The Law Study

Hello fellow study enthusiasts, I thought I’d share some ways in which I boost my motivation on days when I feel like doing nothing.

I re-write/ re-plan my goals and aims and divide them into smaller, managable tasks, so that is cristal clear to me that what I’m doing that day, can have a possitive effect on my future

I day dream on how my life would be if I were to achieve what I expect

I meditate/relax and listen to ASMRs of crackling fire, pages turning and pencil writting

I make a list on things I would like to achieve that day

I start with a managable task, so that I get al least the smaller things done

I then divide the big tasks, into more managable ones

I plant a tree in the Forest App

I organize my study materials - this usually helps me to clear my mind and, having an organized study space, motivates me to start working

I jump the rope when I fell I can’t focus

Or I take a shower when I have a headache

Hey guys! I decided to make a list of productive things to do before the holidays end- feel free to add any to the list you feel is relevant! 

Yesterday was a very nice day- 

Feel free to read just the phrases in bold to get a glance of the main ideas!

-Find a valuable reason for why you want to wake up at a certain time- I’ve found that no matter how many alarms I’d set, or how far I’d place my phone so that I would have to stand up and reach for it, I would still go back to bed or even worse, not even stand up to turn the alarm off. By giving yourself a good solid reason to why you are “sacrificing” more hours of sleep, it may be easier for you to be more consistent with the sleeping patterns you want to follow. 

 -Sleep the amount of hours you need to function- no matter how many valuable reasons you have to wake up, if you don’t get a good night sleep, or sleep for just 4 hours, you may be able to wake up, but your brain will be in “zombie mode”. Try going to sleep preferably at around the same time at night, so that you get used to the fact that when that time comes around you should be in bed, doing something relaxing. 

-Have a set night routine- in conection with the previous tip, having a set night routine will set you in the right mood to rest better. Maybe take a bath, brush your teeth, apply moisturizer, have some tea, and do anything that you specially enjoy and relaxes you. This way you might fall asleep quicker, having a better quality rest. 

-Have a notebook near your bed- this tip has worked wonders for me when there are too many things crossing my mind which prevent me from sleeping. For instance, things that I have to do the next day, things I didn’t do that day, things I forgot and remembered just when I was about to fall asleep, etc. So having a notebook or piece of paper near you, will be beneficial for you as you’ll be able to write down all those thoughts (which could be any, such as fears, exciting upcomig events), pulling them out of your brain. This works for me also, because when I wake up in the morning I’m able to read what I’ve written the previous night and get excited (if I’ve written something I’m expecting), motivated (if I read the list if things I want to cross out), or willing to face my fears if it is something I'm dealing with.

-Enjoy your morning routine- have something special you can do every single day to make your mornings more enjoyable. Maybe have a warm shower, prepare a nice breakfast, watch an episode of your favourite show or do anything that will put a smile in your face. 

-Remind yourself that it will be worth it in the long run- if the first tip isn’t quite working, try thinking in the long run, and how eventually keeping a consistent early waking pattern will benefit you in terms of further productivity, better understanding of a certain topic, etc. Nevertheless, always keep in mind that not waking up early one, two, three days, does not mean you are a failure of will not prevent you from reaching your desired goal. 

-Sleep with your blinds open if the sun rises early in the morning- this is very helpful as your body may naturally get used to waking up earlier just by the sunlight coming through the window.

-Have a calming alarm which gradually starts to rise its volume- this will help you wake up in a better mood. Also, I’ve found that if I wake up with the sound of an anoying beeping alarm, my heart speeds up automatically, and that is something I don´t find very pleasant. The bedtime option in Iphones is really good, but there are plenty of apps in the AppStore and PlayStore as well.

-Find a buddy who is willing to wake up early with you- this is a very good one if you know of someone else who is trying to early rise like you. You can agree that both of you will check up on each other at a certain time and if one of you doesn’t reply, then that person owes the other one a breakfast or whatever they choose. Make it fun, kind of like a competition. Also, this will give you some sort of sense of achievement if you “win” at one point!

-Go gradual in terms of setting your alarm- if you are used to waking up at 8am, setting your alarm for the next day at 5am may not be a realistic expectation, or an easy one to be consistent with. So, try to go step by step, and in a lapse of maybe two weeks, create a schedule to try to wake up 15 or 20 minutes earlier every 2 or 3 days, and see how your body reacts to it, and how well it adapts. If you find that its not that hard to wake up 20 minutes earlier, maybe speed the process up until you reach your desired waking up time.

Hope you find some of these tips useful, have a wonderful week! 

If you just want a glance of the main ideas, feel free to read the phrases in bold!

As a start point, at the beginning of each semester I like making a specific schedule (meaning hour by hour) of the set events I’ll have every week, such as attending to class, or going for a run. When I have marked everything needed to, I do the following:

1· I make a list of things that need to be done every week but don’t have a specific time to be done necessarily, such as going grocery shopping, cleaning my apartment, watering my plants, etc.

