[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LFF Good point Ed! That is exactly what I do. I have finals in 2 weeks (1L). My wonderful girlfriend helps me keep my head on during these times. When I get too stressed - I spend some time with her and then listen to a little music. All seems right afterwards and I move on with the books. Women and Music - All I need now is a little wine.

Celebration time in 2+ weeks!

-Ed

 

[sbulack]

Some stress over an upcoming performance (like taking an exam) - up to the butterflies level - can be unpleasant but actually help to tweak you up to perform optimally. When the stress gets so great that it becomes unproductive, I generally manage it through getting a life-long perspective on whatever the upcoming event/performance is. Right now, it may be that there are a lot of current events or goals contingent on the success of the upcoming performance - the more such contingent goals there are, the higher can be the stress over the performance. It can be helpful to back off of the local timeline, with its set of goals, and look over the whole of your life - both everything that has led to this moment and all of the years that lie ahead. Take a look at all of the times you've faced similar challenges and done well - be encouraged by those and try to apply what worked for you then to the current challenge. Take a look at the times you've faced similar challenges and been disappointed - learn from them how you can take on the current challenge better. And finally, ask the big question: what IF, despite all of your best efforts, your performance in this current challenge turns out to be less than you are expecting/hoping for? Will that be the end of opportunities for happiness or satisfaction for you for the rest of your life? It would be hard to imagine a situation where someone could realistically think so. Put again, can a different path through life other than the one you've projected for yourself (contingent on a good performance in the upcoming challenge) provide you with plenty of "it's good to be alive" satisfaction in the years to come? It's hard to imagine a situation within which someone could realistically think not. With that perspective on the upcoming challenge, the stress is easier to manage to keep it to a level where it is "tweaking" you to perform your best, and to prevent it from growing to levels where it impedes your performance. And that can be a very productive way to handle stress - to manage it and actually use it as a tool to help you to do the best that you can.

Paralyzing, unmanageable levels of stress over upcoming performances can be constructive warnings about one's overall well-being or suitedness to one's current avenue of endeavors and, if heeded, can overcome the hurdles/inertia to constructive changes that can result in improved states of life. Even in the worst of stress cases, a constructive response to it can provide a beneficial time. If a constructive response doesn't seem to be within oneself, then it's a great time to ask someone else for help to come up with one.

For most folks, most of the time, things like caffeine (diet) management, sleep management, time management and a healthy long-term perspective on one's life are the keys to actually harnessing stress to enhance productivity and satisfaction in life.

 

[LFF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood Celebration time in 2+ weeks! -Ed

Yes Indeed!!!!!

 

[YamiTenshi]

I have the opposite problem as you guys. I'm use to being on the quarter system, so that I'd only have to take a class for 10 weeks. Now in my first semester of law school and we're going for a full 15 weeks. I lost my drive about 5 weeks ago. Everything after that just seemed so mundane and boring. I've kept up with all my work, but just enough so that I wouldn't be behind. I just can't make myself study, my mind starts wandering or I fall asleep. I don't think my brain is fired just bored.

Some one help.

 

[jpr703]

My advice to you is to drink heavily--but only after your exams!

 

[Ticky]

Andy,

I understand what you are going through. I was a law student too – just got my JD back in 2004. That those 3 years were some of the most trying times in my life. I experience a lot of negative emotions - stress, self doubt, anxiety, frustration, self-pity, anger, etc.

Upon reflection, I realized much of what I went through was all stemmed from my own sense of pride and desires. Like the Buddhist proverb, “your life is but a construction of the mind.”

Here’s my humble advice based on my experience:

1. At the end of the day, we want to be happy.

This is the essential reason for everything we do. Money doesn’t make the world go round, its human desire to be happy that does it. But, sometimes we lose sight of this big picture.

We do what we do because we think it’ll make us happy. A charitable person strives for happiness by seeing others being happy; a selfish person strives for happiness at the expense of others. The first is more incline to make the mistake of sacrificing the happiness in the present for the future – but the future might never come. The later is more inclined to make the sacrifice happiness in the future for the present – but the future might actually come.

Many of us want jobs not because they add a few extra digits to our bank account statement. We want jobs because we want be happy. We think happiness is obtained through those extra digits in our bank account statement, which might not always be the case.

