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For those of us studying part-time
AlexanderCM
Member
This post is inspired by some of the really great conversation I saw after @"Alex Divine" posted a thread for full time LSAT prep folks. I'm kind of in the opposite situation, I have not one, but two careers, one that regularly takes over 45 hours a week of my time. I squeeze in prep all over my day (an hour at lunch at work, in the evening after work, in the morning before I leave, and a lot on the weekends I don't work) and somedays unfortunately I can't do more than a single problem set or read the discussion boards. I imagine there are a fair number of 7Sagers in the same boat, either because of their career or because of family commitments or both.
So what has helped part timers prepare for the LSAT and be successful? Anyone who has previously taken the LSAT and/or been admitted to law school have any advice? Any suggestions on how to maintain motivation even when a problem set and blind review means going to bed an hour later? Where does our strategy diverge from folks who commit a more steady set of hours each day to studying? Would love to hear thoughts or other folks questions!
Comments
I used to work around ~65ish hours a week and prep. It worked well for a while, unfortunately, a series of events lead to me leaving my job to prep. Nonetheless, what did work and keep me motivated were a few things. Disclaimer: not in law school, haven't taken the LSAT, so take it all with a grain of salt. Also, I inevitably failed at holding a career and studying for this test...So there's that too.
First, is the "long-term" mindset. The day I signed up for 7Sage a sage named @cmelman95 was giving a webinar that night. I tuned in and immediately learned from him and the other mentors/sages that you need to set your score goal and let the date come when it comes. The objections to this is that is can cause one to indefinitely postpone taking the exam. This is a valid concern, though, I think people like that would serve themselves better in another career or graduate school. Law school will be there when you are ready!
Essentially, this mindset did a lot for me and my motivation. I almost feel like now if I put in the time, I'm guaranteed a 170+ I'm simply not taking it until I'm scoring at or above that level consistently. And if I need to retake, so be it.
Second, was just straight up time management. It's hard with a career--let alone two-- a family, and other commitments ... then there's life, and that takes up time too. I always tried to manage to do what I could do. Just like you seem to be doing now. You do what you can. Somedays you get 2 hours in and other days you might only be able to watch a 5 minute lesson. Like you, during lunch I would try to do something LSAT-related. Logic game or two, RC passage, a lesson. Just make sure you give yourself time to do things you enjoy. Stress eat some ice cream, watch a movie, take a day off every once and a while.
Lastly, was just straight up wanting it. I worked my ass off throughout high school, undergrad, and to get a good job for my resume. All I need is this test to go well and I can be successful and live my dream.... I want it. People along the way are going to try to tell you "only 1% of test takers get into HYS" or something negative. Well the secret to life and success for me has always been breaking down this 1% myth. The truth is only 1% of people stick with the fitness program long enough to see results. Only 1% of people stick it out in marriages and make them last. And only 1% of people study hard enough to get into Yale. But that DOESN'T mean you have a 1% chance!
It just means you have to live your life differently from the 99% around you. (Whatever that means) And if that means staying up an extra hour, getting up early and doing LSAT stuff, or whatever else then you have to do it. However, know thy self... Don't push yourself too hard. Burnout is real and it was a major factor in my decision to leave my job and essentially to start again. This time a bit wiser, at least I hope.
I'll tell you though, when I was working a ton it was hard. My work would ebb and flow and in turn my studying would too. Sometime in October I got stuck on several projects and stopped studying for about 2 weeks. I literally didn't have 10 minutes to study. 2 weeks turned into a month. Then it was Thanksgiving. It sucked because through it all I kept trying to study. Sometimes that mean staying up until 3am. Sometime around December I just completely burned out. Even thinking about the LSAT depressed me. So I decided to leave my job and re-start with a healthy mindset when I was ready.
Sorry if this isn't really useful advice, but I wanted you to know you're not alone and it is possible to prep and work. Just take it day by day. Accept that it might take 18 months of an hour a day to be ready for the test.
p.s. Learn to like this test. It may sound crazy, but one major change between now and the "me" when I first started was how I see the LSAT. It's like a cube in that you can look at it from many sides. The old me looked at it and saw nothing but a staircase I'd never be able to fully climb. Now I just see each step and climb one at a time. I truly am beginning to see it as a challenge/game that can be kind of fun.
