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June LSAT takers (especially all you studying LSAT full time) -- what is this last month of studying looking like for you?
How many hours studying
Wake up /bedtime
Gym routine
Time for other stuff
What you're focusing on
etc.
I'm type A, I love to plan so I want to create a plan for this last month of work. I study full time (hence I'm super curious about others studying full time) and idk just want to get ideas for what a healthy routine looks like.
Also as I'm writing this I'm like damn is it normally to be building my life around one test... share your thoughts pls, merci (3(/p)
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26 comments
@rochishatogare811 i fux with ur sleep schedule lol
I am still in school, so:
I wake up anywhere from 10:00-1:00, depending on the days classes. I grab a Red Bull and listen to music for about 10 minutes.
About 40 minutes after I wake up I go to class. Sometimes I have one class a day, sometimes I have class11:00am to 8:00pm. On an average day I have one class around noon and then grab lunch and another Red Bull. I then return for the rest of my classes. From 8:00pm-1:00am ish I will do homework or LSAT. I am generally always in the Library when I have extra time. I will probably grab a coffee or something as well as dinner.
I try to relax a bit before going to bed. I go to bed around 3:00 ish, sometimes 4:00. The exception to this is when I have exams the next morning.
Most of my studying happens on Friday (no class) and on the weekends. On these days I am spending most of my time studying. I occasionally have obligations for clubs and my Fraternity. I probably go out at night once a week.
As you can see, my schedule is not always structured but I have managed nonetheless. The test is coming up- we got this!
@domsiravo899 I printed out the practice questions from the core curriculum and drill them over and over (and over) again. For the PT's that I get stumped on, I add them to the games I drill and then repeat.
Love what you guys have shared in this thread... ya'll live such wholesome, well organized lives I'm low key very inspired.
And since I started I thought I should share my current schedule too haha
Right now most days look like this:
9am: Wake up
9:30 am: get out of bed (I love my bed)
10am - 12pm: breakfast, read, other projects, probably a coffee run, go on a walk/gym/just sit outside if I'm lazy that day
12pm - 1pm: meditate/stretch
1pm - 10pm/11pm: study with an hour lunch break in between
11pm: chill with friends or watch shows
12pm: in bed, sleep by 1am latest
Mon - Thurs I try to do ~ 1pm - 10pm, Fri - Sun are way more chill ~ 6 hrs max, Sundays usually off
I want to push everything up two hours (aka wake up at 7am) so believe it or not waking up earlier is my project for this month. My other goal is to reduce the time between waking up and when I start studying. I think my brain peaks in the evening and it's really my best focus time but idk I feel so guilty about starting at 1pm so I think I'm going to dabble with waking up earlier, studying right away, taking a few hours of break in between, and then picking back up in the evening when I'm most focused..
Ya'll wake up so early. Were any of you night owls who had to transition to mornings? Let me know how you did it.
If I was doing PTs 50-54 I would break up PT 54 for experimental sections. Then I do PT 50 with a fifth section from 54. When i finish i use a randint generator to pick which 2 of 3 LR sections are scored. Or 1 of 2 RC/LG as the case may be. The scoring may be off by a hair because of curve or having an extra question, but overall it balances and replicates test conditions well.
@juanpalaciomoreno914 said:
Bump FT. I was planning on taking in June but planning on postponing to July/September with a retake in November. I am also coordinating with my boss to shift over to a 20-30 hour work week in August in order to spend more time studying for the LSAT. I usually follow two schedules on the weekday and the same one on the weekend:
Weekday A:
6:00-7:00 - wake up/breakfast/read
7:00-8:15 - study 1: usually drilling logic games with the occasional review of some LR concepts
8:15-17:00 - work (with some LG drilling during lunch time)
17:00-18:30 - gym
18:30-19:30 - dinner and relaxing
19:30-21:30 - study 2: reviewing core curriculum or old PTs, etc.
21:30-22:30 - unwind and journal
Weekday B:
(same as weekday A except I switch study 1and the gym)
Saturday:
9:00-12:00 - PT
12:00-14:00 - lunch and relax
14:00-18:00 - BR and grade
18:00-bedtime - no LSAT
Sunday:
9:00-13:00 - review mistakes from PTs
13:00-bedtime - "adulting" (laundry, meal prep, etc.) and occasional review/drilling depending on my brain
What do you use to drill LG? I don't want to burn sections from PTs I haven't taken yet but as another person working FT I would like to use lunch and any time in the morning to drill LG if I could!
