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Struggling to Get on a Schedule? Self-Parent!

October 10, 2023 by Leave a Comment

Struggling to Get on a Schedule? Self-Parent!This week we’re welcoming guest writer Whitney Weatherly to talk about getting yourself on a schedule.

OK, bear with me here. I’m personally a parent of human children, but I’m pretty sure pet-parents (and former babysitters, etc.) will also get where I’m coming from. When my kids were little, I realized that our lives would be an absolute nightmare if we didn’t come to some sort of consensus on basic boundaries and a schedule. Meal times, activity times, and especially time for sleeping. All of this ramped up even more when they needed to learn some sort of new skill. New skills are exhausting, and kids resist big time if there’s no consistency.

I’m not saying there was never any flexibility, of course! Things happen, and the schedule varies. If it varies long enough (like when they started school), then we need a new schedule. And figuring out what that schedule should be always took some trial and error until we got the right balance of sleep time, “work” time, and down time for our particular family.

Well, one of the hardest things about starting law school is getting yourself on an effective schedule. There’s always so much to do, and it all feels thankless and never-ending. But, take it from a mom, it is possible! You just need to play your own parent, and give yourself some boundaries (with consequences!), some rewards, and some grace.

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How to Make Law School a 9 to 5

September 12, 2023 by Leave a Comment

How to Make Law School a 9 to 5

This week we welcome back Julia Gourary to talk about how to make law school like a regular, full-time, job.

Law school is demanding. Between going to class, preparing for class, doing practice problems, outlining, extracurriculars, and applying for jobs, it seems like the work never ends. Law school can and will take up all your time if you let it, crowding out everything else in your life.

My 1L fall, I fell prey to this. I let my work take however long it took, leaving me scrambling to fit in other things like exercise, seeing friends, cleaning, and running errands in the fragments of time that were left over. I always felt like I was in work mode or should be working, even when I was supposed to be relaxing.

My 1L spring, I decided to try something different: making law school a 9 to 5(ish). I would arrive at school the same time every morning, attend class and do my readings during the “workday,” and then go home and be finished for the day. It doesn’t have to be exact—I did work a few hours over the weekend to make my week a little easier, and in the period leading up to exams I didn’t always stick to this schedule. But the general principle is this: if your plan out your time in advance, commit to efficiency during the “workday,” and set boundaries between school and home, law school does not need to be all-consuming.

Here’s how to do it:

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Should You Listen to Music While Studying?

June 6, 2023 by Leave a Comment

Should You Listen to Music While Studying?This week we welcome back guest writer and lawyer John Passmore to discuss the positives and negatives of listening to music while studying.

Should you listen to music while studying in law school or during bar prep? As with most all study skills questions, one-size rarely fits all. So this post will not demonize your earbuds or bless them. Maybe the answer is even different for different study tasks or different subjects. The key is to appreciate the good and the bad and to make your choice an intentional part of your study plan. If you are trying to decide if study tunes are on your road to law school or bar exam prep success or failure, consider the following pros and cons: [Read more…]

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How To Juggle Multiple Work Assignments At Once

January 17, 2023 by Leave a Comment

How To Juggle Multiple Work Assignments At OnceThis week we welcome back guest writer Marissa Geannette to discuss managing multiple work assignments as a lawyer.

As a law student, you already know what it’s like to have more than one thing due at once. Having competing obligations and multiple assignments due at once is nothing new to you.

When you begin working, especially at a law firm, you’ll likely find that you have even more things to juggle. Sooner rather than later, you’re bound to receive multiple assignments, from multiple lawyers, all due at the same time. So, what’s a new lawyer to do?

First of all, let’s put something to bed once and for all– multitasking doesn’t work. Our minds can’t do two things at once, so when we try to do that, we end up costing ourselves more time in the end.

That’s why none of these tips are about how to multitask. Instead, we talk about other strategies you can implement to juggle multiple work assignments without driving yourself crazy.

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Time-Saving Tips for Law Students

November 22, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Time-Saving Tips for Law StudentsThis week we welcome back guest writer Julia Gourary to talk about some ideas for saving time as a law student.