2· I check right after, the amount of time that this would take me and the gaps that I have in my schedule.

3· After determining how many time gaps I have, and how long these are, I will schedule easy tasks (which do not require brain power) to do in short-time gaps, such as going grocery shopping, and try to make them coincide with the moments of the day which I know I’m not at my energy peak. This is a smart way to do necessary things that are not directly related to school, as you are still being productive by doing them, taking advantage of the fact that you are not wasting valuable time that you could be using to study.

4· I will allocate, consequently, bigger time gaps to focus on more complex tasks, such as studying, summarizing, reading, etc. So for me, these would be days that I don’t attend to Law School.

Now you may be left with certain chunks of your week which are not filled with specific tasks or events, so here are some ideas on how you could use them:

- make to-do-lists in bullet point form regarding all the school related tasks that you should accomplish for that day/week, making it as specific as you can, as this might prevent you from procrastinating when you get home because you know exactly what you should be doing, and how you should be doing it. This way you have no excuses, even when you are overflown with the amount of work.

- listen to your lectures if you have recorded them, or listen to a record of yourself reading your notes. This is key for people like me who get dizzy if they read while commuting, so this “dead time” is perfect to keep some of the material fresh in your memory.

- make homework which does not require too much time or effort. If you are able to finish or at least start some of it, you will have more time for the more complex readings, homework, etc.

- brainstorm any ideas you may have for an essay. If you haven’t started yet, but you know there is a deadline approaching, giving yourself some time to think or investigate the necessary topics will help your brain start processing the information, giving you perhaps some good ideas to execute.

- revise the material from your previous classes and create mind maps or study guides to lock the information in your memory

- write down any question that you may have from the lecture, homework or assigned readings. You may want to re-read the material to see if you can figure it out by yourself, or if it still gives you some kind of difficulty.

- update your planner or bujo, set events that may have appeared, cross out the ones that have been cancelled, or plan the week or the month ahead.

- organize your notebooks, binders or documents in your laptop + sort through lose pieces of paper and place them where they should be.

- check if every stationary item you have works correctly, and if not, consider throwing the damaged ones away.

- make a list of “non-school related but still productive things to do”, such as cleaning your study space, Checking the weather for the next day and preparing the clothes that you’ll be wearing, etc. I have posted some more ideas if you are interested HERE.

Hope this helped you in some way, have a wonderful week!

- Clean your backpack and organize your books, notebooks, laptop and study materials you will be needing for the week

- Clean your pencil pouch in case you have random things that have ended up there

- Meal prep- if this is something you don’t do at all, maybe see how it works for you for a week. If you are not a meal prepper, try setting aside the food you’ll have for breakfast the next day

- Clean your bedroom and study space- this will help clear your mind. Having a clutter-free space will relax you aswell

- Update your bujo/agenda with the upcoming events of the week- also, remember to re-write any tasks that you haven’t done from the previous week

- Make a to-do-list for Monday- categorize according to priorities. Also, try starting your list with a task you know you will easily accomplish, such as “eat breakfast”, so that you are motivated to keep on crossing tasks

- Work out- maybe go for a walk to breath some fresh air and fuel your brain with oxygen, or do whatever helps you move a little bit more than what you usually do during the weekdays

- Have a set beauty routine- paint your nails if that’s what you like, apply a hair or face mask, exfoliate your skin, have a bubble bath, or do whatever you know that will relax you and set you in a good mood

- Review your goals, short, medium, and long term- if you have not written any, this is a good time. It’s always a good thing to check your accomplishments and remind yourself of your future plans. This will help motivate you and will give you an extra boost of energy for the start of the week to keep yourself focused on working on your dreams

- Check the weather for the next day and prepare the clothes, makeup, perfume, etc, that you’ll be wearing for the week- having some extra time in the morning is always nice, as you don’t end up wasting 30 minutes of your time deciding what to wear (as it has happened to me plenty of times)

- Have a tray dedicated to store all the necessary things you can’t forget before leaving your house- gather all of them, such as your keys, your wallet, a water bottle or anything you know you will be needing and place them on the tray

- Water your plants- if you don’t have a set schedule for watering your plats, Sundays are the perfect days for that

- Empty your binders, notebooks or bag from lose pieces of paper and place them where they should be- this way you’ll make sure you’re not misplacing any important information that you might need in the future

- Check your fridge and pantry, make a grocery list and go shopping- by doing this, you’ll be certain that you won’t be running out of the foods you mostly eat in the middle of the week. If your grocery shop is located at a walking distance, you can take advantage of this and use that opportunity to breath fresh air

- Finally, have some time for yourself!- watch a movie, catch up on your favourite show, watch some youtube videos, read a book, write on your journal, play your favourite instrument, have some tea, or do whatever makes you happy. Taking care of yourself will never not be a productive thing to do.

Hope you have a wonderful week!