Study times and the schedule planner

TheDeterminedC

Just some background for a minute, I have no job and one class at school I can devote as much time to the LSAT as I need to. I am not afraid of hard work. GPA is T1 level and the only instance that stands between myself and my dream school is the LSAT.

The problem I have been having is with the work in the syllabus. I try and shoot for 8 hours a day working on the 7sage course, but I've currently been feeling a little down by the time inconstancies between how long it takes me to do a problem set and how long it actually says it should be done in.

Each problem set (5 Q's) has a time of 30mins to complete. When I screenshot the questions and print ~5 minutes, take the 7 minutes for timed conditions, another BR of about ~20 minutes to really understand why the answers are right or wrong, and finally watching the video explanations ~30 mins; I realized each problem set is about an hour, give or take, and after putting in four hours I will take a break. When I return, I see that I've only had "two hours of progress" for the week. I can't seem to shake off this notion that I am not doing enough, or maybe I am doing it in a way that is not correct for studying. Nevertheless, I am learning so much from each and every problem set and lesson, but I have ran into the problem where I still have 24 hours of studying for this week to do and I am afraid I will just keep getting buried as I progress.

Any thoughts

apublicdisplay

Are you trying to punch in and out 8 hours like some job or are you trying to learn the lesson? You said it yourself, you're learning so much from each and every problem set and lesson. That sounds like solid assurance that you're studying correctly.

This doesn't mean you have to master the curriculum and all the problem sets. I know many do problem sets to the extent that they feel comfortable with the question type before moving on. Then, they revisit the core curriculum throughout their studies to address particular weaknesses they've identified, and that's where those leftover problem sets can be a big help.

I would continue to focus on learning first and then setting some time, like the end of the week, to step back and assess how your week went and what little things you could do, that don't come at the cost of learning the material, to trim the fat and be a bit more efficient. It sounds like you're on the right track. Besides, you can expect to progressively get faster as you spend time upfront mastering the fundamentals which naturally may take more time.

TheDeterminedC

@apublicdisplay Thank you so much for your kind words. In away, I do treat it as a job. I feel as if it keeps me more in a focused mindset and it helps me also hold myself accountable.

Great! It makes me feel better knowing that I am doing it correctly. Would you recommend leaving some problem sets to come back to later? I already feel amazingly confident in the strengthening LR questions after doing the 15 problem sets on the weakening side. I finished the first three sets of 15 problems in the strengthening with 4.5 minutes left, all will 100% accuracy. My hopes have turned for the better.

And I really will take your advice on this weekly evaluation. That will really help me pinpoint where I can get better in-between my LSAT prep. Thank you!

apublicdisplay

Going through all the problem sets and being 100% confident sounds like the ideal. If you're benefitting from them that much then I don't see a reason why you should save them for the end. If you notice it's taking a ridiculously inordinate amount of time then it's ok to not be 100% complete with the problem sets as you can revisit them as need be. But, I wouldn't change anything right now if I were you.

TheDeterminedC

Perfect, I will take your advice and stick with the study plan. Thanks again @apublicdisplay

apublicdisplay

No problem! Hope others chime in as well.