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How to study if you're working fulltime
Hey!
So ive been attempting to study for the LSAT for god knows how many years now. I think I am finally ready to give it my all.
I was wondering if there are people here who have worked full time and also studied. How did you guys manage? I realize its so much harder because you spend 9-5:30pm working then studying.
If you have, can you explain how you did it and how many months it took you? Also, if you dont mind-- do you mind sharing your score? I got 148 on my practice test.
Thanks!!
Comments
I am currently studying and working full time so I don’t know my score yet. I can tell you my schedule, though, as something similar may work for you.
Basically, I’ve told myself I’m going to be a bit of a robot Monday through Thursday. So get off work, go home (or not if you work virtually), eat, and start studying. If you start at, say, six, you can do a solid two hours (or more if it works for you). I go to the gym during the week, so I’ll usually stop around eight, go to the gym, get home, shower, try to study again for up to an hour, and get in bed between 11 and 2, depending on what time you like to go to bed. That allows you to study two to three hours a day Monday through Thursday. Then I take Friday off and attempt to study three to five hours Saturday and Sunday.
Of course each week will be different, so you’ll have to adjust accordingly, but if you’re strict you can get some great study time in while working. If you have kids or other major responsibilities then of course your schedule will be more restricted, but I was answering with the assumption you have time to devote to studying. I hope this helps some! And remember, if you start feeling burned out, there’s no shame in taking a break. You have to sometimes!
Hi! I'm currently studying and working full time 9-5. My first question is how flexible is your job/work environment? I get majority of my studying done at work during slow periods. Obviously there are some days when I'm busy my full 8 hours but those are very rare. If you can get an hour or two of studying done at work and then fit in more when you get home that would definitely help. You could also try waking up early during the week to study before work and then study when you get off. I understand people have very different lives and schedules but honestly, if you really really want it, you'll find time to study. It may be difficult at first but you'll be surprised what 2-3 months of consistent studying can do. Also, a 148 is a pretty good starting point. My first diagnostic was a 142 and I'm scoring in the lower 160's now with just a few months of studying.
If you don't mind stretching your studying out for a long time, what I've been doing is studying 1 hr per day Mon-Thurs in the mornings before my 8:30-5 job, then 2-3 hours each weekend. This has allowed me to still maintain a social life/hobbies/etc. I started studying in Oct 2021 and plan to take the Oct 2022 test. My diagnostic was 155 and I'm testing at 165 right now. Still trying for 170 though so I may push my test back to Nov 2022... still deciding!
I worked full-time (and was a full-time dad) for my entire study period. Here are a few tips that helped me:
Consistency > Quantity It is better to study 2 hours a day, every day, than 8 hours a day two days a week and then not touch the LSAT again until next week. Make a schedule, put it in your calendar and stick to it as much as possible!
Prioritize the stuff that improves your score If your study time is limited, it is important to make sure to prioritize the activities that actively improve your score (drills, study, blind review, analyzing your wrong answers, etc.) over those that merely keep you busy (combing the forums/Reddit looking for study ideas).
Set aside a "Study Space" Study in a place that minimizes distractions. Turn off the phone, kill your notifications on your browser and make sure that each hour you study is actually an hour studying, rather than "40 minutes of study with 4 distractions that ate up 5 minutes each." Coordinating with the people you live with (if any) can really help with this one.
Finally, if you've got limited time and a big score increase you need to make, consider looking into tutoring! In addition to helping you strengthen your performance on the test, our tutors also create a custom study plan for you that will guide you through every hour of study you have available. Being able to off-load the planning and analyzing tasks to an expert will let you focus on those activities that actual improve your score.
If you'd like to learn more, I'd be happy to meet with you for a consult! You can book with me here: https://calendly.com/scott-milam/7sage-tutoring-consult
Thank you-- I am working remotely so that helps me a bit. However, I am not a morning person at all and cannot focus. I usually hit the gym in the morning so I dont have to waste time after work. My work is flexible during some days and some days its not. So I guess, depending on the day I can put in some work during work hours.
My goal is 2-3 hours a day. However, im starting slow and doing 1 hour until I can finally get used to my schedule.
Thank you all-- hopefully I have an update in 2-3 months.
I have a current 8am-5pm job which has made studying challenging.
I see that you're not a morning person, but my best advice is try and give it your best effort for a week of getting up early to study, working during the day really drains my mental stamina which makes studying after work less productive personally.