I work full time and am trying to get back into a routine... it's tough when you've been off the wagon for a while! (I took the December LSAT and have now decided to re-apply, so retaking the LSAT in the meantime.)
A good study week for me looks like this:
On weekdays:
8am wake up
9:00-12:00 work
12:00-1:00 lunch - walk to library and do 1 timed section
1:00-6:00 work
6:30-7:30 dinner, TV, relaxing
7:30-10 studying
Take a PT on Saturday
BR the PT on Sunday
I've realized that even though I'm a total night owl, my brain shuts down around 10pm and I stop being able to do any meaningful studying. I also generally study 4 weeknights and take 1 weeknight off to do something fun. On the weekends, I keep it limited to only the PT on Saturday and just the BR on Sunday. I have to make sure not to overdo it or I start burning out.
It's tough only studying 2 or maybe 3 hours per weeknight, but there just are limitations on us full time workers. I do bookkeeping work during the day, so also some nights my brain is fried and I don't accomplish much of anything. I think it's important not to be too hard on yourself and recognize limitations. Some days will be better or worse than others. It's better to work at your own pace than push the limits and get burned out.
@xadrianas6x881 said:
@mjmonte17592
Doesn't that mess up the PT for you though? For example lets say I choose section 3 for PT60 to use as my experimental for PT61, when I put that section into the exam I'll see what order the exam is, and I'll know which one is the experimental and which one isn't.
I don't put it in the PT for that reason. If I'm taking a PT I'll have the experimental PT printed completely and then use a random # generator which will tell me which section will be the experimental. When I get to that # I put away the real PT and pull out the experimental PT so that way I don't influence myself by looking at the order of the sections.
@xadrianas6x881 said:
Yeah I do 4 section PTs. I haven't figured out a way to do 5 section PTs without robbing myself of some aspect of the exam. If I create my own 5 section PTs, then I end up knowing which is the experimental as well as the order that the sections are in, and that messes up the PT for me.
I tried to add an experimental from PTs 1-35, but I can tell the sections apart from the actual exam due to the differences in LR/RC/LG.
It's okay if you can tell that it's experimental -- I'd be surprised if you couldn't!
I actually used to stick with four sections, too, but then I came to look at it as an opportunity to build my endurance to get through 5 sections (that extra 35 minutes when I really want to be done). Sometimes I'll put the regular RC and the experimental RC back to back, or two LG's right at the start of the PT, or go LR - RC - LR - LR to get myself comfortable not having an LG section as a "break." When I first started I used to feel miserable knowing I still had two sections after break, but now I could do 7 sections and I'd still score consistently.
I also find that splitting up a PT I hadn't used for drilling (like 37 onwards, instead of 1-35) raised the stakes because it was "fresh" and I didn't want to squander the learning opportunity. It makes the experimental feel more important, and I assume it's a close-enough substitute for the feeling of not knowing which section is experimental on the real test.
I don't think you need to make every test a five section test, but at least one every few weeks wouldn't be a bad idea.
@mjmonte17592
Doesn't that mess up the PT for you though? For example lets say I choose section 3 for PT60 to use as my experimental for PT61, when I put that section into the exam I'll see what order the exam is, and I'll know which one is the experimental and which one isn't.
@xadrianas6x881 > @xadrianas6x881 said:
@tylerdschreur10199
Yeah I do 4 section PTs. I haven't figured out a way to do 5 section PTs without robbing myself of some aspect of the exam. If I create my own 5 section PTs, then I end up knowing which is the experimental as well as the order that the sections are in, and that messes up the PT for me.
I tried to add an experimental from PTs 1-35, but I can tell the sections apart from the actual exam due to the differences in LR/RC/LG.
I do a 5 section PT by choosing a preptest that will be my experimental for my next 4 lsat practice tests and doing that in order.
For example: Take PT 55,56,57,58 and for each use a sections in PT 59 as experimental then Blind Review the experimental treating it just as you would if you are taking an actual PT.
