Only four weeks stand between you and the bar exam. You are now in crunch time. If things aren’t going well, you still have time to right the ship, and if things have been going well, that doesn’t necessarily mean it is going to be smooth sailing from here on out. It is of the utmost importance that you carefully guard your time, energy, and sanity from this point forward. It is equally important that you don’t let one of these five common, but manageable, bar prep roadblocks shut you down.
1. A bad score on a practice exam or essay
Picture this: you’re cruising along with your bar prep study plan, making progress, and overall feeling pretty good. Then, all of a sudden you get a 36 percent on a practice set of MBEs or a 2 on an essay. You break into a cold sweat and watch your entire career flash before your eyes. You freak out, think that everything you’ve been doing to date is not working, and then promptly make a plan to change it all.
This might be a huge mistake. Yes, it is good to use your scores to evaluate whether your study plan is working. However, you cannot let one or two low scores cause you to destroy an otherwise productive and successful study plan. I’ve seen many students fall into this trap and they always regret it. When deciding what changes to make to your study plan, be sure that you are looking at your results as a whole and not getting too hung up on any one score or experience.
2. Feeling overwhelmed with the amount of work you have left to do
Studying for the bar exam is like trying to shove 10 pounds of shit in a 5 pound bag (a very charming expression I picked up from my dad). What I mean by that is there is ALWAYS more to do than there is time to do it. This, in itself, is not the problem. However, students hurt themselves when they try to learn everything at the expense of learning the important things really well.
You may find yourself in the position of wondering, “How will I get it all done?” Instead of panicking and trying to do it all, create a prioritized “to-do” list. Review the information provided by your bar review company about frequently tested topics and compare that to your own strengths and weakness to determine where your time is best spent.
3. Burnout
You’ve been grinding at this bar prep thing for a while now. Early mornings. Late nights. All bar exam, all the time. You eat lunch at your computer and have nightmares about the Rule Against Perpetuities. The fact is, you can only operate at 100 MPH for so long before you crash and burn. A big mistake students make is amping up or pushing through when what they actually need is a break. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is take a step back and take a couple of hours to yourself. It is amazing what a little bit of relaxation and self-care can do for your motivation, mindset, and productivity.
4. Something out of your control happens
The most frightening things in life and in bar exam prep are those that you can’t control. There is nothing more heartbreaking than watching some external situation swoop in and rattle someone during bar prep. Sometimes health issues pop up, spouses pick fights, or the government shuts down and threatens to cancel the D.C. bar exam. Whatever the the situation is, it really sucks to have something mess with all your hard work and effort. In the event that something unexpected happens to you during bar prep, make sure you take a step back from the situation and evaluate all of your options. Frequently, students in these situations respond by trying to keep their head down and continue working. I always think a better plan is to evaluate all of your options such as postponing the exam or any other changes so that you can make an informed decision.
5. You have a total meltdown
You’re under a lot of pressure and that pressure tends to mount the closer the exam gets. This is totally normal and to be expected. However, it is important to adequately monitor and address your stress and anxiety levels to keep you from completely losing your mind. If you are not careful, you’ll stress yourself right into a state of paralysis. To avoid a mindset meltdown, make sure you have a regular self-care plan in place and do your best to stick to it.
I know it can be scary to think about the things that can keep you from reaching your goals. But, the good news is you now know what to look out for and how to avoid it. You’re almost there. Good luck, keep pushing.
Watch Out For These 5 Bar Prep Roadblocks curated from Above the Law
No comments:
Post a Comment