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1. Use a spreadsheet and mark in committed weekly expenses, food, transport, gym memberships etc. calculate how much you are DEFINITELY going to spend then add a $20-50 leeway over depending on different circumstances, eg. you’re going to breakfast with a friend. 

2. You want to have a set amount you want to be putting away into savings each week, eg. for me I set aside $50-70 each week into savings and I take this into account as a fixed amount of at least $50 I’m not going to be able to spend from my pay checks.

3. From this amount see how many hours you have to work each week to be able to sustain and how many to be able to save more. Whatever I earn each week where I earn more money to what I’m spending I put into savings.

4. Treat savings as something you don’t touch. Savings are incredibly important, do. not. touch. your. savings. You want your savings to be able to generate interest, the more you save, the more monthly interest. Your savings are there to catch you if everything goes wrong.

5. Have seperate accounts for savings, spendings and then you can also have another savings if you are saving towards something in particular eg. currently I’m saving to buy a car, I’m not going to take this money out of my savings so each week I take another $50 out of my pay-check to save for a car.

6. When going out with friends, find fun activities to do that don’t involve spending money eg. I’ve gone on walks around the lake with friends, bike rides, picnics, library study dates. Just because you’re saving, doesn’t mean you have to cut out socialising.

Motivation

The toughest part about studying while having a full-time job is getting started. I have the desire to achieve a high LSAT score but I get distracted by friends, family, Netflix and Instagram.  

I think I have figured out the best tactic to get over the lack of focus. 

First Step: Goal Setting

I created a detailed monthly calendar and 30-min weekly schedule sheet.

The Monthly Calendar

Details page numbers, practice exams, and LSAT sections

goals should be both realistic and challenging so that you don’t get easily bored and fully benefit 

The 30-Min Weekly Schedule

Details studying time slots and gym time

Second Step: Find Your Space and/or Your Study Buddy

Finding Your Space

Your space should have a desk or a wide table with a comfortable chair

How does your room, library, or apartment’s study areas make you feel?

Can you operate at full optimum in a quiet space or an area with medium volume?

My favorite space is my living room where I have a great view of the city and low volume.

Find Your Study Buddy

Your study buddy should have 3 qualities

Proactive Studier

Doesn’t talk a lot 

Holds you accountable for missing study dates

So far since graduating my Uni, I have two study buddies: my boyfriend (studying CPA) and one of my friends (studying master’s at Georgetown).

Third Step: Study-Fun Balance

Studying is self-care because you are steps closer to achieving a bigger goal which contributes to more self-esteem. Having “productive” fun is also another 1/3 of self-care while studying is 2/3. 

This means you should spend 1/3 of your free time from work to engage in “productively” fun activities such as reading, going to the museum, and having dinner with your family or friends.

Productive fun is about learning and connecting with the outside world in order to see the bigger picture of why you are studying in the first place.

Currently, I read Becoming by Michelle Obama for productive fun

Fourth Step: Don’t Be Hard on Yourself

“Tomorrow’s promises become yesterday’s failures!”

It’s never too late to get started right now! Remember promises are the difference between today and tomorrow. 

Finally: Start the 100 Days of Productivity Challenge

Print out 14 sheets of 30-min Weekly Schedules (100 Days / 7 days = 14 weeks)

Goal: Complete all 14 sheets and shade in your study-time with red pen

I aim to shade in all my study-time slots from Monday to Sunday for 14 weeks.

I have to complete a total of 31 hours a week. If I miss an hour or more, I will make sure to add that hour or more to my weekend schedule.

Hello! Below are 5 tips for maintaining a good gpa in US law school. This is what has worked for me for the last year and a half in my doctrinal classes.* My friend used some of these tips and she said it really helped her improve her gpa.  

*This post doesn’t cover legal research and writing

1. Get outlines and past exams for all your doctrinal courses before classes begin. Get outlines from people who got an A in the class and skim them before the first day of class. Typically, I read past exams for the class before the first day of class as well to get an overall picture. I have never outlined once since school started. Usually before each class, I will read the relevant section of the outline to get a picture of what we will be covering and in class, I will follow along on the outline I have open, adding anything the professor says that I think might be important in a different color or using the “track changes” option in Word. During reading period, I will write a condensed version of the outline by hand once. 

2. Don’t read. This is very controversial advice, but reading is a form of passive studying and the way I’ve maintaining a high GPA in law school has been to ramp up my active study methods. If you have a good outline and have access to case summaries, then that is all you need to pass a cold call. Instead, the time I would have spent reading, I spend reviewing my outline, creating my attack sheet, and most importantly, doing practice exams. 