@tylerdschreur10199
Yeah I do 4 section PTs. I haven't figured out a way to do 5 section PTs without robbing myself of some aspect of the exam. If I create my own 5 section PTs, then I end up knowing which is the experimental as well as the order that the sections are in, and that messes up the PT for me.
I tried to add an experimental from PTs 1-35, but I can tell the sections apart from the actual exam due to the differences in LR/RC/LG.
@xadrianas6x881 said:
This has been my full time study schedule for the past three or so months.
Non-PT Days:
6:15-6:45AM - Wake up, I budget 30 mins extra sleep in case of a bad night's sleep.
6:45-7:15AM - Meditate, headspace app.
7:15-8:45AM - Study Mandarin Chinese & drink morning coffee
9:00AM-11:30AM - FP Logic games
11:30-12:30PM - Lunch
12:30-4:30PM - Various drills
4:30-5:30PM - Walk the doggos
5:30-7:00PM - Study Mandarin Chinese, Dinner
7:00-8:30PM - Housework and exercise if time allows
9:00PM - All bright lights off in room, start reading.
9:45PM - Melatonin and multivitamin
10:00PM - Sleep
PT Days:
6:15-6:45AM - Wake up, I budget 30 mins extra sleep in case of a bad night's sleep.
6:45-7:15AM - Meditate, headspace app.
7:15-8:45AM - Study Mandarin Chinese & drink morning coffee
9:00-11:00AM - Warm up drills, mostly LG and NA questions
11:00-12:45PM - Lunch, listen to music to get into the zone
1:00PM - Start PT.
3:45PM - Finish PT
3:45-5:30PM - BR PT
5:30-7:00PM - Study Mandarin Chinese, Dinner
7:00-8:30PM - Housework and exercise if time allows
9:00PM - All bright lights off in room, start reading.
9:45PM - Melatonin and multivitamin
10:00PM - Sleep
This schedule has worked well for me thus far, but I'm honestly going to need to pull it back a little bit because I think I'm starting to burn out. Yesterday while taking my PT I got angry and cussed out the LSAC writers because I ran out of time & space on my LG section. (PT71 S2 G4, seriously wtf lsac writers, you have to brute force literally every single question.. smh).
My main worry going into the June exam is consistency. My goal is 175+ and my scores are all over the place. I can score 169 on Wednesday and 178 on Friday.. my scores just have so much volatility lately that I'm extremely worried I'll end up way below my average on test day.
Hate to be that guy, but a PT should be taking 3hr 10 minutes minimum. If you're doing it in 2:45, you're either skipping the experimental section(very unwise!), skipping the break (unwise), or jumping to the next section before 35 is up (very unwise). Any of these is robbing you of value and preparation for test day conditions. Hopefully you just rounded, but PSA rant just in case!!
I promise I'm not a dick, trying to be helpful! Cheers :)
@amatthews304968 said:
@sm537 said:
FT worker here as well. Thanks for this. I usually try to get a couple of hours in after work. I'll need to bump it up a few hours. Will you be working FT once you're in law school?
I'm definitely still a work in progress when it comes to focusing for the full 4 hours after work! Sometimes if I get home and my brain isn't working at full capacity I'll have a cup of tea and work as long as the tea does and then call it a night. I find I just get more stressed out by studying when my brain is too tired for full (or mostly full) comprehension.
I have kind of a weird path. I'm taking the LSAT then joining the Peace Corps in September, so I won't be attending law school until Fall 2021 at the earliest. I plan on being a student full-time and perhaps picking up a side hustle after 1L.
I understand. I have to wind down from working all day before I can get focused. That's awesome that you're joining the Peace Corps. Well wishes on that front and on crushing the LSAT.
@sm537 said:
FT worker here as well. Thanks for this. I usually try to get a couple of hours in after work. I'll need to bump it up a few hours. Will you be working FT once you're in law school?
I'm definitely still a work in progress when it comes to focusing for the full 4 hours after work! Sometimes if I get home and my brain isn't working at full capacity I'll have a cup of tea and work as long as the tea does and then call it a night. I find I just get more stressed out by studying when my brain is too tired for full (or mostly full) comprehension.