Good luck and I know there are many people here who will chime in who work full time and will have some more solid/specific advice on how to navigate it all.
THANK YOU for this thread! On a good week I am able to put in 2 hours of study after work each day and 3-4 hours on Sundays. Between getting to work at 7 AM, running a household, cooking, cleaning and work travel its very difficult to do any more. I try not to feel guilty when I miss a study day (like this week when I missed two days due to Hubby's birthday events).
To cope, I have decided to simply take my time. I desperately want to get into a top 10 school, and if that means studying for 1-2 years on my schedule, that will have to do. The plus side it gives me more time to craft a great application story and really fall in love with learning the test. Which I'm realizing happens quickly. Some other tips I've used are:
Plan my week each Sunday. This has become very helpful because every week can be different depending on work projects, events or travel. If I plan ahead of time when to study each day I am able to reach my goal every week.
Eat healthy, exercise, save the drinking for the weekends. Bad food and alcohol, though delicious, make me sluggish and tired. It's just too hard with a packed schedule to remain 'on it' when bad food is involved.
Login to 7Sage as much as possible. If I have some downtime between meetings at work or waiting for an appointment, instead of opening Facebook or Instagram, I open my 7Sage app instead. Reading the discussions daily keeps me motivated and 'all-in'
Can't wait to hear more tips from more Part-timers!
I need to get a lot better at this. For awhile I was using the "Getting Things Done" method and conducting weekly review every Sunday to get my to-do list and schedule in order. But things inevitably got crazy and I stopped doing this. Thanks for the motivation/reminder to get back on it this weekend!
Side Note: "Getting Things Done" is a productivity system from David Allen that's fairly popular among people I know especially in tech. I have found its methods fairly helpful for managing a busy personal and professional life.
That method sounds really helpful @AlexanderCM I'll be sure to look it up!
This has actually been less difficult than you'd think. 3-4 years out of school means it's kind of nice to flex a certain type of "brain muscle" that hasn't been used in a long time. My job required tons of learning, research, and self-development but none of it was the sort of classroom style formal learning that studying for the LSAT has required. So I'm really enjoying the process so far to be honest.
Also, one thing that kind of makes "studying fun" is the minor gamification 7Sage uses on the "Progress" page. There's something inherently satisfying when you see the core curriculum progress circle fill in a bit more.
Hi! So I work a 9-5 right now and just got a promotion (woo!) so my hours are more like 9 to whenever a case is done for that day. I try to get in at least two hours a day. My schedule currently is like this:
Monday: 9-5, study until 8pm, date night with my boyfriend
Tuesday: 9-5, study until 7:30pm, yoga/workout, go home and study until 11pm
Wednesday: 9-5 (these are my longest days with no break because I don't have anything to do) I study from 5pm until I'm ready to leave my office
Thursdays: 9-5, study until 7:30 pm, yoga/workout, go homre and study until 11pm
Fridays: Take off of studying unless I've missed a day and then I have to use it as a make up day
Saturday: PT in the AM or if not ready to PT (BR took too long or taking too long to understand concepts) then I'm drilling sections for about a good 4 hours. The rest of the day depends.. If I'm taking a PT then I will BR after it. I'm not I'll drill intermittently throughout the day/evening.
Sundays: Study for at least 3-4 hours.
It is hard and it can be draining but what really motivates me also is the feedback I'm getting from my peers. Everyone knows how hard you're working and are willing to cheer you on, like right now I'm studying for two hours (presumably) and I'm going to meet my friends from some drinks that are in town. You just have to do what's best for you! Some people can't socialize and have a life at all, some people (like me) need that to not burn out and stay sane. It may take a little longer but your personal well-being is also very important and foremost! Just commit yourself to a daily practice (like yoga).
I hope that helps!
Tatiana
YES! Totally Agree. I love the entire 7Sage layout
I am studying part-time due to family circumstances. I studied without much success with another prep course before joining 7Sage in December. I began to wonder if my part-time studying was even paying off. A few weeks ago I completed 50% of CC and jumped ahead to take a PT. I scored 5 points higher than my diagnostic. It was encouraging for me to see an improvement after 3 months of sporadic study. I have picked up where I left off on the CC, but I am also more focused on my weak areas and skipping over (for now) the lessons that are already intuitive for me.
