Does this happen?

goalis180

Is it normal when your about a month into studying for the LSAT, and you feel like for a minute your getting good at some skills, then suddenly you realize you still suck, or you think you are good at something and you really are not? Do you begin to feel some sort of demoralization? I do want to make it clear, however that by no means does this stop me from studying, it just kind of puts me in this sort of funk.

Matt1234567

I'm not sure if it's normal, but I can relate. Just let yourself relax and don't stress yourself out too much, or you're bound to even be more demoralized. At first, when I bombed on a section that I thought I was getting good at, I would get extremely mad at myself for missing small details or forgetting crucial ones. However, I learned to just relax and go watch TV for a bit, or go to the gym, come back, review and fully understand why I made certain mistakes.

It could also be a case of burn out, where you're studying too much and just not retaining the information properly.

goalis180

It is difficult for me to relax to be honest. My desire to be in a T25 school is really riding on this LSAT, and knowing that puts me in this state of "I have to obtain mastery of this test or else." On top of this stressful thinking, I never really tried to get good at something, and did not get good, no matter what it was academia, sports, gaming, and so me being not good at the LSAT puts all this negative thinking in my head. Also, when I am not studying, I am thinking about studying lollol. I go to the gym and release my stress, but clearly it still exists. This is kind of like a vent post, and I am not really sure if it is appropriate on this site. I thought I needed to communicate with people who know what I am going through, because I just do not have family members or friends who can relate lol.

Just for some lols: I told my dad I am taking the LSAT in December, and he called me lazy, and said I was only doing it to enjoy my summer. Little does he know I cancelled my cable, reduced my job hours to 25hrs per week, communicate with no one, and I sit in front of a computer screen studying all day. LMAOO mmm the JOY.

Matt1234567

Seems like you have a lot of pressure to do good on the exam, that can never be good. Honestly, the best advise is to separate your time from the LSAT. Studying is good, but follow a fixed schedule and really give yourself a day or two to just not think about anything LSAT related and do something fun. Burn out IS REAL, and there have been many people on these forums and other forums that have experienced a sharp decrease in their scores because they would stress themselves with over studying.

I can also relate with the family not taking your situation serious and thinking that you're slacking. They obviously don't know how stressful this exam is, and how time consuming the preparation is. Ignore the negativity (I know, it can be very hard sometimes) and just stick to preparing for the exam in a positive way.

Studying for the LSAT is a long process, some people can achieve this process quicker than others, and some may take longer. The important thing is to make it a positive and fun experience, rather than stressing to the point where its affecting your score negatively. Once you separate LSAT preparation from the other parts of your life and reduce your stress, you'll see improvement in your score! At least, this is what happened to me.

goalis180

@Matt1234567, Makes sense, and appreciate the advice, hopefully this is just a phase 1 distraction, and once im on phase 2 ill move on.

Matt1234567

@goalis180 said:
Makes sense, and appreciate the advice, hopefully this is just a phase 1 distraction, and once im on phase 2 ill move on.

No problem. If you have any other questions or concerns, just give me a shout out through PM.

Best of luck with your preparation and studies.

Pacifico

It's perfectly normal to get worse before you get better. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence of people doing decent on a diagnostic (150-165 range), and then going through a curriculum (7Sage or others), and then starting PTs only to see little to no increase in the beginning. This can also happen with drilling because you'll definitely rock some problem sets and get overconfident only to get beaten down by another one. It's best to read too much into these occurrences, especially before you have really learned all the skills that you need. What is happening at this point is you are replacing your intuition with actual skills that can later be developed into almost a new kind of intuition, though that won't always be the case and you will need well tuned skills to work through the most difficult questions. For most people, studying for the LSAT involves some degree of being humbled by the material or the test itself. It's perfectly normal and just an additional challenge to work through.

Thousands of people who have always been in the 98th or 99th percentile get abused by the LSAT because they are used to everything coming easily for them, or at least they can work to reach that level without too much effort. The LSAT doesn't reward that kind of effort in most cases, but it also sounds like you're stressing out way too much, especially with six months to go. A little stress is a great thing, but too much will bury you on this test, so you need to take whatever steps you need to in order to lower your stress level, humble yourself, and rededicate yourself to the test in a healthy way. I think it sounds like you should only be studying 5 or 6 days a week so you can keep from burning out. And when you go work out, take the time to push the LSAT out of your mind. Perhaps yoga or meditation could help you with techniques of mindfulness. You're definitely well positioned for the December LSAT, just make sure to give yourself time to enjoy your life while you're on this journey.

goalis180

@Pacifico Thank you for the great advice, I truly appreciate it. I agree with you, I should not take the LSAT practice to this stressful level, and read too much into my improvement at the beginning stages, after all if it was easy enough to obtain mastery of this test within a month, everyone who was dedicated would be achieving scores that are in the 99th percentile. I am in the process of adopting the sense of humbleness you speak of, I am filling my head with positivity, listening to motivational speeches, and lectures to help eliminate my perfectionist, negative way of thinking. I took two days off from work and LSAT just to relax a bit because I have not given myself a healthy break since I graduated college. I have also limited myself to 4-6hrs a day of studying about 5-6 days a week depending on my work. I have been digging myself a deep hole which I could not climb my way out of, but I am slowly finding my way.

Thank you, and @Matt1234567 for your encouraging responses, sometimes it is better to discuss these issues with individuals who know what you are going through because their advice is more than advice from someone who does not have the slightest clue what you are going through.

"Repetition is the mother of learning" -Zig Ziglar

"As soon as you trust, you will know how to live" - von Goethe

Pacifico

Happy to help, feel free to hit me up anytime if you need anything else. Good luck and take 'er easy!