I have kind of a weird path. I'm taking the LSAT then joining the Peace Corps in September, so I won't be attending law school until Fall 2021 at the earliest. I plan on being a student full-time and perhaps picking up a side hustle after 1L.
Bump FT. I was planning on taking in June but planning on postponing to July/September with a retake in November. I am also coordinating with my boss to shift over to a 20-30 hour work week in August in order to spend more time studying for the LSAT. I usually follow two schedules on the weekday and the same one on the weekend:
Weekday A:
6:00-7:00 - wake up/breakfast/read
7:00-8:15 - study 1: usually drilling logic games with the occasional review of some LR concepts
8:15-17:00 - work (with some LG drilling during lunch time)
17:00-18:30 - gym
18:30-19:30 - dinner and relaxing
19:30-21:30 - study 2: reviewing core curriculum or old PTs, etc.
21:30-22:30 - unwind and journal
Weekday B:
(same as weekday A except I switch study 1and the gym)
Saturday:
9:00-12:00 - PT
12:00-14:00 - lunch and relax
14:00-18:00 - BR and grade
18:00-bedtime - no LSAT
Sunday:
9:00-13:00 - review mistakes from PTs
13:00-bedtime - "adulting" (laundry, meal prep, etc.) and occasional review/drilling depending on my brain
@amatthews304968 said:
I'm working full time so not quite what you're looking for, but I am curious how other FT working people are planning to spend their time. I'm PTing in the high 160s/low 170s which is my goal score so I'm hoping to push that score up a few points on my PTs so I feel more comfortable walking into the real thing. Doing this by focusing on getting my LG consistently at -0/-2 (currently average -3/-4) and there always seem to be one or two easy questions I miss in LR so I'm trying to figure out what's going wrong there.
Right now its:
Wake Up 7
Work 8 - 4:30
Drive home, eat a snack, lay in bed for 10 minutes: 4:30 - 5:30
Meditate 5:30 - 5:40
Study 5:40 - 9:30 ish
I usually take a quick break somewhere in there to eat dinner (I try to meal prep on Sundays so I just have to pop it in the microwave and eat it)
Then I shower, clean up my room a little, maybe chat with my roommates for a bit and try to be in bed around 10:30 to read The Economist until I fall asleep.
On the weekends I PT on Saturday and BR on Sunday. I try to take off one night or day per week, but that changes depending on what my outside obligations are that week.
Things that I don't do as much of: hang out with my friends, go to the gym, play sports.
Not going to the gym kills me the most. I try to make it on the weekends but I used to go 4-5 days a week plus play rec league ultimate. I try to walk on my lunch break at work so I don't go totally insane.
Luckily I live with my best friend so we at least see each others faces on a regular basis. And on the weekends I switch off hanging with friends or visiting my parents for a few hours.
FT worker here as well. Thanks for this. I usually try to get a couple of hours in after work. I'll need to bump it up a few hours. Will you be working FT once you're in law school?
This has been my full time study schedule for the past three or so months.
Non-PT Days:
6:15-6:45AM - Wake up, I budget 30 mins extra sleep in case of a bad night's sleep.
6:45-7:15AM - Meditate, headspace app.
7:15-8:45AM - Study Mandarin Chinese & drink morning coffee
9:00AM-11:30AM - FP Logic games
11:30-12:30PM - Lunch
12:30-4:30PM - Various drills
4:30-5:30PM - Walk the doggos
5:30-7:00PM - Study Mandarin Chinese, Dinner
7:00-8:30PM - Housework and exercise if time allows
9:00PM - All bright lights off in room, start reading.
9:45PM - Melatonin and multivitamin
10:00PM - Sleep
PT Days:
6:15-6:45AM - Wake up, I budget 30 mins extra sleep in case of a bad night's sleep.
6:45-7:15AM - Meditate, headspace app.
7:15-8:45AM - Study Mandarin Chinese & drink morning coffee
9:00-11:00AM - Warm up drills, mostly LG and NA questions
11:00-12:45PM - Lunch, listen to music to get into the zone
1:00PM - Start PT.
3:45PM - Finish PT
3:45-5:30PM - BR PT
5:30-7:00PM - Study Mandarin Chinese, Dinner
7:00-8:30PM - Housework and exercise if time allows
9:00PM - All bright lights off in room, start reading.
