How to maintain your focus and calm while studying?

j.flynnconnolly

Hi everyone,

I'm not a super angry person, but something about the LSAT brings out frustration in me. I'm three weeks into studying and I'm having a hard time maintaining focus while studying, especially during the logic games. I just get so frustrated because I feel like I'm not making progress because I'm not acing sequencing games after having already moved onto grouping games (not going well). This frustration sometimes makes me miss inferences and get more frustrated. Any tips to increase discipline/decrease frustration?

sierra_km24

hi! I have a similar experience with LG — I despise them with a burning passion. I really used to struggle with the sense of being out of "control" during the games section. To me, pretending you are in control is the most valuable thing I've learned. If I feel myself starting to panic, or get frustrated (increased heart rate, anxiety) I just close my eyes for a few seconds and breathe. This might sound dumb, but I just continually remind myself something to the effect of "its okay, the answers are right there in front of you, look at the rules again and just try it again." It sounds small but it really has helped me. I think I decreased the amount I was getting incorrect in LG by about half just by learning to keep calm and focus more.

PFT Commenter

I have been doing LG almost every day since the start of August. It is only in the last 3 or so weeks that LG has started to click for me. I would recommend creating an excel spreadsheet with the PT #, section #, game #, best score, best time, number of times completed, and JY goal time. do every game from PT1-35 in 4 game sets.

As far as limiting frustration, I would say that the only way to get around that problem is through it. There is no point in wasting energy to dwell on the things that piss you off about this exam, because there are too many to name.

I would recommend just doing games over and over again until you start to see progress. When the progress is evident, it is a great feeling. I started doing this when I was averaging -17 per LG section, and I am currently at about -3.

Hope this helps.

j.flynnconnolly

@"PFT Commenter" I'm still finishing up the logic games portion of the curriculum, I'll definitely use that strategy with the prep tests once I get to them. Do you recommend doing the same game over and over again or rotating a couple of games at a time until I have them down? When JY says to do games over and over again, I can't help but think that memory, instead of the ability to make inferences, would take over.

j.flynnconnolly

@sierra_km24 I think you're definitely onto something. I just start to tense up mid-logic game and worry about not getting into law school, making it really hard to focus. I'll try to take your advice.

emaanc99

I completelty agree!! I'm in the same boat as you, three weeks into the LG CC as well. It is for sure frustrating and I'm wondering how to do the 'fool-proof' method as well. I have a feeling like i may just memorize the infrences instead of deducing them which scares me. I think rotating the game problem sets might be the best and from what i've heard (online and from irl friends) is that you should get the basics down first, be comfortable enough and then start drilling where you're weak and especially when you get to the PTs.

PFT Commenter

@"j.flynnconnolly" said:
@"PFT Commenter" I'm still finishing up the logic games portion of the curriculum, I'll definitely use that strategy with the prep tests once I get to them. Do you recommend doing the same game over and over again or rotating a couple of games at a time until I have them down? When JY says to do games over and over again, I can't help but think that memory, instead of the ability to make inferences, would take over.

I don't see the point in drilling the same game over and over again consecutively. What I did was make 4-problem sets from the CC and then do each game once. After you do every set, add the set to your master excel sheet along with all of the data. Then what I started going is I started with PT1, and did a section of LG every day. So Monday - PT1, Tuesday - PT2, etc.

One thing I noticed is doing LG every single day is a must if you're not already at -1 or -0. You have to do well on that section to score well on the test.

TheQueen

I like to remember that training for anything, even something cognitive like LSATs, involves physical training. You have to learn to recognize the physical patterns in your body (heart rate, faster breathing, that fog of anxiety) and counter them. Box breathing and repetitive mantras work for me, and if I'm really stuck I will drop and do a few pushups just to reset my body. Also remember that it's important to have a regular physical practice alongside studying. You are training for a very stressful event, your body needs physical strength to get through it!

rahazolfaghari8

I started out in the same position as you! Still not perfect on LG but I can manage to get -3 on most days. The one thing I'll say I've learned is that working on logic games DAILY is a must to see improvements in score (even if its just one game per day). It's like going to the gym and building a muscle, if you stop going for two weeks it'll be a little rough getting back into it.
If you're only three weeks into studying I would suggest working on games untimed first, and really trying to ace the process of getting ALL the inferences. Move onto timed sections when you can get perfect untimed, at first giving yourself ~10-11 mins per game. Over time, you'll be able to recognize patterns so that the easier games (sequencing) only take you 5 or so minutes. Maintaining your composure will come with time as you gain the confidence in knowing you're well trained to tackle the game. Don't be so hard on yourself