1 00:00:02,002 --> 00:00:04,312 Lee Burgess: Welcome to the Bar Exam Toolbox podcast. 2 00:00:04,492 --> 00:00:08,542 Today we are talking about tips for what to consider before establishing 3 00:00:08,662 --> 00:00:12,292 your bar study schedule, as part of our "Quick Tips" series. 4 00:00:12,502 --> 00:00:16,642 Your Bar Exam toolbox hosts are Alison Monahan and Lee Burgess, that's me. 5 00:00:16,912 --> 00:00:20,122 We're here to demystify the bar exam experience so you can study 6 00:00:20,122 --> 00:00:23,622 effectively, stay sane, and hopefully pass and move on with your life. 7 00:00:23,982 --> 00:00:27,072 We're the co-creators of the Law School Toolbox, the Bar Exam Toolbox, and the 8 00:00:27,072 --> 00:00:28,932 career-related website CareerDicta. 9 00:00:29,302 --> 00:00:31,592 Alison also runs The Girl's Guide to Law School. 10 00:00:31,862 --> 00:00:35,072 If you enjoy the show, please leave a review or rating on your favorite 11 00:00:35,072 --> 00:00:39,122 listening app, and check out our sister podcast, the Law School Toolbox podcast. 12 00:00:39,362 --> 00:00:41,942 If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to us. 13 00:00:42,092 --> 00:00:45,572 You can reach us via the contact form on BarExamToolbox.com, 14 00:00:45,602 --> 00:00:46,802 and we'd love to hear from you. 15 00:00:47,132 --> 00:00:48,782 And with that, let's get started. 16 00:00:56,012 --> 00:00:56,972 Welcome back! 17 00:00:57,062 --> 00:01:01,442 Today we will be talking about what you need to consider in order to create, 18 00:01:01,502 --> 00:01:04,232 customize, or select your study schedule. 19 00:01:04,532 --> 00:01:08,582 Whether you're choosing a preset bar course, modifying an existing study 20 00:01:08,582 --> 00:01:13,562 schedule, or diving into creating your own self-guided study plan, you need to 21 00:01:13,562 --> 00:01:15,217 make sure your schedule works for you. 22 00:01:15,857 --> 00:01:19,817 We're going to talk about the impact of accommodations and past scores, 23 00:01:19,997 --> 00:01:23,387 how much time you will be studying each week, how life events come 24 00:01:23,387 --> 00:01:27,917 into play, scheduling breaks and catchup time, and giving yourself a 25 00:01:27,917 --> 00:01:30,617 cushion for unexpected occurrences. 26 00:01:31,337 --> 00:01:33,347 First up, let's talk about accommodations. 27 00:01:33,722 --> 00:01:37,712 If you don't get accommodations, this won't apply to you, and if you get them 28 00:01:37,772 --> 00:01:41,012 but your accommodation is something like special permission to wear 29 00:01:41,012 --> 00:01:45,392 headphones, to drink water, or to sit in a particular type of chair, then they 30 00:01:45,392 --> 00:01:47,222 won't impact your study schedule at all. 31 00:01:47,672 --> 00:01:51,497 If, however, you have extended time in some way, you need to make sure 32 00:01:51,497 --> 00:01:54,797 that you are factoring that into your study schedule, or that the 33 00:01:54,797 --> 00:01:58,967 study schedule you purchased can be modified to take that into account. 34 00:01:59,477 --> 00:02:03,497 Extra time accommodations impact how many practice essays, performance 35 00:02:03,497 --> 00:02:07,307 tests, or MBE questions you can complete in a given study session. 36 00:02:07,697 --> 00:02:12,047 This is generally reasonably easy to adjust, but what really catches people 37 00:02:12,047 --> 00:02:14,357 off guard is the full practice test. 38 00:02:14,892 --> 00:02:19,212 Full practice tests are absolutely crucial to bar success, and 39 00:02:19,212 --> 00:02:22,962 practicing with your exam day timing is what makes them so valuable. 40 00:02:23,202 --> 00:02:27,612 You learn things about your stamina and needs that you just don't 41 00:02:27,612 --> 00:02:29,592 get in individual essay practice. 42 00:02:29,922 --> 00:02:34,392 If you have an extra 15 minutes or so to accommodate an extra break, then you 43 00:02:34,392 --> 00:02:38,202 should practice accordingly, but this probably won't make a huge difference 44 00:02:38,437 --> 00:02:42,667 to the schedule itself, as long as you are able to plan for a couple of 45 00:02:42,667 --> 00:02:45,067 days to accommodate the practice test. 46 00:02:45,427 --> 00:02:49,507 If, however, you have enough extra time that you will have one or two 47 00:02:49,507 --> 00:02:53,887 extra days to take the exam, then your schedule needs to leave room for you to 48 00:02:53,887 --> 00:02:56,407 have that extra day or two to practice. 