9:45PM - Melatonin and multivitamin
10:00PM - Sleep
This schedule has worked well for me thus far, but I'm honestly going to need to pull it back a little bit because I think I'm starting to burn out. Yesterday while taking my PT I got angry and cussed out the LSAC writers because I ran out of time & space on my LG section. (PT71 S2 G4, seriously wtf lsac writers, you have to brute force literally every single question.. smh).
My main worry going into the June exam is consistency. My goal is 175+ and my scores are all over the place. I can score 169 on Wednesday and 178 on Friday.. my scores just have so much volatility lately that I'm extremely worried I'll end up way below my average on test day.
I'm working full time so not quite what you're looking for, but I am curious how other FT working people are planning to spend their time. I'm PTing in the high 160s/low 170s which is my goal score so I'm hoping to push that score up a few points on my PTs so I feel more comfortable walking into the real thing. Doing this by focusing on getting my LG consistently at -0/-2 (currently average -3/-4) and there always seem to be one or two easy questions I miss in LR so I'm trying to figure out what's going wrong there.
Right now its:
Wake Up 7
Work 8 - 4:30
Drive home, eat a snack, lay in bed for 10 minutes: 4:30 - 5:30
Meditate 5:30 - 5:40
Study 5:40 - 9:30 ish
I usually take a quick break somewhere in there to eat dinner (I try to meal prep on Sundays so I just have to pop it in the microwave and eat it)
Then I shower, clean up my room a little, maybe chat with my roommates for a bit and try to be in bed around 10:30 to read The Economist until I fall asleep.
On the weekends I PT on Saturday and BR on Sunday. I try to take off one night or day per week, but that changes depending on what my outside obligations are that week.
Things that I don't do as much of: hang out with my friends, go to the gym, play sports.
Not going to the gym kills me the most. I try to make it on the weekends but I used to go 4-5 days a week plus play rec league ultimate. I try to walk on my lunch break at work so I don't go totally insane.
Luckily I live with my best friend so we at least see each others faces on a regular basis. And on the weekends I switch off hanging with friends or visiting my parents for a few hours.
Every hour I can get. I seem to be doing better at RC, so mainly some LR and mostly LG for me. Other than that, work, lsat study, lsat study at work, weekends, etc. I'll be busy till the week of testing. I'm so blasted close, and I really would prefer to not have to retest in Sept. I mean, I will, but I don't wanna. LoL.
@sorooshianh185 said:
June LSAT takers (especially all you studying LSAT full time) -- what is this last month of studying looking like for you?
How many hours studying
Wake up /bedtime
Gym routine
Time for other stuff
What you're focusing on
etc.
I'm type A, I love to plan so I want to create a plan for this last month of work. I study full time (hence I'm super curious about others studying full time) and idk just want to get ideas for what a healthy routine looks like.
Also as I'm writing this I'm like damn is it normally to be building my life around one test... share your thoughts pls, merci (3(/p)
I love how you started this discussion forum because I was actually wondering the same thing! My schedule goes like this for me:
Wake-up:7:30am
Gym: 8am-9:00 or 9:30 (time differs depending on what I am working out)
First Study Session: I study 10:00-12:00 (I do a total of two study sessions per day because I am focusing on improving a little bit more in Logical Games and Logical Reasoning. This first study session is Logical Reasoning)
Work: 1:00-5:00 (Monday-Friday)
Second Study Session: 5:15-9:15 (This time is the longest because I have more to work on with Logical Games than I do with Logical Reasoning. Sometimes I even study both and end with PT)
I hope this helps in some kind of way for you! Again I love this discussion and some of the other ideas have helped me create a better schedule than this one but, this one has helped a lot for me! Good luck on the June test!
@mjmonte17592 said:
When I study full time:
Wake Up: 530AM
Read/other projects/breakfast: 6-8AM
Gym Routine: Everyday (8-9:30AM)
Lunch: 11AM
Study: 12PM - 5PM (full PT / review weak areas / BR)
Dinner: 5:30PM
Relax/other projects: 6:30-8:00PM
Bedtime: 8PM
For myself, 5 hours a day is the maximum I can do without causing burnout.
Good luck!