So remember, at the end of the day, you want to be happy. The key is balance.


2. There are many ways to live a happy life

I’m not saying that you should drop out of law school. Perhaps you will ultimately be enjoy (and be happy) practicing law. But, don’t stress on getting good grades because it’s the only way to get a big firm job or a circuit court clerkship. There are much more career possibilities out there than you can think. There are also much more ways to live a fulfilling life than you can imagine.

You ain’t going to be a bump. You already have 4 degrees! Bill Gates has four less than you.

I had friends who broke up with their significant others because of law school. You seem to have a jewel of a girlfriend there. Don’t sacrifice a happiness that already exists in your life for one that only exists in your mind.


Cheers!


BTW – I never got an A in law school, did not take the bar, and ended up working as a consultant. In a couple of years, I hope to start a business. I’m loving it.

 

[viator122]

I'm a 1L too. I don't usually get stressed out because I try to keep 3 points in mind:

1. You can't give more than 100%. Yeah, sports coaches and bosses love to talk about 110% but in the real world we all have to eat, sleep and lead our lives outside the classroom and the library. Get in the mindset where you decide you're going to just do your best, and let the chips fall where they may.

2. You already took the salary-determining test of your law-school career: the LSAT. When you graduate, no matter how well you do, you're going to get a job and in 5 years all the stress over contracts, torts and propery will seem very silly and unimportant. Remember the big picture and that you have a whole career ahead of you.

3. Every once in a while, even in law school, even during exams, you just have to say "**** it, I'm done with this for today," and go out and have dinner/drinks with friends, go see a movie or a concert or something. Get your mind off work and rejoin the world of the living for a few hours. It'll really make you feel better and you'll be better off in the end.

Good luck, and with that, it's back to my memorandum...

 

[bg4533]

For me exercise helps with stress more than anything else. Even when I am extremely busy and stressed out and seem to have no time to spare I will go for an hour or two bike ride. While riding my life and stress melt away and nothing really matters. With a good road and nice weather it is almost a surreal experience. I guess it is similar to what some people experience meditating. The stress comes back, but the exercise generally leaves me feeling better for at least a few hours.

It is sort of a bad habit, but I have found wine helps me with studying. Not enough to be noticably drunk, just enough to relax a bit and focus. When I am stressed thoughts fly through my head like crazy and I can never focus. Over the course of a night studying I usually only drink a few glasses. Other alcohols don't seem to have the same effect. A little bit of wine also helps me sleep better which also helps with stress. If you have an addictive personality this is probably not a good way to go.

 

[episiarch]

Here's what's worked for me, delivering a serene sense of preparedness and excellent grades.

- in the days before the exam, I make handwritten notes of everything from the course that I think will be relevant to the exam. Whether textbooks, handouts or written notes (which I rewrite, summarizing as appropriate), if I think it's relevant to the exam, I write it up. The principle is that the notes should encompass literally everything I need to know for the exam. If I feel I need the notes plus a textbook or plus some handouts in order to study, it means I've copped out and left things out of my notes that should be there. So I put them in.

- day before the exam: type up the handwritten notes from step 1.

- morning of exam: read the notes once more.

- take exam, knowing I've got the material down cold.

So by the end of this process I've written down everything I need to know twice, and read it several times. The writing/rewriting is key: writing or typing up the notes is much better for imprinting them into my memory than reading is.

Yes, this is a lot of work, but it was not stressful, because I knew I was doing exactly the things that would very predictably get me the result I wanted. I do not like stress much at all, and for me the best way to get rid of it was to develop a system of ensuring I was sufficiently prepared that I wouldn't feel I had anything to be stressed over. This is that system.

