I'd like to know I'm not alone on just struggling in this regard. Studying exhausts my work brain, and my work brain exhausts my study brain, don't know what to do about it at this point. I'm married and while I don't have kids, I have until recently been dealing with a lot of problems with my family too. My tests next month but I'm stuck 3 points below my goal score on my most recent PTs and don't know how to progress. And while I'm happy for the community, it can get very discouraging logging in and seeing people posting about their 178-180 PT scores.
I remember hearing in the 7sage podcast that, at least, fulltime work while applying is a powerful soft factor and that's my sole consolation.
42
29 comments
I struggle with this too. I use my brain all day at work and it can be hard to come home to study and use my brain even more. The biggest thing that helps me is knowing that I don't have to practice perfectly. If my plan is to study 2 hours that night and I only study 30 minutes, I try to remind myself that 30 minutes is better than nothing. Having that mindset stops a shame spiral that completely derails studying.
You are definitely not alone lol. I work a full time analytical job that is closer to 50 hrs a week. Married, no kids, and family drama that takes up a lot of emotional capacity. On a perfect day I have 1-2 hrs max to study but that is if I get off at 5pm and have already woken up at 5am to get a workout in. I have a 2 hour commute (one way) twice a week and it gets exhausting. Those days I’m lucky to even finish work that evening.
It seems counterintuitive but the ONLY thing that has kept me sane is movement. Sitting and using your brain for too long has negative returns. If I ever have to choose between studying and working out. I will bring an iPad or my laptop and go on the stair master or bike and just do drills. It’s crazy how much it forces you to focus, training your body and your brain to tune out the noise, music, thoughts, etc.
Also, remove social media entirely if you haven’t and lock in. You won’t miss it. Anytime you intuitively take your phone with you to the bathroom, sitting at the table, in the drive through etc. do drills instead. 7Sage games and adaptive drills are perfect for that time and you have no excuse. 2 questions are better than 0.
Blind review the ones you get wrong when you have more capacity (aka not working out) and boil it down to main ideas/takeaways. You will watch out for those errors more closely next time!
@BrynnaM also I have heard by many law students that studying for the lsat while working full time is at least as hard (if not harder) than law school itself. Primarily because of the self control and perseverance it requires. You feel more alone. Everyone else is in a different reality than you. Vs in school. It’s school mindset, school days, school friends, school social life
@BrynnaM I loved this comment and especially the second one. I wish it could go right at the top because it's such a good point! I totally get it, ESPECIALLY the commute because I also had a 2-2.5 hour each way daily commute 😭 Thankfully not anymore, I don't think I'd be able to cope at all if that was the case. Hang in there, good luck with all of it, and the drilling bit is a great piece of advice.
I don't have any advice, and I wish I did, but it's been nice to find my people in this thread.
@RDezz True, seeing everyone come together in the comments and share their advice makes me glad for this community. We can all do it!
literally on the same page... sometimes i feel like i should quit my job but then i ask myself if i will realistically get up and study full time or will I just not have any motivation to get up and simply study
@JulieeJuliee Oh that's a really good point. I saw someone else in the comments describe it as equal to the load of law school so I'm hoping I'm building endurance then. Good luck between it all :)
@JulieeJuliee yea tbh I did that and it was super hard because you really can't study for that long. I am actually doing better with a full-time job than I did without.
You're definitely not alone! I'd be lying if I said that juggling work full-time, marriage (+ moving), & LSAT/application prep wasn't exhausting. May not be for everyone, but I typically take advantage of the free time I have on the weekends to study more in depth (usually spend 1-1.5 hrs a day on weekdays).
@IanOder Same here, I just use the weekends best I can and hope it's enough. Also oh my god, the hassle of moving amongst practice is terrible last time I had to do it I couldn't study that whole month. I hope it goes by easy for you!
Completely feel you on this, especially in the last month, when I've had a bunch of 12-hour work days, and my brain is fried by the time I get to studying. No real tips other than emphasizing breaks when you can. I keep reminding myself it is a temporary season of life, and that it will feel so amazing once I've submitted all my applications and can just focus on work and life. It will feel like we have so much free time at that point haha
Agreed! It's a lot. I like to think they know that lol. I'm working as a paralegal in big law that expects a lot from me, and it's rare that I feel im doing my best studying during the week ever if at all. im hoping they really do see it's power! 3 points is SO CLOSE!!! you got this.