3.  Pay attention in class. It is a lot easier to follow along with the professor when you have a good outline and will know what sorts of things to listen for. In class, I generally write down hypos and also pay attention to what the professor is highlighting because it will provide insight into what kind of answer the professor is looking for in the final. As my friend said: Exams in law school are not based on whether you’ve learned the information, but whether you are presenting the information the way the professor wants it presented. 

4. Use supplements. I am a big fan of the E&E series, Siegel’s, and the Q&A series. I particularly like these supplements because of all the practice questions they have in them. If your professor has a particular supplement s/he likes, then definitely use that one because it will present the law in line with your professor. Typically, I start doing practice exams and practice problems one month into the new semester to get a grasp on what I have and have not understood. By doing problems so early in the semester, I have given myself ample time to learn what I do not yet understand. 

5. Treat law school like a 9-5 job. Monday through Saturday, I wake up at 8AM and begin studying at 10AM. I will take an hour for lunch and occasional breaks throughout the day, but I do not watch TV or read a book until my “law school day” has ended, which is typically 8PM. After 8, I close all law related materials and wind down for the day watching netflix or reading a book. Especially as a 1L, law school was a full time job. Now, as a 2L, though the pressure of grades is less, I have found this routine to improve my productively dramatically, so will continue studying in this manner until I graduate. I find that it also prepares you for having good work ethic in the work force. 

your condom breaks

you feel a lump on your breast

your friends are ignoring you

you’re stranded on an island 

you got rejected by a crush

you get into a car accident

you got stung by a bee/wasp

you got fired from your job

you’re in an earthquake

your tattoo gets infected

your house is on fire

you’re lost in the woods

you get arrested abroad

you get robbed

your partner cheated on you

you’re on a ship that’s sinking

you fall into ice

you’re stuck in an elevator

you hit a deer with your car

you have food poisoning

your pet passed away

you fall off of a horse

you or your friend has alcohol poisoning

you have toxic shock syndrome

During High school I was one of those students who never really had to work for my marks, I had the uncanny ability to leave my assignment till the night before and still manage full marks that is ..till I got to university, my first year was a disaster I was barely passing my units I was stressed and depressed, what got me through high school was clearly not working in university. So to stop my second year in university from being a disaster as well and to save my gpa I decided to learn how to study from scratch!  spoiler: It worked and my marks have tripled since I adopted these habits. So here are the things I started doing!

- I invested in school supplies that I NEEDED and not just for aesthetic, example I bought tons and tons of basic cheap notebooks because I knew I was going to do a lot of writing and things like flashcards. My rule of thumb was if its functional its perfect.

- I attended every lecture and every class no matter what the time was! This is essential as it saves time later when you are rushing around trying to catch up. 

- I tried to stay up to date no matter what! Before I would let lecture after lecture pile up but ever since doing this, my study life has been much easier to cope with. 

- UNDERSTANDING EVERYTHING YOU LEARN FROM THAT WEEK, I cannot stress how much this has helped me. If I am learning about a topic in week 5, I have to understand it fully in week 5, not when I am in finals week and stressing out. I use resources such as textbooks and the internet to help me understand or I will ask my teacher. The important thing is I understand it fully.

- Be organised!  Know when you have an assignment due, there are so many ways to do this. Handheld planner, wall planner, phone reminders, there is apps such as my study life. Anything that will remind you to get started on the thing before it is too late.

- Review your notes weekly or fortnightly!!! Memory works by relearning, instead of cramming the night before exams, review weeks before.

- Break down your essays weeks before its due, you don’t have to start writing them right away but at least start thinking about them.

- Utilise any free time, for example instead of listening to music on my 45 min bus ride to uni I started listening to a psych podcast or doing my readings for that day.

- Have mental health days, I found out how difficult it is to study and how necessary it is to take breaks. Studying is stressful, have days/half days where you relax and look after yourself.

-Cut down on caffeine, I was a serial coffee addict, Im talking 4 shots a cup three times a day. Cutting down reduced my anxiety and got me sleeping more, which improved my mood and energy.

- Have a study buddy/group, find someone who is serious about their study and have study sessions with them, you get to study and have a social life.

- Find a study schedule that suits you, don’t feel pressure to get up at 5 am if you find it easier to study at 6pm.

Relax, you will be okay.

Masterpost 4 out of 50: The Motivation  Self-Discipline Masterpost

HOW TO APPROACH CLASSES A guide to getting the most out of your classes and lectures

By Eintsein