Have you thought about taking a PT at some point to measure your progress? I don't plan on doing this again until I have completed the CC, because as you know, time is valuable and can be better spent on mastering CC. But, this boosted my motivation because my slow and somewhat steady studying with 7Sage is working!
Stay organized, have Problem Sets printed out ahead of time so you can easily work on them wherever you are. Don't wait for a perfect opportunity to study or take timed sections, just do it and learn from it. If you are super tired and don't think you will retain new information, then go back to a starred lesson and review or re-watch a LG video. Best wishes to you!
I study part time but I'm also a lurker in the full time thread. I also come from the 60-80 work week like Alex. I took a new job as a result of that to study more. I will ideally get 3 hours a night during the week and then anywhere from 4 to 8 on the weekend depending on my schedule. I wish I could quit and go full time. I'm saving money aside to help fund the LS dream when I have no income for a few years though, so I have that going for me at least.
That's awesome! I took the June 07 as a diagnostic. I think I'll be saving the rest for PTs after core curriculum but maybe if I need some extra motivation I'll burn an older test.
I work full time and I have a child. I work 8:30-5pm monday through friday. I get to work about half an hour early and I do about 30+ minutes to study. Just enough time to get a 2 logic games and review in. I have a 1 hour lunch break and I repeat that or drill the LR sections. I try to complete about 2 sets of 5 questions. the numbers are small because i want to set the right habits with answering these questions. I have learned so much by doing a little bit a day. After work when I come home and finish dinner, I give myself about an hour (sometimes the max) to do more logic games or RC/LR. Now when I say drill LR, I don't drill be question type. I drill real LR sections. Very helpful. For my weekends, I do a pretest or revisit the lessons on questions or strategies that stumped me during the week.
Doesn't sound like a lot but it has been very manageable to me. I am also seeing improvements in my pretests. My philosophy is to take things slow. I am not very big on trying to get as many hours in, but the quality of what I am studying seeing that I am a very busy woman. I had a 149 as a cold diagnostic, took a preptest a couple of weeks ago and scored 160. Not too bad. I would like to ideally aim for 177+.
Looking forward to reading everyone's tips
I would also like to mention that in my experience, it is sometimes helpful to take a day off and give your brain a break. You would be surprised when you return to your studies how much you already know.
Hello! Thanks for posting!
I work a 9-5 and I try to squeeze in about 3 hours a day on weekdays and 5 on weekends. I take Wednesday off usually and try to squeeze a workout in on those days.
To be less abstract, I wake up around 4:40am. After morning meditation and washing up, I start around 5:00 and study until about 6:50am. Then I gotta get to the train. I usually do games on the train because I like the idea of pushing myself in that sense. Plus it's my best section so I rather drill other things when I have the 45 minute opportunity to do so. If I can get a little done at my desk I do. But I try to hunker down and between 5:00-6:05pm. Then I do a little more on the train and chill the rest of the night. Basically I'm trying to squeeze any opportunity I can in. Not just for the quantity but it's gotta be quality time. I'm too wrecked at night to do anything intellectual. I like to workout when I can do sometimes I'll take an earlier train, depending on how much I did that day. So while my evening study sometimes fluctuates, mornings don't really.
The hardest thing I will say is getting in rhythm, especially when waking up so early. But if I can do it I'm sure anyone can (considering any day I much rather go to sleep at 2 and wake up at 11
)
I LOVE where your head is and your great attitude towards this entire process, Tringo!
@AlexanderCM --
While I haven't sat for the LSAT yet (postponed twice over the course of 1 year because I admitted to myself that I wasn't ready when I thought I was), I can only offer my take on 6+ months of observations I've garnered from successful sister/fellow preppers, mentors, and sages:
-->keep one's general LSAT attack plan flexible, yet progressive, because this takes as long as it takes to get the scores one wants.
Doing this isn't as easy as one might think. One REALLY has to know oneself to get the hang of this release of control. I know this one the hard way. sigh.
That isn't really what you're asking for, or whom from, Alexander, but I hope you find your answers because this is a great discussion!!