@user101 man that is going to IMPRESSIVE on a resume though! from a fellow paralegal, we got this... may the years of working in the law grant us that much. thank you and good luck to you too!
What helps me the most is prioritizing rest. No matter how much you want to be committed to studying, remember that it actually is very productive to take at least one day each week to be completely out of LSAT thinking so you can reset and have some time to chill. I also find that, on my very busy work days, studying in 1 hour or 45 minute chunks of time is the most helpful for me. The only time I study for longer than that at once is when I'm doing a full practice test. Lastly, if your test is a month away, remember that things are about to get easier, whether you reach your goal score or not. You can do this!
@ripleyschultz Thank you so much for the perspective about how it's only a month out! It's hard to remember that. and the reminder to rest :) I hope others see it and take it to heart too because last LSAT I seriously burned myself out and didn't score as high as I wanted / could. Good luck to you!
You're not alone. It is so hard. Im also working full time and I have two kids under the age of 4. My strategy is having a long study period and only scheduling 5-6 hours a week of studying. I'm hoping that studying over 10 months will be enough to make up for the lower weekly study hours. Rest and don't over do it. Good luck!
@cmonc093 Two kids under four and fulltime work sounds like so much! Good luck I hope the 10 months period works out for you. Slow and steady is honestly best and what worked for me. Good luck!
Going through this right now! Between full time work, mom of 2, and everything in between I am exhausted! Daily asking God for strength , discipline, time to get through this process. If others can do it so can I . But I am drained daily
you are not alone!
i am also married, working full time, and studying daily for the LSAT! it can be so exhausting!😩
the thing i’ve noticed that helps me is trying to prevent burn out. i’ve definitely experienced some burn out.
to do this i dedicate 1-2 hours of studying a day throughout the week. i come home from work and start studying asap. i dont make dinner or do anything else until i get my studying out of the way. i continue doing my normal things too— like going yo the gym and some other hobbies. i focus most of my study time on friday (i only work half day).
also, during my lunch break i try to do just one LR 5 question drill. it’s over in 7 min. sometimes i have time to review it during my lunch break and sometimes i dont 🤷🏻♀️ but i just try to do the best i can.
you are not alone! we got this!!
I don't have a ton of advice for you because I'm struggling to balance working 50 hours a week and studying as well but what has helped for me was treating this like a marathon instead of a sprint and giving myself a year if not more to study, which I hope will make up for only studying for 6-8ish hours per week. I also try to multitask a bit and study during the workday when I can, take practice tests in cafes i've been wanting to try, listen to LSAT podcasts during my commute and do drills on the stair master at the gym. I still feel pretty burned out though.
Yes! I work full time over nights and have a 5 year old. So I mostly sleep when he's at school, which is only 4 hours because I have to take him back and forth. Then lucky to get a 1 or 2 hour nap before work. The brain fog is so bad. And just found out my work schedule is changing and it's about to get soooo much worse. It's so hard not to just get so discouraged that I quit. But I just try to remember this will lead to a better future and take breaks when I feel the burn out getting worse.
Your trails are not suffered alone! I feel you. I don't have kids, but I do contract work full-time and have many "life" obligations, both of which leave me with little energy at the end of the day. My "study plan" is set to light, yet I barely get through it by the end of the week, if at all.
My biggest difficulty in studying is finding time to practice reading comprehension, just because the nature of it requires that I be committed and locked in. With LR, I can sort of "microdose" it when I have moments of down time during work hours or when I'm out and about. Not sure if anyone else feels the same, but some advice on this would be very helpful.
Anyway, thanks for creating this thread. I've been feeling the weight of it all, and what you said about seeing people posting about their high performance resonated with me. This is my first time interacting with any community post on 7sage! Your struggle is felt.
Yes! And thank you so much for building community with this thread. I work full-time and have two young children. My goal is to take the LSAT in January and to take one practice test each month from October - January. When I score my target LSAT score I'll move on to drafting my application materials.
im doing this also and its hard. i dont have much advice, its hard and its going to continue to be hard. i dont mean to sound corny but i honestly think you just have to want it so bad that you are willing to study for hours after work even if it means your life is a mess. you can do it. get obsessed.
@kubieja It's been over a year now but yeah that's where I'm at, just studying on my 30 min unpaid break daily and then devoting my weekends to it. Good luck to you as well :)
feeling this way as well! you are definitely not alone
I totally feel you. It feels overwhelming, but know that you are not alone, you are doing everything you can, take pauses and let yourself rest when needed, be patient with yourself :)