Repeat after me:
I am going to get questions wrong, and I am ok with that.
You didn’t do it, did you?
Maybe you’re in a coffee shop and don’t want to look like a maniac,
maybe you feel silly saying something out loud just because some dumb newsletter tells you to,
or maybe, just maybe–
you don’t actually agree with the statement…
Let’s face it: you’re reading this newsletter because you want to be a lawyer. Generally speaking, that means you’re driven, smart, and–more than likely–a bit of a perfectionist. Perfectionism has undoubtedly served you well in many areas of your life, but as far as the LSAT is concerned, it can have many adverse effects. Most importantly, it can give you the incorrect impression that your goal is to get every question correct when, in fact, your goal should be to get as few questions wrong as possible. Maybe that sounds like unimportant semantics to you, but remember that this is the LSAT we’re talking about–semantics are everything!
When starting our studies, we must accept that the test writers have set us up with an impossible task. They’ve written around 100 questions chock full of dense language and intricate logic and given us nowhere near enough time to answer them all confidently and correctly.
There are many negative effects of perfectionism, but the most significant is how it alters our time management. If your goal is perfection, there is a subconscious pull to spend more time on a question than you should. If anything short of perfection equals failure, then I might as well sink extra time into a question I’m struggling with because none of the other questions even matter if I get this one wrong.
We need to be smart with our time allocation. I’d rather spend 1 minute on a question and get it wrong than spend 4 minutes on a question and get it right. Why? Because spending 4 minutes on a question guarantees that there will be several questions that I cannot even attempt to answer down the road. Remember, my goal is not to get every question right; it’s to limit the number of questions I get wrong.
To develop your personal LSAT approach, you need to start by accepting that you will fall short of perfection. So, once more, I will ask you to repeat after me (for real this time):
I am going to get questions wrong, and I am ok with that.