49 00:02:57,512 --> 00:03:01,292 Continuing with things that only apply to some listeners, if you're 50 00:03:01,292 --> 00:03:05,192 a repeat taker, then you need to take a look at your score report. 51 00:03:05,402 --> 00:03:09,422 We've talked about this on our blog and are also happy to 52 00:03:09,422 --> 00:03:10,952 take a look if you'd like to. 53 00:03:11,162 --> 00:03:13,352 We've linked to that in the show notes. 54 00:03:13,922 --> 00:03:18,732 To the extent that your jurisdiction gives you information, did you ace 55 00:03:18,732 --> 00:03:22,632 one part of the exam, but another one lagged significantly behind? 56 00:03:22,932 --> 00:03:26,942 Were you generally pretty even, but within a few points of passing? 57 00:03:27,212 --> 00:03:31,292 Or generally pretty even, but also have a lot of ground to make up? 58 00:03:31,742 --> 00:03:35,042 Note that how close you are depends heavily on how your 59 00:03:35,042 --> 00:03:36,812 jurisdiction scales its scores. 60 00:03:37,142 --> 00:03:40,142 A 30-point gap is pretty close in California, but a 61 00:03:40,142 --> 00:03:42,392 bigger stretch in a UBE state. 62 00:03:42,962 --> 00:03:46,127 That information can be super useful for planning your bar studies. 63 00:03:46,667 --> 00:03:50,357 If you have one definite strength, then you should still spend 64 00:03:50,357 --> 00:03:52,337 time on that part of the exam. 65 00:03:52,667 --> 00:03:57,137 But your focus should be on maintaining your scores and maybe building on 66 00:03:57,137 --> 00:03:59,297 that strength to get even more points. 67 00:03:59,567 --> 00:04:03,257 Don't ignore it completely, but more time should be spent on your weaker 68 00:04:03,257 --> 00:04:07,427 area, figuring out what went wrong and doing dedicated, thoughtful 69 00:04:07,427 --> 00:04:09,767 practice to help you make adjustments. 70 00:04:10,277 --> 00:04:13,667 If you were close to passing, then you should continue the work you 71 00:04:13,667 --> 00:04:18,317 did before, but maybe with a heavier emphasis on memorization and practice. 72 00:04:18,587 --> 00:04:22,367 You likely already have the background knowledge and a general understanding 73 00:04:22,367 --> 00:04:26,327 of what you need to do on exam day, so you can probably bridge the gap 74 00:04:26,327 --> 00:04:30,587 with memorization, practice, and thoughtful assessment of that practice. 75 00:04:30,737 --> 00:04:34,337 If you have more ground to make up and you don't have a no-longer- relevant 76 00:04:34,337 --> 00:04:38,747 reason that would account for it, then you need to take a hard look at what 77 00:04:38,747 --> 00:04:42,317 you did last time and do something different, but in a thoughtful way. 78 00:04:42,647 --> 00:04:45,827 For most people, this means more time spent practicing. 79 00:04:46,067 --> 00:04:49,997 For some people though, they also need more time developing a baseline 80 00:04:49,997 --> 00:04:54,137 understanding of the material, which also means that they need more total 81 00:04:54,137 --> 00:04:56,647 study time than they devoted previously. 82 00:04:57,652 --> 00:05:00,652 Once you have a sense for what your accommodations and past scores 83 00:05:00,652 --> 00:05:03,742 mean for how you will need to adjust your time, you can get into 84 00:05:03,742 --> 00:05:05,512 the stuff that impacts everyone. 85 00:05:05,902 --> 00:05:08,332 How much time do you really have for your studies? 86 00:05:08,662 --> 00:05:13,192 For this exercise, we recommend either a digital calendar or a dry erase calendar. 87 00:05:13,432 --> 00:05:17,752 The digital calendar should be one that you find easy to manipulate and that 88 00:05:17,752 --> 00:05:21,802 won't impact your actual calendar, at least while you're in the planning phase. 89 00:05:22,102 --> 00:05:25,282 A dry erase calendar can be easier for some people to look at. 90 00:05:25,732 --> 00:05:28,942 Both have the benefit of being easy to make changes in, and that's 91 00:05:28,942 --> 00:05:30,232 what's really important here. 92 00:05:30,502 --> 00:05:33,322 So, you should use whatever is easiest for you to review. 