Subscription pricing
Anyone else have no life and is about to lose all friends because of LSAT?
I am curious how others balance studying and personal life?
10
Anyone else have no life and is about to lose all friends because of LSAT?
I am curious how others balance studying and personal life?
32 comments
@wesleybward464 said:
@ebelineluna589 sounds like you are doing the pomodoro technique( studying for 25 mins and taking a 5 min break). I switched it up a bit by studying for 45 mins and giving myself 10-15 min breaks.
I am actually gonna try that today :)
@gregoryalexanderdevine723 said:
You have to consider how this will increase your risk for LSAT burnout. If every waking moment of your time is spent thinking about/doing LSAT stuff, you're going to burnout and need to take a substantial amount of time off to recover (at least that was my experience)
I sorta took a gym schedule approach to my studying. 3 on 1 off or 2 on 1 off. Sometimes my "off" days were spent watching videos of JY doing problems but me not doing them - but this was rare.
Just piggybacking off of this - burnout is VERY REAL. It's not worth it. I worked 90 days straight once, one full time job, one part time job, while having a girlfriend and working out. But when the burnout hit, I literally had to resign from my second job. I just couldn't bring myself to work, and my brain was in a complete fog. I actually feel like it made it hard to focus on anything else in my life for a while. Any type of work seemed way more difficult. Something just breaks in your brain when burnout strikes, and it definitely won't be good for your overall LSAT score and your mental health for that matter. Just my 2 cents.
I agree that you need to take a progressive overload approach to studying, similar to working out, as it will prevent burnout and it will allow your mind to adjust to the high stress levels provoked by the difficult problem solving the LSAT will require of you.
@ebelineluna589 sounds like you are doing the pomodoro technique( studying for 25 mins and taking a 5 min break). I switched it up a bit by studying for 45 mins and giving myself 10-15 min breaks.
Lol @alumivacui751
I am putting in at least 4 hours each day studying for 5x a week and then going out on either Friday or Saturday to reward myself. But it is so HARD, some times i literally have no motivation. I also give myself breaks to use my phone, because if I dont put my phone away, I will literally use Snapchat.
Time management is your friend. Perhaps push your study time a little earlier in the morning so that you can make time to live?
@ebelineluna589 I agree and I am pretty I've lost some friends along the way but hopefully it will be worth it.
@kparish643 haha that's why 7sage is a great place but if you've got any other suggestions on where I can make nerdier friends, I am open to giving it a chance.
I know this might not seem like an option but you can always start making nerdier friends...on the Internet.
I study from about 10am to roughly 2pm or 3 pm daily. After study time I hang out with my gf or family, sometimes watch a movie or read a book. In the end it'll all be worth it! It's not too difficult rekindling a relationship with a friend after a few months of hard studying. If they're actually you're friend and care for you, they'll understand. I think of it as a way of weeding out those who may not necessarily be a real friend or companion, same goes for bf's and gf's.
I study from 8/9am everyday to about 3pm. And then after 3pm, I workout, play sports, see friends through golf, and video games. If I keep studying all day over my 6-hour threshold, I feel like I don’t gain much from those extra hours studying. But that is just me :)
I just quit my job as an admin clerk at a large law firm and have distanced myself somewhat from friends who party on the weekends, etc. I’ve done it all for the LSAT and wanting to get into the best law school I can. Studying for the LSAT with a dense job in a busy practice area was too much for me to handle. However, I still make time after I study, to hangout with friends, play sports and video games. So, I still try to balance social life/hobbies with this test. Best of luck studying!
I had very little social life before studying for the test, now I have a nice excuse ;)
@wesleybward464 said:
@leahbeuk911 said:
I think it’s definitely important to budget time away from the LSAT to maintain your mental health. I studied while working full time. So I made sure to set aside 1 week night per week that I would not do anything LSAT related, and schedule something fun with friends, like catching up over happy hour or dinner and a movie. Then on the weekends, I would take a PT Saturday morning and then set things aside and not do anything else LSAT related. Sunday’s I would BR the PT I took the day before. If BR took more than about 4-5 hours, I’d stop and finish on Monday after work. So that gave me 1 week night plus like half a day on Saturday and Sunday. I also realized after a while that studying the LSAT was such an isolating experience that I badly needed social time in order to balance that out and keep me happy. So I was very intentional about scheduling things with friends during my off time. I really think that made a huge impact for me and allowed me to study for much longer without losing my mind, which allowed me to achieve my best possible LSAT score.
