What do you guys do to keep yourself motivated?

tylercobe

Hello , I'm finding myself having a hard time staying motivated unfortunately . I work a 4 tour rotating shift scheduled job and sometimes lose my focus and motivating to study . Anyone have any advice to keep yourself motivated / focused on studying hard while maintain a full time job with a ridiculous work schedule ?

LeslieKnopeIsMySpiritAnimal

First and foremost, I make sure to get 8 hours of sleep every night and eat well. Aside from that, what keeps me motivated is how horribly I failed at studying hard last year and the feeling of not being able to take the LSAT because I dropped the ball. I am not a good test-taker without a lot of prep, so visualizing how thankful I'll be on test day that I stuck with it and studied as hard as I did is a big motivator.

Also, a calendar/planner helps to keep track of the days and hours until your goal LSAT day - even if you don't end up taking the LSAT on the day that you had planned, it still helps to keep your studying on track. The other added benefit of the planner is that you can write down goals, study reminders for yourself, and uplifting quotes/notes to yourself.

Alex

Don't rely on motivation for anything. It is fleeting and unreliable. Discipline, however, is unyielding. Force yourself to follow through. Things are going to come up in life that get in the way of your goals but that's no reason to let them stop you completely. I know that might sound a bit gauche, but I find it true for everything.

That is not to say that motivation is not an important aspect and you should throw the baby out with the bathwater. But chasing motivation for things like tests can be very hard to do and to self-generate.

As far as remaining focused while working a job with ridiculous hours, I managed it for several months. I basically see the LSAT as like the last winning number I need on a scratch off. If I get a 170 I win big time! So that always kept me motivated and focused. I'd also study very odd hours sometimes from 9pm-3am and other times from 4am until I left for work at 8. With long hours it is hard to schedule study time, but it is doable. I also have the opposite of ADD (which some might consider a type of aspergers) I can just sit for hours, and if interrupted, just focus on my work and get it done. Make sure your phone is on airplane mode and you're ready to sit down and study!

Also it is crucial to take breaks. Burn out is real.

Good luck!

Bevs ScooterMinion

The only bits I can add to the fine advice given above by Lauren and Alex is that I remind myself of why I'm taking this blasted test in the first place: in the end, to be able to practice the law to do some good with it.

And when this trip becomes overwhelming, I step back (often) to see how to break up the big cake into manageable, bite-sized pieces. Life interferes, so regroup when and as often as is necessary.

Confucius claims a happy medium: it does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. I'm pretty sure he also claimed 'all LSAT work and no play makes Jack burn out on LSAT stuff.' But I could be wrong about that last one.

Best of health and efforts in your studies!

partyondudes

I really like what @"Alex Divine" said about discipline. Sometimes, to reignite the fire, I find it useful to spend some time with Shia:

Colin1485

Work a job at mckyds or a call center for awhile. That will motivate you to study harder. Like Alex said, Discipline. Get into a routine. ... or heck do what all the professional school kids do and pop the study peds!!

Stevie C

@tylercobe said:
Hello , I'm finding myself having a hard time staying motivated unfortunately . I work a 4 tour rotating shift scheduled job and sometimes lose my focus and motivating to study . Anyone have any advice to keep yourself motivated / focused on studying hard while maintain a full time job with a ridiculous work schedule ?

1) treat yourself right -- proper sleep, good hygiene, good food. There's nothing wrong with indulging in a glass of wine after your work and studying.

2) less is more -- it's not worth forcing yourself to do 2/3 PTs per week if it leads to burning out. 1 PT per week is probably sufficient if you have a full-time job. Frenzied study schedules could impede the learning process