Essentialism - Less But Better

Quick Silver

I’m reading a new book called Essentialism, that I believe applies very well to the LSAT. The idea is to focus on fewer things and maximize them rather than spread yourself thin trying to do too many things. There are many examples in effective LSAT prep ranging from techniques to long term study strategies.

Reading Comp annotation is an excellent example. I only give my students about three or four things to annotate that give you the biggest bang for the buck. By contras, techniques with seven to ten things to annotate are just too many to keep track of and you’ll spread yourself thin. I’m not suggesting the three things I teach are mind-blowing but in my humble opinion, they are the most time effective to understand a passage.

Another example is Skipping or, as I like to call it, doing the questions on your order. You’re prioritizing the questions you’re more likely to get right. It doesn’t mean at all that you don’t get to the others but you don’t make the more challenging questions a priority. So if you’re going to run out of time, you’ve got the lower hanging fruit in the bag and the questions that you are less likely to get right are de-prioritized.

Studying priorities - another eXmple. Again, you only have so much time to study. Prioritize what gives you the biggest bang for your buck. Narrow down the resources that are going to give you the biggest priority. Whether that comes to a certain textbook or course or question types where you need the most help.

Study hours themselves are another great example. When students have an opportunity to study as much as they like I often suggest that they refrain from the temptation to make this a full-time job. It sounds really great to devote 8 hours a day to LSAT study to maximize your score. But the concepts are so abstract that you won’t be effective after a few hours. I tell my students to limit their study hours 4 to 6 max. It’s not easy because it forces you to limit your time to the things that’ll be most effective. But you’ll find that your focus is much more powerful throughout those few hours rather than spreading yourself thin through eight. Often if a student goes beyond four hours or more, their focus begins to wane.

You may find that making choices of what not to focus on can be quite challenging. But as a student, and through years of teaching, I’ve consistently found that focusing on fewer things that make a bigger difference is what leads to the most improvement overall.

LOWERCASE EVERYTHING

great post!
i'm a public school teacher — there are times when schools, districts, and states put a huge emphasis on standardized tests, but there are just too many to cover.
nevertheless, many of us strive for depth over breadth, and i've found this to be more efficient as it also increases both student agency and engagement.