For myself the only routine that I've found I can keep almost no matter the day is to wake up at 4am and study from 4:30am-7am.
If you listen to the 7sage podcasts there are a fair amount of episodes in which students who were also full time workers talk about their study routines, hope this helps!
Currently I'm doing 20 credits of college and also work about 15-20 hours. I do my best to set a schedule and currently abide by the following:
Monday: LSAT practice from 12pm-5pm, class from 5:30pm-8:00pm
Tuesday: No LSAT practice, school all day
Wednesday: LSAT practice from 12pm-2pm, then 4pm-6pm
Thursday: LSAT practice 5pm-7pm
Friday: LSAT practice 10am-1pm, 3pm-6pm
Saturday: Day off
Sunday: 10am-1pm, 3pm-whenever I'm tired
I aim for 2 days off to prevent burnout and it really helps. Don't tell yourself you'll study every minute you aren't working or studying. You will simply prevent yourself from actually learning and improving on the LSAT
Hi! I work full time, 9-5:30pm, at a law office. I started with a 156 diagnostic, 161 in April 2022, and 172 this August. Self studied from November to April, got a tutor end of May for August.
My studying thought process was to make studying a habit, like a continuation of my 9-5. After getting home from work, I would eat, take an hour for myself (thinking like it’s a 2hr break) and then study for at least 2 hours. For the weekends, I would make either Saturday or Sunday a full day of studying (whether it be curriculum or a Preptest) and then would let myself have a life for the other day.
I was so set on taking a specific test in a specific month which added a good amount of stress. If I could go back, I would look at the curriculum and see when I could reasonably finish it while working. Then add 2-3 months to that for full on serious studying (taking a PrepTest every weekend, reviewing it, going over my weaknesses), and plan for that test month - as compared to thinking, “It’s December now, I want to take April and August, so let’s see what I can do between December and April.”
Also a big help for me was working from home the 2 months before my August test. I was able to do human things like cook, laundry, and quick walks.
And if you can get a tutor, I would highly recommend it! They’ll save you time by finding exactly what it is you need to work on.
There's a 7Sage Podcast where a woman increases from 148-180 (yes 180) while having a full time job, one child, training for a marathon, and pregnant. She scores her 180 while 7 months pregnant. Her only window for studying was 4:30am-6:30am every day. After 7:00am she actually had zero time between her job, marriage, kids, and physical training.
I am not this busy, but run my own business from 9am-8pm M-Sa and usually a few hours Sunday. I've adapted her schedule and I've gotten 10 hours of focused studying/week by waking up at 4:30am. I usually sleep by 10pm. I'd recommend the same and aim for a later test date until you're PTing where you want to be.
I am currently working a full time office job and studying for the LSAT. My goal is to get at least 30 minutes of studying a day obviously sometimes more or less depending on my schedule and what I have going on and more on weekends. I also take at least one practice exam a week. This helps me keep the info fresh in my brain without cramming or getting overwhelmed and still allowing myself to have a good nights rest and a life outside of work and school. I got a 154 on my first practice exam.
For anyone who finds this old chestnut, we just did did a big write-up about how to study for the LSAT: https://7sage.com/how-to-study-for-the-lsat-advice-from-a-180-scorer/
What has really helped me is being reasonable with myself: burning yourself will not help! I work in person 4 times a week and have a job where there are occasional weekends/weekdays when I have to work. I have been using my study breakdown, and I have seen a huge jump in my score since finding the balance!
Morning study block: I like to wake up, do my morning routine, eat something, and drill one RC passage and 5-10 LR questions (I'm taking the august LSAT so no LG). I wake up at 6 AM and have to leave for work by 8:15.
After I get off work: I usually go to the gym and eat dinner. By 7:30 I get to studying. I blind review the morning drills if i did not finish earlier and then review wrong questions/go to videos that can cement why I missed those questions. I then do either an entire section of either LR or RC then review it. If I have energy, I will do a smaller drill of the one I did not take a section for. If I don't have the energy, I call it a night. So, this is around 2 hours spread across my morning and after work. Sometime I can steal extra studying during work but a lot of times I can't.
Practice tests: I like to take 1-2 full practice tests each week: one during the weekend and one during my virtual day lollllll. I then usually blind review the next day and that is a whole day of studying.