeed with effort). The trap is turning difficulty into exhaustion — which damages consistency, sleep, and performance.
Most doctors don’t need more ambition; they need a plan that survives rota reality. The goal is consistent throughput across weeks, not one heroic week followed by collapse and guilt.
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Phase 1 (Weeks 1–2) — Build the engine
Set a daily minimum (micro-sessions). Build your error log. Establish your weekly long timed block. This phase is about creating the system, not peak performance.
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Phase 2 (Weeks 3–6) — Volume + feedback
Increase question volume gradually. Every session must end with a debrief rule. The plan evolves weekly from your error data, not from anxiety.
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Phase 3 (Weeks 7–8) — Exam conditioning
Timed work dominates. Mixed sets increase. Sleep protection becomes stricter. You are training performance under pressure.
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Final week — Taper
Consolidate weak spots, re-test your ‘Top Errors’, and keep sleep stable. Avoid massive new topics. Walk into the exam calm, not fried.
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SourceBjork & Bjork — desirable difficulties (PDF)
Open Link SourceSleep deprivation and memory — meta-analytic review (PMC)
Open Link