I highly recommend making sure to schedule some time that you’re not working on the LSAT but doing something fun that leaves you feeling refreshed and happy. I think it’s a valuable skill to learn how to balance this now, since law school and beginning a law career are both of course very stressful situations. It’s a good exercise in recognizing what you need and finding a way to make it happen, even during a very busy season.
Thank you for this. It's only now after taking the test for the second time yesterday that I'm realizing just how hyper-focused I've been and how hard it's been on my husband. It truly can be an isolating experience - to the point where sometimes I was physically in my home but mentally not there at all. It's a powerful thing that must be treated with care and it takes effort to achieve a life balance. Heavy stuff.
I agree with you.
P.S @leahbeuk911 's comments are always very helpful.
@alumivacui751 said:
Absolutely. It’s a high stakes entrance exam so expect that studying for it brings out both the best and worst in people.
Couldn't agree more
Yes, we will not give up!
@ebelineluna589 said:
I think of the LSAT community as a component of social life. :)
YES!
For simply the purpose of camaraderie, you are not alone. Here in month seven of this battle. Cheers to you for continuing on.
Absolutely. It’s a high stakes entrance exam so expect that studying for it brings out both the best and worst in people.
@leahbeuk911 said:
I think it’s definitely important to budget time away from the LSAT to maintain your mental health. I studied while working full time. So I made sure to set aside 1 week night per week that I would not do anything LSAT related, and schedule something fun with friends, like catching up over happy hour or dinner and a movie. Then on the weekends, I would take a PT Saturday morning and then set things aside and not do anything else LSAT related. Sunday’s I would BR the PT I took the day before. If BR took more than about 4-5 hours, I’d stop and finish on Monday after work. So that gave me 1 week night plus like half a day on Saturday and Sunday. I also realized after a while that studying the LSAT was such an isolating experience that I badly needed social time in order to balance that out and keep me happy. So I was very intentional about scheduling things with friends during my off time. I really think that made a huge impact for me and allowed me to study for much longer without losing my mind, which allowed me to achieve my best possible LSAT score.
I highly recommend making sure to schedule some time that you’re not working on the LSAT but doing something fun that leaves you feeling refreshed and happy. I think it’s a valuable skill to learn how to balance this now, since law school and beginning a law career are both of course very stressful situations. It’s a good exercise in recognizing what you need and finding a way to make it happen, even during a very busy season.
Thank you for this. It's only now after taking the test for the second time yesterday that I'm realizing just how hyper-focused I've been and how hard it's been on my husband. It truly can be an isolating experience - to the point where sometimes I was physically in my home but mentally not there at all. It's a powerful thing that must be treated with care and it takes effort to achieve a life balance. Heavy stuff.
@wesleybward464 said:
@gregoryalexanderdevine723 when you did 3on 1 off, what was your daily schedule on study days?
Well, I work full time and have a wife and kid so it's not typical in any sense. I'd put in my 8 hours at work, have dinner with the fam and then I was off to my ungrad's library.
I really only put in MAYBE 4-5 hours a day on study days and it was all late at night. And since I had such a set schedule for this, I would do something like, RC, LG, LR, off, RC, LG, LR. Most days i was drilling old old tests and then watching videos. The next week I would throw in a full test. But this is just what worked for me. I felt comfortable with this schedule and the amount of time I was spending on each topic and how I was doing it.
One thing that has helped retain some semblance of balance is that I am now teaching my partner how to take the LSAT (she is going to med school so it’s strictly for fun). It helps to both go over material with someone/explaining your reasoning out loud, and also allows me to maintain both some contact with her whilst being productive. Just an idea, but try to find a friend who might be interested in some LSAT fun time and do that together!
@gregoryalexanderdevine723 when you did 3on 1 off, what was your daily schedule on study days?
@ebelineluna589 not gonna lie, the 7sage discussion forum is the only social media I am allowing myself to use until i am done taking the test. 😅
I think of the LSAT community as a component of social life. :)