93 00:05:34,192 --> 00:05:36,592 As you're doing this, keep in mind that our general rule of 94 00:05:36,592 --> 00:05:38,872 thumb is 400 hours of study time. 95 00:05:39,202 --> 00:05:42,862 This goes up if you have accommodations that impact your timing, if you have 96 00:05:42,862 --> 00:05:46,882 a lot of ground to make up based on prior exam scores, or you have a shaky 97 00:05:46,882 --> 00:05:51,272 background in the tested law; and can go down if you are taking a one-day 98 00:05:51,292 --> 00:05:55,432 attorney's exam in California, or if you are within a few points of passing 99 00:05:55,432 --> 00:05:59,242 and really know the law, but need to just throw yourself into practice. 100 00:06:00,562 --> 00:06:03,502 First, take a look at how much time you are going to be 101 00:06:03,502 --> 00:06:05,272 studying in an average week. 102 00:06:05,572 --> 00:06:09,802 We talk about studying full-time versus part-time, and that's a useful 103 00:06:09,802 --> 00:06:11,692 way to sort through schedule options. 104 00:06:11,992 --> 00:06:14,812 But at the end of the day, one person's full-time studying might 105 00:06:14,812 --> 00:06:17,902 be the same number of hours as another person's part-time studying. 106 00:06:18,202 --> 00:06:19,762 So, really think about this. 107 00:06:19,852 --> 00:06:22,282 What other day-to-day obligations do you have? 108 00:06:22,402 --> 00:06:25,722 How much time do they take and how much energy do they leave you with? 109 00:06:26,112 --> 00:06:30,012 Are there any that you can drop or reduce during the bar study period? 110 00:06:30,312 --> 00:06:34,212 Keep in mind that meals and rest are not items that you should drop 111 00:06:34,212 --> 00:06:35,922 from your daily obligation list. 112 00:06:36,192 --> 00:06:39,732 Once you do that, how many hours of solid study time will 113 00:06:39,732 --> 00:06:41,352 you have each day of the week? 114 00:06:41,592 --> 00:06:45,822 We suggest actually looking at the specific times of day when you can study 115 00:06:46,032 --> 00:06:49,862 and scheduling tentative appointments with yourself to study, just to 116 00:06:49,862 --> 00:06:53,492 see what that makes your week look like, especially if you can include 117 00:06:53,492 --> 00:06:55,172 your daily obligations on there. 118 00:06:55,562 --> 00:07:00,752 Also, look at the last few weeks before the bar exam and consider if, when, 119 00:07:00,752 --> 00:07:04,592 and how you might be able to ramp up your studies to make a final push. 120 00:07:05,402 --> 00:07:08,102 Once you get your standard week figured out, take a look at 121 00:07:08,102 --> 00:07:09,782 holidays or other live events. 122 00:07:10,052 --> 00:07:12,872 Is someone important to you graduating or getting married? 123 00:07:13,052 --> 00:07:16,412 Are you planning on the February exam, but your family is absolutely 124 00:07:16,412 --> 00:07:17,972 obsessed with the winter holidays? 125 00:07:18,242 --> 00:07:21,872 Do you have one or more trips planned for the middle of your bar study period? 126 00:07:22,172 --> 00:07:26,222 List all of these things and assess them one at a time. 127 00:07:26,927 --> 00:07:28,367 What can you reschedule? 128 00:07:28,547 --> 00:07:29,567 What can you skip? 129 00:07:29,927 --> 00:07:34,667 Of the things that are set in stone for you, how much time will they ideally cut 130 00:07:34,667 --> 00:07:38,867 from your schedule, and how much time will they realistically cut from your schedule? 131 00:07:39,167 --> 00:07:42,617 We work with a lot of people who tell us that they'll study during their family 132 00:07:42,617 --> 00:07:46,307 holiday gathering or while traveling to and from an out-of-state wedding. 133 00:07:46,637 --> 00:07:49,697 But when it comes down to it, there's too much going on for 134 00:07:49,697 --> 00:07:51,347 that study time to be useful. 135 00:07:51,557 --> 00:07:55,697 Just be honest with yourself about what you can do, so you can plan effectively. 136 00:07:55,967 --> 00:08:00,287 Get all of this information onto your calendar along with your standard week. 137 00:08:01,987 --> 00:08:02,387 Whew! 138 00:08:03,047 --> 00:08:06,407 That was already a lot to think about, and we haven't even gotten to the 139 00:08:06,407 --> 00:08:08,357 really squishy considerations yet. 140 00:08:08,702 --> 00:08:10,352 First up, breaks. 