5am?? bye felicia!! lol I sleep and wake up a solid 5 hours after you hahahah how do you do it teach me your magical ways
I'm totally kidding, love your routine that's so awesome. Props for finding your study limit, that's super important too.
@sorooshianh185 said:
@sorooshianh185 said:
Also as I'm writing this I'm like damn is it normally to be building my life around one test...
For a test this important, I think it's understandable, lol.
I'm also studying full-time! I haven't really set a complete daily routine since it changes a bit everyday depending on whether I'm PT-ing, BR-ing, or just drilling, but it sort of goes like this right now:
8:15am: Wake up and get ready
8:45am: Go for a walk while listening to an audiobook or podcast (~40 minutes)
9:30am: Light breakfast if I'm hungry, or just coffee
10:30am: Study
12:30pm: Lunch
1:00pm: Walk (again audiobook/podcast)
1:30pm: Meditate for ~10 minutes
1:40pm: Continue studying
4:30pm: Browse the internet
5:00pm: Dinner
7:00pm: Walk or run (~60 minutes max)
8:00pm: Browse the internet, maybe get in another half-hour of studying
10:00pm: Get ready for bed. Read a novel and then meditate for ~5 minutes before I sleep around 12:00pm.
omg I love this so much!! Good luck getting over your plateau.... it might be worth changing up the way you take the test. Look into good test taking strategies (ex. skipping techniques) and practicing with confidence. I only say this because I'm right there with you and am doing these things myself. Good luck!
When I study full time:
Wake Up: 530AM
Read/other projects/breakfast: 6-8AM
Gym Routine: Everyday (8-9:30AM)
Lunch: 11AM
Study: 12PM - 5PM (full PT / review weak areas / BR)
Dinner: 5:30PM
Relax/other projects: 6:30-8:00PM
Bedtime: 8PM
For myself, 5 hours a day is the maximum I can do without causing burnout.
Good luck!
@sorooshianh185 said:
Also as I'm writing this I'm like damn is it normally to be building my life around one test...
For a test this important, I think it's understandable, lol.
I'm also studying full-time! I haven't really set a complete daily routine since it changes a bit everyday depending on whether I'm PT-ing, BR-ing, or just drilling, but it sort of goes like this right now:
8:15am: Wake up and get ready
8:45am: Go for a walk while listening to an audiobook or podcast (~40 minutes)
9:30am: Light breakfast if I'm hungry, or just coffee
10:30am: Study
12:30pm: Lunch
1:00pm: Walk (again audiobook/podcast)
1:30pm: Meditate for ~10 minutes
1:40pm: Continue studying
4:30pm: Browse the internet
5:00pm: Dinner
7:00pm: Walk or run (~60 minutes max)
8:00pm: Browse the internet, maybe get in another half-hour of studying
10:00pm: Get ready for bed. Read a novel and then meditate for ~5 minutes before I sleep around 12:00pm.
I always start my day with a walk so that's consistent. On days I'm PTing, I usually take a PT around 1:30 after eating + walking + meditating. Either way, I usually intersperse my studying with breaks to walk and consume food, and of course, mini breaks to get up and go downstairs, watch the news, snack, help with housework/chores, browse the internet, snack, chat with family, ...did I say snack?
I've also been getting ready to move after the June exam since I'll probably start working again, so I'm packing/cleaning (cataloguing my bajillion books, lol) and applying for work (those cover letters, ugh), usually for an hour or so a day. I also sometimes go out to study at a coffee shop after lunch (usually for a solid 3 or 4 hours), or chat with my BR group after dinner.
I don't really count how many hours I study per day -- I just don't think the hours I spend are as important as the quality of the time I spend. Still, I assume I spend at least 4-5hours/day on average. There are days that I'm super absorbed versus days I'm not.
As for what I'm focusing on, well, I've plateaued at 168 with a BR in the high 170s for my past ~7 tests and I can't get it to budge, so I'm trying to figure that out and not let the frustration get to me. What used to be my best section is now consistently my worst (RC), and my LR is averaging -4/section. Anyway, I've been using the LSAT Trainer to change up how I look at questions and hoping that the strategies will help me get my timing together, since I know I'm not as efficient as I could be. I'm just going to keep at it, review my last test closely, and see how the next test goes. Hopefully I can break through this plateau!