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Help With Motivation :(
I have been studying for the LSAT since the beginning of January. For all of Jan/Feb I stuck with my study schedule. I would wake up before work and study for 2-3 hours, and then spend my weekends studying also. During that time I was actually really enjoying the core content and working my way through that. Then March hit, and it was like my motivation switch was turned off. I started really struggling to get out of bed early enough to study before work, and even on the weekends I could not get myself to study for more than an hour or two.
I think I may have burnt myself out with all of the Jan/Feb studying. Also, I think the logic games section I found much more difficult, hence leading to my decrease in motivation.
If anyone has any advice or tips on what you use to stay motivated, or to get out of bed early haha, that would be super appreciated. In February I also started exercising more regularly which I think has helped mentally. Looking forward to seeing everyone's tips and tricks 
Thanks in advance.
Comments
Forgot to mention I am planning on writing the June LSAT!
Accountability partners! Food rewards! Thinking abt why you want law school. Good luck
Hey Flower93,
A few things that really have worked for me is getting into meditation and daily journaling. Meditation helps to gain more control over your conscious thoughts and present. Daily journaling helps to take stock of where you are and to materialize your sub conscious. Journaling helped me understand that some days I did not have motivation because I feared I was not capable of success. I also really thought about why I wanted to succeed in the first place and made that my guiding principle or thought when I was not feeling motivated. Diet and exercise also help tremendously with these things. Good luck!!! You got this.
It sounds like you burned out a little bit! If your test is in June, my recommendation is actually to just take some time off. I think forcing yourself to study when you're not in the best frame of mind may be counterproductive. I'm taking the March test this Saturday and have been studying since November. I hit my motivation slump around January and unintentionally took a month off. I did drills here and there, but at most like 2 sections a day, and maybe 3 days/week. Once late February came around, I felt the "omg test is like a month away!" urgency and it got me into study mode.
I personally felt that the time off was very beneficial for me for these reasons:
Since I have a limited amount of material, it allowed me to "forget" a good amount of problems I did in the past, providing me with "fresh" content
I felt like it better highlighted my strengths and weaknesses
People often say that at some point, things seem to just "click".... for me, I felt like things marinated in my brain during my time off and I saw a huge jump in my LR performance. I struggled a lot with Assumption and Flaw type questions before because I felt like there were always 2-3 answer options that seemed so similar and I ended up choosing the wrong one. I'd also get flustered when I approached those questions because I knew they were my weaknesses. Taking time off seemed to "reset" my tendencies to get anxious which was huge, but also, I just seemed to be able to distinguish answer options better, I can't explain why.
If you choose to take time off like I did, I would keep in mind the following:
- Have some sort of a "end date" in mind so that your "break" doesn't go on for too long
- Don't be discouraged by any dips in your performance when you come back. Build your way back up with untimed drills, then timed drills, then timed PTs.
- Commit to doing some drills weekly, even if it's just 1 section a week
- Embrace your break
In addition to the above advice, I would recommend setting weekly study goals that are unrelated to score. For example:
This week I will to do X amount of logic games (or problem sets, or whatever)
This week I will meditate every morning
This week I will spend X amount of time studying
This way, your goals have very clear paths forward and you can feel accomplished every week even if you're having a less than ideal week score wise.
I would say that every second of every minute you can possibly study, counts. They don't have to be hard, insufferable minutes and seconds but they do have to be attentive minutes and seconds. You better get yourself back into the game or you are going to miss the boat. Time waits for no lawyer, would-be or otherwise. Believe it now or pay later. Do you want to live in a van down by the river? The five minutes you just wasted writing that comment was an LSAT point you just lost by not practicing a logic game. What if you get the flu in the next two months and you have to take a week off? Use your health now while you still have it.
It's called the FEAR method.
Forget
Ever
Attending a
Respectable law school
If you don't stay on it.
I like to reward myself with fun events. Maybe that might help. Also having a studying buddy helps.
"Do you want to live in a van down by the river?"
YOU JUST MADE MY DAY @Studying
You seem very determined! Having put in a great amount of work in such a short time frame, that is awesome! I think your body might be tired. The amount of cerebral activity we use to study for this exam is intensive, kind of like training for a marathon. I like to compare studying for the LSAT to this
: let's say the amount of work I put in each day, figuratively, is five miles. Compare that to running no more than five miles in one month, you could say that I often feel extremely weary 
The exhaustion is distracting, and it is something I do prioritize, but in no way will I stop my commitment to race in this marathon. I will maintain my stamina but at a lighter, gentler pace.
The best thing you can do for yourself is to focus on yourself. The exercise you put in is great! Exercising releases endorphins, helps your brain retain serotonin and norepinephrine (neurotransmitters that increase your mood), and (of course) increases your blood flow!
I agree with everyone ^ having accountability partners, rewarding yourself with food, reminding yourself why you want to attend law school ( @"Madssssss L."), meditating, keeping a journal ( @"Lucas Carter"), scheduling some time off ( @"yafrcho"), committing to weekly study goals ( @"MissChanandler"), making every moment count ( @"Studying"), rewarding yourself with fun events ( @"TuakuHij"). I would also add trying breathing exercises. This will help you rejuvenate your mind and body. With the moments you spend focusing on just your breath, you gain a sense of clarity. This clarity will allow you to feel serene which will help you gain that same motivation that first helped guide you
I've been studying on and off (unfortunately due to the nature of my job I had to completely stop a few times) for over a year and so I definitely have days where my motivation lacks. It's easy to get discouraged if you're not improving as much as you think you should in a given amount of time, but remember that everyone is different! I knew one guy that got in the mid-170s after only 2 months of studying (If only we could all be like that!!). But for the rest of us, just remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint; and studying for the LSAT is a lot like taking a senior capstone class, not a freshman level lit class. It will take time, but when you see yourself improve on question sets or PTs it is like a shot of adrenalin! It feels so rewarding even if you only go up 1 or 2 points in a test. At the end of the day, I think it's absolutely crucial to keep in mind that everyone progresses at different paces, but the only thing that matters at the end of the day is that you get to your goal score in whatever time you need. Keep pushing!!
Wow! I did not expect to get so many responses. Thank you all for the great advice. I realized after reading through the responses that I sort of did take an unintentional break this past month. I cut down my hours drastically. Moving forward I am going to take breaks when my body tells me that I need to.
If anyone wants a study buddy, or an accountability partner let me know
I would love a study buddy! I keep trying to study but then I start cleaning or watching Netflix #help