141 00:08:10,562 --> 00:08:14,312 Most bar studiers who struggle with this seem to fall into one 142 00:08:14,312 --> 00:08:16,232 of two camps on taking breaks. 143 00:08:16,532 --> 00:08:21,392 Some bar studiers are absolutely convinced that they will never need breaks. 144 00:08:21,602 --> 00:08:25,492 They will study 12 hours per day, every day, from law school 145 00:08:25,492 --> 00:08:27,172 graduation until the bar exam. 146 00:08:27,502 --> 00:08:30,592 Or they're working a standard 9 to 5 job, but will study for 147 00:08:30,592 --> 00:08:34,432 eight hours in the mornings and evenings and 12 on the weekends. 148 00:08:34,762 --> 00:08:40,492 For these people, reality sets in quickly, and if their study schedule relied on 60 149 00:08:40,492 --> 00:08:44,782 or more hours of study time per week, it will fall apart and leave them frantic. 150 00:08:45,142 --> 00:08:49,252 The other camp is the studiers who plan for more breaks than study time. 151 00:08:49,582 --> 00:08:54,447 They either overcorrect so hard against overstudying that they don't have enough 152 00:08:54,507 --> 00:08:59,337 dedicated time to pull together a cohesive schedule, even though they actually have 153 00:08:59,337 --> 00:09:04,467 time available day-to-day, or they plan so many trips throughout the study period 154 00:09:04,617 --> 00:09:06,507 that they can never build momentum. 155 00:09:07,047 --> 00:09:11,607 As usual, there's no one "right" answer, but optimal break planning 156 00:09:11,607 --> 00:09:12,957 falls somewhere in the middle. 157 00:09:13,377 --> 00:09:17,727 At minimum, as mentioned above, you want to make sure that your study plan allows 158 00:09:17,727 --> 00:09:19,917 for a sufficient time to sleep and eat. 159 00:09:20,247 --> 00:09:23,637 If you aren't taking care of those basic needs, you won't be able to 160 00:09:23,637 --> 00:09:25,917 retain information in an effective way. 161 00:09:26,367 --> 00:09:30,807 If possible, we also recommend trying to come up with at least one activity 162 00:09:30,807 --> 00:09:32,367 per day that will recharge you. 163 00:09:32,727 --> 00:09:35,637 This does not have to be something expensive, and it shouldn't 164 00:09:35,637 --> 00:09:37,167 be anything that is lengthy. 165 00:09:37,527 --> 00:09:40,827 Think about a phone call with a friend who is willing to chat with you about 166 00:09:40,857 --> 00:09:45,117 anything but the bar exam, a regular workout routine, a daily meditation 167 00:09:45,117 --> 00:09:48,897 practice, a walk around the neighborhood, or an episode of a favorite show. 168 00:09:49,407 --> 00:09:53,127 Note that some of these types of activities might also be able to 169 00:09:53,127 --> 00:09:56,907 serve as a reward for finishing your daily or weekly study tasks. 170 00:09:57,907 --> 00:10:01,957 We also encourage you to incorporate breaks within your study time. 171 00:10:02,227 --> 00:10:06,127 This might not appear on your study schedule itself, but it will impact 172 00:10:06,127 --> 00:10:10,147 how much time you give yourself for each activity and could seriously 173 00:10:10,147 --> 00:10:12,067 impact how you feel at the end of it. 174 00:10:12,517 --> 00:10:16,447 Look up the Pomodoro technique and consider adapting it to your bar study. 175 00:10:16,717 --> 00:10:20,047 During substantive review, most people will hit a wall at some point where 176 00:10:20,047 --> 00:10:21,547 they are reading without thinking. 177 00:10:21,727 --> 00:10:24,787 Set a timer for 20 or 30 minutes, or whatever works for you, 178 00:10:24,997 --> 00:10:26,587 each time you start to review. 179 00:10:26,827 --> 00:10:29,617 When the timer goes off, set another timer for five minutes. 180 00:10:29,767 --> 00:10:34,177 Use that time to stretch or get some water and do a mini reset before diving back in. 181 00:10:34,567 --> 00:10:38,827 When you are doing a practice essay or a PT, you should be setting a timer for 182 00:10:38,827 --> 00:10:42,907 the amount of time you'll have to write during the bar exam, but you can arrange 183 00:10:42,907 --> 00:10:45,697 for yourself to have a five-minute break between writing the essay and 184 00:10:45,697 --> 00:10:49,417 reviewing it, and another between your review and diving into the next task. 185 00:10:50,197 --> 00:10:53,317 When it comes to taking days off from study time, our recommendation 186 00:10:53,317 --> 00:10:56,227 depends heavily on how much and how long you are studying. 