Law school is hard, demanding, competitive, and stressful. While we all recognize the importance of studying, sometimes it can be difficult to put effective study methods into practice. Here are some studying tips and habits you can apply to help you develop a foundation to perform well.
Plan your work
Dedicate an hour a week to plan out your week! Investing in a traditional planner or digital scheduling platform can help you manage and organize all your assignments. This will help you practice good time management and track your goals.
Avoid procrastination
When you get ahead in your readings, you can better avoid falling behind. The best way to avoid procrastination is to write down a deadline for yourself earlier. By taking the time to do it in advance it will save you so much time later and stress!
Form a Study Group
Getting together with your colleagues can encourage you to think creatively and build strong communication skills. Students that participate in study groups feel more confident and comfortable reaching for their academic groups.
Create Your Own Outlines
Outlining will help fully understand the large amounts of content given to you during your classes. Manipulating and organizing the material on your own is a great way to identify what you know – and what areas might need more practice or study. Relying on a bar-prep book or, worse, another student’s old outline, might save you time in the short run but certainly won’t help you fully digest important information. (Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, 2018)
Prioritize sleep
Sleep is incredibly important for various aspects of your brain function. Having good sleep has been shown to improve problem-solving skills and enhance memory performance. According to Healthline, cognition, concentration, productivity, and performance are all negatively affected by sleep deprivation.
References
Foley, M. (2018, August 8). 7 tips for surviving law school (from current law students). ABA for Law Students. https://abaforlawstudents.com/2018/08/13/7-tips-for-surviving-law-school-from-current-law-students/
Leech, M. J. S. (2022, January 6). 10 reasons to get more sleep. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-reasons-why-good-sleep-is-important#2.-Can-improve-concentration-and-productivity
Western Michigan University Cooley Law School. (2018). The 10 habits of highly successful law students. https://info.cooley.edu/blog/the-10-habits-of-successful-law-students