@tringo335 @AlexanderL0 love this threat is basically my life, heres how i been managing it, i turned the lsat into an obsession, lol probably not healty but fck it.i wake up at 5 am study til 8, i do a few games during lunch then study from 530- 930 every night, and do a 8 hours sat and 5 hours sun. but i meant it when i said obsession... for example i downloaded and app where i recorded my self saying ie. UNLESS (silent for 10 seconds) then i say group 3 Necessary Sufficient, so when i drive im teting my self in some expect of the lsat like the vocab words posted on 7sage or words that introduce conc etc etc.. also during work whenver i have 5 min i go to quizlet and play the meteor game with similar ideas as the recordings. I started my preps so now i do 2 a week, sat and wed night, BR sun and thr night and i focus on one thing per day, LG MON GAME TUE reading FRI.. and hey get it when you can right.. so i deleted all distractions fromnetflix to games and im going for this test 100%
I am all here for this level of obsession and love it lol! Kudos to you sir just hope you don't get burned out!
@ScooterMinion so true about taking your time and testing when ready. The most powerful thing 7Sage gave me was the intro video that talked about not scheduling until you feel you are there. That lifted such a load off of my psyche! I went through the LSAT Trainer for about 6 months and though my score did improve about 10 points I was no where near ready for the February LSAT I scheduled. I felt very defeated when I joined 7Sage and was happy to see that others were taking 1 year+ to study. I've always been pretty driven and anxious to move onto the next goal so the realization that this could take a year or more and that it's OK was so incredibly helpful.
I am in the exact same boat! 45 hours per week, also expecting a baby in June. I follow my youngest niece's routine. She's 11 years old and the top of her class, and in the town. She keeps everything with her - if she is in the car, she opens the book. If she is waiting or on the playground, she opens the book. That way she can read her Warrior Cats (entertainment books) when it's bed time. All of those little bits of time keep me fresh and add up.
I keep adjusting the calendar, but I am generally on schedule. I've also cut out all of the "crap" - I'm hardly around my cell phone, and the only time outside of work is when I go home. My "leisure" is cooking. So, basically do what you can when you can. As long as your going forward, you're in the right position.
I haven't started the prep tests yet, but those are going to be my weekends. I've also starting prepping for the next day right before bed to maximize time & get a normal sleep in.
I am aiming for the Septemeber LSAT, but my fallback is the December. Good luck !! thanks for the post.
So at the end of this past week I got pretty ill and the result was crappy studying followed by crappy studying this week as I had to catch up at work. But I learned a new method that I find helpful!
I went to the LR Drills and printed just the ones I've gotten to in Core Curriculum so far and I'd do at least 3 questions timed before bed even on days I didn't have time to squeeze anything else in. Then I'd BR them and grade them. It helped me feel like I was still connected to my studies and like I didn't regress despite not being able to make much forward progress in the past week and a half.
That's awesome! I feel so guilty when I have to miss days. We have to do a road trip this weekend through some rural parts of the US and there is usually zero cell service so I'll be skipping a very useful Sunday study day. Thanks for tips on how to stay in the game and catch up. I'm going to try and study as much as I can this weekend despite the drive.
This is such a helpful thread to read. I would consider myself a part-time studier too--I have a full time job and I study at night and on the weekends. I am struggling to stay motivated as I have been studying for almost a year, but I have found that the Sunday planning that @tringo335 mentioned helps keep me accountable and forces me to be realistic about the week. It allows me to see what "other" things I ACTUALLY have time for--be it a drink with friends, a movie, what have you. It's hard, but I like knowing that there are a ton of other people in the same boat! Thanks for making this thread.
Yes Sunday planning is the best :-D Good luck with studying!
A little Hump Day motivation for ya - Had a rough few study days; with working Full-time it's been especially hard this week to feel motivated. Even though I pushed through, today especially I could think of 77 other things I'd rather have done then study. A friend sent me this little nugget of inspiration that gave me the motivation to finish this week out and I thought I'd share with the other Part-timers... so hang in there ya'll and like Denzel said, 'Let's Get to Work" ;-) @"theLSATdreamer " @sophie74 @AlexanderCM @LindseyDC @"Bevs ScooterMinion" @JustDoIt @tams2018 @Mellow_Z @sarahmelton6 @tcookPHL @shindavis16