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General Help Please

ajstephens93ajstephens93 Alum Member
in Off-topic 116 karma

Hey all, I am not sure how to say this, but I think I just need to let it out. I am having a hard time studying full time while living with my parents. I go to my local university library to study, and I try to put in 7-8 hour days during the week and 4-5 hour days on the weekend. However, I am finding it increasingly hard to motivate myself and get solid work in. I took the test last year around
the same time and scored a 155. I took up studying again during March of this year. I scored a 155 on my first PT. I have been trying to drill and get myself ready for the Nov. 17 test, but I feel like I will have to put it off longer. I feel pretty isolated and anxious. I quit my full time job to study for this test, but living with my parents sucks. Dad is an attorney, but a high functioning alcoholic. I am seeing a psychologist this Friday and trying to become more social through meetup.com. Not sure if I should even be mentioning any of this on here. It somehow feels inappropriate, but I just needed to vent. Hope all of your studying is going well. Good luck

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Comments

  • LSATislandLSATisland Free Trial Inactive Sage
    1878 karma

    Hi @ajstephens93

    I am sorry to hear that you are currently having difficulties studying. I hope that your Friday meeting helps bring relief and that you find yourself back on track with everything soon.

    Getting stuck at stages of your LSAT progress is common, if comfort may be found in commonalities shared. Often, these zones of stalled activity are necessary steps in the overall growth that occurs. The ecstasy of growth is in self-discovery, of proving your beliefs into being. Only you hold the key to bring it all about and you will turn it when ready.

    All the best with everything.

  • MissChanandlerMissChanandler Alum Member Sage ⭐
    3256 karma

    Hey!

    Definitely not inappropriate, that's what we're here for! I think that seeing a psychologist is a great step to take.

    It can be really hard to feel motivated when there isn't a clear end in sight. That's what's so frustrating about having to make the call to push back a test date or to retake. If I were you, I'd take a week off, then take a PT and see how it goes. It sounds like you're experiencing some burn out. I know you might feel guilty about taking time off from studying because you quit your job for it, but breaks are sometimes way more beneficial than overworking yourself. I think you should still aim for November. Do you have specific target schools/goals in mind?

    What city/state are you in? Finding an in person study buddy would make studying way more fun and help with the social aspect too! There's a tool on here to help find study buddies but if that doesn't work you could reach out to the poli sci department at that university and they might let you put up a flier or something for a study group (this is the perfect time too because everyone going back to school won't have their social schedules/clubs solidified yet).

    Good luck with everything!

  • lizpillizpil Member
    282 karma

    AJ,

    I feel you. Studying for the test is hard. Studying for the test when your life conditions suck is worse. It's also worse when you don't see progress. I think it's good that you leave the house. I might also suggest you go to Al-Anon. It's a program for people who have family members who have an addiction issues.

  • ajstephens93ajstephens93 Alum Member
    116 karma

    Thanks for the responses guys. I am trying to be more social and have other things in my life besides the test. I think it will help with the anxiety and insomnia.

  • Leah M BLeah M B Alum Member ⭐
    8392 karma

    Agree with the others here. I think first of all, it sounds like a classic case of burn out. Honestly, 7-8 hours a day of LSAT studying is too much in my opinion. It's tough for your brain to absorb that much material. I think you'd be better off shooting for something like 5 hours a day, and then do a part time job or regular volunteering to fill up your time, meet some new people, and get out of the house. Volunteering looks great on a resume, but if there's any pressure from your parents not to slack off, any part time job will do too. You could try to get hired at a Starbucks or something for just a shift or two a week. That would also help you have more interactions with people. Love the suggestion above too of either using 7sage or a local university to find some LSAT study buddies. Or heck, here on the board! Lots of people do Skype studying.

    First thing you should do though is take several days completely away from the LSAT. I think you're in a burn out rut and need to get your mind on other things. Go see a movie. Read a book for fun. Find a board game group on MeetUp! Anything to just relax the brain a bit. I think you'll feel a lot more refreshed afterward.

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