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I took flex while my wife had contractions - my flex story and overcoming stress
Our baby's due date was Monday the 18th, my test was scheduled for Wednesday the 20th. Now that the April test was cancelled I didn't know if I'd have to wait another half-year to take the test once I'd regained enough sleep to be functional after caring for our newborn girl. On top of this a lot more responsibility has fallen on me while my wife has been getting much needed 3rd trimester rest: this means taking care of our toddler, cooking and doing dishes, house chores, finances and working from home. Lastly, as an Army veteran I suffer from constant back pain and frequent neck spasms -- it's certainly not the worst situation, but it's not the best either. Yet through it all I remained uncharacteristically calm and drew positive comments from family members and friends on how I handled the situation! I owe how I handled the stress to 2 methods and hopefully this can help others stay calm and focused too.
The 2 methods that helped handle all the stress were meditation and having a written step by step strategy for not just the LSAT but also for when our baby comes. I bought the book "The mindful athlete" which talks about how to practice mindfulness. Learning how to meditate and meditating for 10 minutes twice a day helped me to chill out after a long day of work and helped me become calm when I felt stressed out. Without meditation I swear I would have snapped at my family and loved ones a TON, but taking a time out to regain composure proved an invaluable resource I'll be practicing probably for the rest of my life.
Having a written strategy took a lot of the guesswork out of what to do when my wife actually starts labor (contractions can start even 3-4 weeks before real labor contractions do). I wrote down exactly what to do, who to call, what to load into the car; this allowed my mind to be free of that responsibility. Same for the LSAT. I used Mike Ross and Josh's timing strategy which helped me make an exhaustive strategy to execute for every question type during rounds 1 and 2 of each section and I practiced this. There was nothing that took me by surprise on Flex day and despite being nervous I feel like I executed my strategy to a T. I feel like I really was able to beat demonstrate my aptitude and limit the negative effects of nerves substantially.
Having a strategy and knowing what to do as well as practicing mindfulness helped me overcome what may be one of the most stressful times in my life. I am fortunate to have even taken the test at all - I didn't have neck spasms during the test and our baby girl practiced social distancing and didn't come yet (lol). Even if she had come I was mentally prepared to take the test in Sept and Oct and viewed this circumstance positively, not negatively. The inducement date is tomorrow the 22nd if the girl doesn't come today and if I get a 170 or above we'll make her middle name my numerical test score 
haha just kidding. We're naming her Flex 
All the best!
Comments
Congratulations Mark! Way to go! And thank you for sharing your insights.
THIS IS AMAZING!! Your strategy shows incredible resilience, thoughtful preparation, and is inspiring.
I'm 100% checking out The Mindful Athlete!
Thank you so much for sharing your story @Markmark your resilience and mindfulness is the inspiration I need.
Thank you ^^ I had many people to thank in helping me
Thank you!!! Hoping it helps
Absolutely loved this post and it's so great to hear a positive Flex story! Post like these rekindle hope, ambition, and determination. Cheers to you and future baby Flex
Haha tyvm
That is incredible and very inspiring. Congratulations! Would you mind sharing where I can read about that time strategy you mentioned?
Can you elaborate a bit more on "I used Mike Ross and Josh's timing strategy"? Where can one find this timing strategy?
Hello can you elaborate more on "I used Mike Ross and Josh's timing strategy." This is a big struggle of mine.
Amazing post!! Congratulations to you & your entire family!
Wow. this is amazing. you're an inspiration!
It's the timing strategy by Can'tgetright I looked for it on the webinar archives and couldn't find it, any help from other people? Mike_Ross and Can'tgetright just did a great video a couple weeks ago idk what the link is for that one either
I'm hoping to find a link to their video, Can'tgetright did one on his own awhile ago, I'll try to post if I can find it. It's a bit too robust to post here but basically on your first round of the test you try to meet a threshold of confidence (ie 85%) and once you hit that you move on and don't waste time. If you can't get to your threshold fast you skip.
Hey a few of you asked for Can'tgetright's timing strategy I'm having difficulty finding it! He did an individual webinar and he and Mike_Ross did a great one a few weeks ago too. If someone finds the link could you please post here?
Congratulations! I had to laugh when I read Flex as your baby girl’s name
what an achievement already managing all the stress at this special time. I certainly wish the best for your test and your family!
Thanks haha yea we did not actually name her Flex but that would've been awesome.
Mark,
Awesome story! Very glad to hear the strategy & skipping webinars helped!
Meditation and having a clear strategy to execute in response to all the anticipated stressors are definitely key to maintaining composure
Best of luck with score release!!!!
Also, there aren't any videos of the skipping strategy on here. looks like @"Cant Get Right" and I have to do another one soon! Haha
Oh wow, this is excellent! Congrats on everything, and I hope your baby girl has arrived safely!
Glad the strategy gave you a framework to work in. The LSAT is stressful enough without any additional factors. I can’t even imagine trying to test under those circumstances.
Hope it’s a great score release day for you and your daughter ends up with a weird middle name!
This is an amazing story! Writing down both the birth plan and also your LSAT strategy plan was a brillant idea and a great way to make sure that you were remained as focused on the test as you could be. I used to think that the LSAT was just a logic test but now I strongly believe that it is equal parts a logic test/ close reading/ and also mental gynastics. No matter what your score ends up, it truly sounds like you executed your strategy as well as could have been done. I hope congrats are in order soon on your daughter's birth as well
@Markmark
super post- loved it! I hope you get into the law school of your dreams. Congratulations on your little girl!