In law school, it sometimes feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day for everything. Whether you’re juggling school with a part-time job, a relationship, parenting, or just trying to find time for healthy habits like exercise, sleep, and eating right, time can be tight. Assuming you’ve already gone for low-hanging fruit like putting your phone on Do Not Disturb, avoiding social media, or staying out of Internet rabbit holes in order to avoid distraction, what else can a busy law student do to save time? Read on for some time-saving tips for law students. [Read more…]

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Trailblazing As A First-Generation Law Student

October 26, 2021 by Leave a Comment

Trailblazing As A First-Generation Law StudentThis week we welcome new guest writer Zoila Sanchez to talk about her experience as a first generation law student.

You made it past the LSAT and now you are taking law classes! It seems like a dream come true as you have come so far as the first in your family and/or community to pursue a legal career journey. Maybe your journey has been especially challenging and you left your home country to pursue an LLM, or you are a non-traditional law student. Sometimes the initial excitement deflates at certain points in law school, when you are overwhelmed, struggling to keep up, and/or find students who come from a family of attorneys or have siblings that provided them with tips or outlines. Being a trailblazing law student can be discouraging at times. Here are encouraging tips to embrace being a leader in this respect: [Read more…]

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How To Save Time On Meal Prep To Have More Time To Study

September 14, 2021 by Leave a Comment

How To Save Time On Meal Prep To Have More Time To StudyThis week we’re hearing from guest writer Hillary Vaillancourt about how meal prep can be a useful tool to save you time during law school.

Truth be told, my idea of a great Saturday afternoon is spending the entire time in the kitchen rustling up some quality grub. I’m talking scratch-made biscuits baked with real butter, sliced open while still steaming to spread a layer of homemade tomato jam, then finished with a sprinkle of fresh herbs from my garden.

Sadly, there are days, weeks, heck sometimes whole months when life doesn’t afford me the opportunity to spend so much time experimenting with recipes and concocting scrumptious three-course meals for my family.

Multitasking can take a little of the stress out of preparing food while also being able to study, but sometimes it’s not the most practical or desirable option. Instead, here are a few ways you can simplify your meal prep in order to spend more time on your studies. [Read more…]

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7 Law School Resolutions For The New Year

January 5, 2021 by Leave a Comment

7 Law School Resolutions For The New YearThis week we welcome back guest writer Tiffany Lo to talk about starting fresh in the new year with some resolutions.

Being a law student is not easy. There is always room for improvement—to make things more efficient, to grow your knowledge, to hone your legal skills. This year, consider adopting some of these new year resolutions:

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Juggling Kids in Remote School and Law School Life

November 3, 2020 by Leave a Comment

Juggling Kids in Remote School and Law School LifeThis week we welcome guest writer Emily Carter to talk about managing your kid’s remote schooling and your own law school responsibilities.

As I type these very words, I am remote schooling my children. Now, rest assured, I say this with no pride, no smugness, not even a hair of belief that I am succeeding in this balancing act that somehow, the confluence of a virus, parenting, and work responsibilities has loaded on me and many others.

No, please, be assured, my floor is dirty (macaroni, cheerios, and freshly snipped paper cuttings from an elementary schooler’s project are in the current floor assortment). My meal choices lack nutritional value (hot pretzels for lunch, anyone?). And my oldest son, having just emerged from the bathroom at this very moment, reports that the hand towel is soaking wet, soap scum coats the sink, and, in his words, “it stinks in there.” I blame the toddler, who having quickly graduated from potty training to mostly independent bathroom use, lacks a full respect for cleanliness. [Read more…]

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My Law School Morning Routine

September 22, 2020 by Leave a Comment

My Law School Morning RoutineThis week we welcome back guest writer Cathlyn Melvin to talk about her morning routine to get ready for law school.

My earliest class this semester is 9am. Hallelujah. I like to have time to myself in the mornings: I’m happiest when I can accomplish a few things before I get started with my work or school obligations.

Oh, and also: before I look at my phone (gasp!).

That’s right: when I go to bed at night I plug my phone in and put it face-down on my nightstand. And in the morning, I try not to touch it until my “morning routine” is complete, and I’m ready to work.

So here’s what I do instead.

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