Building a New Study Schedule #Help

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• 1 Like

  Ashley2018-1 Alum Member

  November 2020 2249 karma

  I've seen answers ranging from 2-3 hours a day to some guy who told me he studied literally 9-5 (he got a 175 btw but I mean, his diagnostic score was a 165 so...). I think you should just find what works for you.
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  Chris Nguyen Alum Member Administrator Sage ⭐ 7Sage Tutor

  November 2020 edited November 2020 4577 karma

  Working full time while studying is extremely hard, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. I've struggled so much and honestly there were many days I failed to study because I would be so exhausted from the day.

  What worked for me was studying in the mornings. I had to have a fresh mind when studying. There was no way for me to study after work. I worked in public education, and my mind and body were emotionally and physically drained after working with kids the whole day.

  But I wasn't a morning person. So how did I overcome this obstacle?

  The answer was exercise. I would wake up and go for a 20 minute run every day first thing in the morning. This would allow me to wake myself up and be alert while studying. When I implemented exercising into my routine, things became way easier. It's like I hacked my body.

  So my schedule would go something like this:

  4:30am - 4:40am: Wake up and get out the door (I'd sleep with my running clothes on so I would have less obstacles in my path. My mind was working against me in the mornings so the more I could do to make it easier, the better)

  4:40am - 5:00am: Go for a run outside to wake myself up. (This was so important for me. If I skipped this step, my whole schedule would fall apart)

  5:00am - 6:00am: Shower, eat breakfast, and get everything ready so you all you basically have to do is walk out the door when you're done studying

  6:00am - 8:00am: Dedicated, full focus, deep LSAT studying

  8:00 - 8:15am: Commute to work, I had to be in by 8:15am. (I only lived a 7 minute drive away from where I worked, so I was lucky in that case)

  On Saturdays I would rest, and Sundays I would study 4-5 hours. I didn't like studying on Saturday because I was so tired from the whole work week that I didn't feel productive. It was good for me to take a day off and study the first day back from my day off.

  By no means am I a perfect person. It took about two weeks to finally start waking up that early, but when I did I made sure to try my best to keep to this schedule. Yes, there were times where I slept in. But if you really want a good score, you need to stay positive and stick to your schedule as much as you can. It's the arguably the most important step to getting a good score.
• Serena13 Core Member

  November 2020 128 karma

  So I also have to agree with Christopher. Working full time and studying is difficult. I also recommend making a schedule for yourself as well. Like Christopher, I recommend you make an hour-to-hour schedule to help give yourself discipline to prepare for the LSAT.
  I also work full time however, I have a variable schedule as I work in the hospital where my days each week are different from the one before. On average I have 4 days/week to study but there are times that I have one day for rest because I'll just be exhausted from working 3 days in row; I work 13-hour shifts and my commute is 1 hour each way. I think it best you find a time in the day that works best for you to study, either morning or afternoon. For me its mornings or early afternoon and I'm averaging 4-8 hours each day. When I first started studying I was only able to do 2-4 hours but with time its been getting longer, I've slowly been trying to build my stamina so I can spend more time in the day to study to make up for the lack of time I have available. So far I've been working alongside the study schedule, but am nowhere near its projected timeframe. I haven't been able to study 40 hours each week. I would try to be as patient with yourself as possible and learn at your own pace as we are all different from one another. I hope this helps and if you have any other questions, feel free to reach out. Best of luck to you.
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  LOWERCASE EVERYTHING Member ⭐

  November 2020 edited November 2020 1952 karma

  great advice above.
  i also would like to add this: i would make sure to separate your work and lsat life like oil and water.
  my work sometimes carried over to home which significantly affected my lsat study schedule and mentality. (i was a teacher and had to do some grading at home, etc.)
  i would make sure to only do work at work; and only lsat during your study time. this means that you might always need to give your 100% focus and energy in both settings.
  and also make sure to add times to do exercise, relax, or do fun stuff (to me, lsat and fun stuff are mutually exclusive).
  this test is a beast and it sucked away a portion of my soul from me.
  i sort of now understand harry potter and how it feels to be attacked by dementors.

  good luck!!