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by episiarch Here's what's worked for me, delivering a serene sense of preparedness and excellent grades. - in the days before the exam, I make handwritten notes of everything from the course that I think will be relevant to the exam. Whether textbooks, handouts or written notes (which I rewrite, summarizing as appropriate), if I think it's relevant to the exam, I write it up. The principle is that the notes should encompass literally everything I need to know for the exam. If I feel I need the notes plus a textbook or plus some handouts in order to study, it means I've copped out and left things out of my notes that should be there. So I put them in. - day before the exam: type up the handwritten notes from step 1. - morning of exam: read the notes once more. - take exam, knowing I've got the material down cold. So by the end of this process I've written down everything I need to know twice, and read it several times. The writing/rewriting is key: writing or typing up the notes is much better for imprinting them into my memory than reading is. Yes, this is a lot of work, but it was not stressful, because I knew I was doing exactly the things that would very predictably get me the result I wanted. I do not like stress much at all, and for me the best way to get rid of it was to develop a system of ensuring I was sufficiently prepared that I wouldn't feel I had anything to be stressed over. This is that system.

haha the old rote memorization tool! yep i went through it, and that really is the way to get the black letter law down pat. during classes just be a transcriber and don't try to "get" the material. just get it all down. DO NOT fall into the trap of relying on old notes from past years - if you don't do the work you aren't soaking it in.

now when you are back in the dorms, put all of that on your computer. as you are typing, LEARN it. if you don't understand something, look it up or call a friend, read the case it refers to, something to impress upon you that you know the issue and you'll know how to spot it.

finally, before the exam, just riff thru it really quickly, stopping only when something looks alien, and the rest of the time bounce stuff off your study group. remember, by now it's too late to memorize, either you know it or you don't. in exams the #1 thing is to SPOT it, and if you spot it but don't know crap about it, write about possibly related crap - just put something down.

in the end, law school is a crapload of memorization AND application, so study in a balanced way to get it all down. again, the pressure isn't on until exam time, so do all the dirty work before so during crunch time it's all refresher and not "omg i have to learn this for the first time!" stuff.

edit- case in point. "Cy Pres" was one of the essays on the past bar exam i heard. Now if you never bothered to memorize Cy Pres, you were screwed. If you knew the term, but didn't know what it meant, you were also screwed because you wouldn't have been able to spot the issue correctly. However, if you knew it and you knew how to spot it, this obscure little term of law would have saved your butt in the exam. I know someone from a big ivy league school who blew Cy Pres and didn't pass. So yeah, do your homework and don't stress, just soak it all in and make it all part of your lingo.

One of the things you'll notice is that you'll start to look at things and talk in "lawspeak" - which is REALLY annoying for friends and family, but it shows that you're learning the stuff, so keep at it.

 

[The Monkey]

Count another in the transcription fan club. I found that to be the most effective way to study.

However, I never, ever felt I knew anything cold. In fact, in my experience the exams on which I received the best grades tended to be the ones after which I felt the worst about my performance immediately following the exam.

Edit (hit submit too soon): My point is, even after studying your ass off, you may feel like you botched the exam. You will not be alone. Personally, I think you're supposed to feel that way after an LS exam, especially as a 1L.

 

[Ticky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn One of the things you'll notice is that you'll start to look at things and talk in "lawspeak" - which is REALLY annoying for friends and family, but it shows that you're learning the stuff, so keep at it.

Ha... ha... it doesn't stop even if you don't practice law after law school.

Sure, I forget the precise terminologies and black letter law, but every now and then I see something and think, "hmmm... a gross negligence tort waiting to happen. No wait. Probably not worth suing for that; defendant ain't rich enough."

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ticky Ha... ha... it doesn't stop even if you don't practice law after law school. Sure, I forget the precise terminologies and black letter law, but every now and then I see something and think, "hmmm... a gross negligence tort waiting to happen. No wait. Probably not worth suing for that; defendant ain't rich enough."

"Judgment-Proof!" and it's not "Judgement!"

 

[AndyRx7]

Hey guys,

Thanks so much for all the fantastic and very helpful advice. My girlfriend (who was out of town last weekend - perhaps the source of the problem haha?) came back, we went for a walk, put christmas lights up in our house and drank egg nog haha, and I felt much better.

Another bonus was that a legal memo I wrote a few weeks ago got picked to be an 'example' of a good argument, so I got to sit in class this morning silently grinning as the high points of my memo were explained to the rest of the class by our TA lol. Nothing like a little confidence booster lol.

Good luck to all the rest of you guys in 1L (or 2L or 3L)!!!

I would respond more to all of the great posts above, but duty calls...

 

[rx7_fan]

Hmm nice screen name AndyRx7... How strange though, my name is andy as well.. small world.