Law school may still be considered college, but it’s far from your average undergrad experience. In order to succeed in law school, most aspiring legal eagles will have change the habits they’ve built over the past 4 years. Though it obviously takes a track record of success to gain admission into law school, sustaining this unique environment of law school requires a skill set and self-discipline to match the standard class structure. In law school, exams count for significantly more than you’re the average course, with few, if any, other assignments to balance out the grade book. As a result, this places a significant amount of stress on students during the weeks approaching mid-terms and finals, particularly brutal for those who have not stuck to their preparation schedule and kept up with readings throughout the year. In many cases, such holes are too deep for even intelligent minds to climb out of. Here are a few practical suggestions to alter your day-to-day non-school related activities to better cater to a law school lifestyle:Center Entertainment around Coursework As an undergrad, many students try to fit school work into a busy social calendar. In law school, students should try to fit leisure in around the syllabus and study time. It is probably best to limit “going out” to strictly weekends, and not every weekend, while also no longer catering to weekly TV lineups. Of course, all work all the time will drive even the driven into a dark state of mind. It’s recommended to continue low-involvement diversion such as TV viewing (in moderation, mind you), but only when the time permits. DVR recorders can be of great aide to law students, offered for free with most DIRECT TV and DISH plans, or Netflix is always an option for movie buffs as well.Wake Up Early On Weekends It may seem self-loathing to suggest, considering law students work all week and study late into the night, one might surmise the weekend is a time for rest in a literal sense. It is far better to build habits of waking early, even if you don’t hit the books first thing Saturday morning. Conditioning your body to be less sleep dependent will help to fit more productive in the hours you are awake, not to mention early-risers operate on an extended time frame with more hours in the day.Live with Fellow Law Students or Live Alone Often times, no matter how well current roommates get along, a change in academic setting should coincide with a change in residence. In fact, getting along can be part of the problem. Watching one roommate continue to go out and live a laidback life by comparison can siphon motivation and/or serve as a distraction, as there will be temptation to pal around at times a law student should still be burning the oil. Remember, it’s not as if you are moving away and saying goodbye to a friend, merely relocating down the street or across town at the furthest.
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