187 00:10:56,557 --> 00:11:01,297 Again, we have a flexible rule of thumb with 400 hours as the target study time. 188 00:11:01,627 --> 00:11:05,722 If you are studying long enough that you can hit that target with five study 189 00:11:05,722 --> 00:11:09,832 days per week, then you can probably leave two days a week off or for catchup. 190 00:11:10,642 --> 00:11:15,472 If your studies are more condensed, then you might want to plan on one short day 191 00:11:15,472 --> 00:11:19,732 per week - performance test practice can be great for a short day, since it doesn't 192 00:11:19,732 --> 00:11:24,052 require any outside law - and leave the rest of that day open for breathing room. 193 00:11:24,772 --> 00:11:26,452 So, these are your planned breaks. 194 00:11:26,692 --> 00:11:28,342 But what about unplanned ones? 195 00:11:28,582 --> 00:11:30,262 Illness is really the biggest one. 196 00:11:30,442 --> 00:11:33,772 It can knock days or weeks out of your bar study time, and 197 00:11:33,772 --> 00:11:35,122 you can't really predict it. 198 00:11:35,632 --> 00:11:39,052 But there are also major life events and changes, both good and bad, 199 00:11:39,082 --> 00:11:42,382 that can pop up without warning and really throw off your studies. 200 00:11:42,857 --> 00:11:47,147 As you make or select your study schedule, before you get frazzled and exhausted, 201 00:11:47,297 --> 00:11:51,247 take some time to figure out where you'll make up time if something happens. 202 00:11:51,517 --> 00:11:55,717 Is there a second or third review of the subjects that you could reduce or remove? 203 00:11:55,957 --> 00:11:59,527 Or maybe you can pare the substantive review back from study 204 00:11:59,527 --> 00:12:01,237 development of understanding to quick 205 00:12:01,237 --> 00:12:03,587 memorization of heavily tested law. 206 00:12:03,587 --> 00:12:04,057 Basically, 207 00:12:04,057 --> 00:12:07,177 Lee Burgess: take a look at your schedule before you start and figure out what you 208 00:12:07,292 --> 00:12:11,347 can do to go from an "ideal" schedule to a "good enough" schedule, and write 209 00:12:11,347 --> 00:12:13,507 down that plan just in case you need it. 210 00:12:13,957 --> 00:12:17,437 Also, make a decision about what changes to your study schedule would 211 00:12:17,437 --> 00:12:21,427 lead you to make the shift from preparing for the immediate bar exam to 212 00:12:21,427 --> 00:12:23,317 preparing long-term for the next one. 213 00:12:23,707 --> 00:12:27,277 No one wants to think about these contingencies, but taking the time to 214 00:12:27,277 --> 00:12:30,667 plan for them will leave you feeling more anchored if something happens. 215 00:12:31,422 --> 00:12:35,232 Once you have all this information - and I get it, it's a lot - you 216 00:12:35,232 --> 00:12:36,672 can plan your bar studies. 217 00:12:36,942 --> 00:12:40,602 This might mean filling your calendar with your own agenda of substantive 218 00:12:40,602 --> 00:12:45,192 review and practice, or figuring out which purchased study schedule and prep course 219 00:12:45,192 --> 00:12:47,472 will best fit into your available time. 220 00:12:47,922 --> 00:12:51,207 Either way, it's always best to have enough information to 221 00:12:51,207 --> 00:12:52,737 make the right decision for you. 222 00:12:53,427 --> 00:12:55,257 And with that, we are out of time! 223 00:12:55,527 --> 00:12:58,767 If you enjoyed this episode of the Bar Exam Toolbox podcast, please 224 00:12:58,767 --> 00:13:02,157 take a second to leave a review and rating on your favorite listening app. 225 00:13:02,397 --> 00:13:03,687 We'd really appreciate it. 226 00:13:03,687 --> 00:13:05,937 And be sure to subscribe so you don't miss anything. 227 00:13:06,297 --> 00:13:09,477 If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to reach out to 228 00:13:09,477 --> 00:13:15,417 myself or Alison at lee@barexamtoolbox.com or alison@barexamtoolbox.com. 229 00:13:15,657 --> 00:13:18,597 Or you can always contact us via our website contact 230 00:13:18,597 --> 00:13:20,507 form at BarExamToolbox.com. 231 00:13:20,817 --> 00:13:22,797 Thanks for listening, and we'll talk soon!