Anyone else finding that they have a lot of free time..? Forum

[dreakol]

Each week I've been studying:

3 days for 12 hrs.
2 days for 8 hrs.
2 days for 4 hrs.

My study hours vary because some days I have 1 class and others I have 4. I'm getting 7-9 hrs. sleep per night and I don't feel groggy until the end of each day. I'm not killing myself but I do stay productive. I've spoken with classmates who're taking the weekends off and/or studying for about 4 hrs./day and say they "get it." I don't buy it. Speaking with them I see gaps in their understanding of the material...gaps that have the potential to grow in to huge deficiencies:

• They comprehend a case, but they don't understand it in way that allows them relate it to the overall framework of the course.
  They know the rule, but misunderstand the reasoning it took to get there.
  They don't know which supplements, restatements, hornbooks, etc., are best suited for the specific course.
  They don't see the direction of the course.

Learning BLL is key, but it will be hard retain it all and to apply it with dexterity if you don't see how everything ties together.

you are studying 12 hours on top of going to class some days?

[UML]

• They comprehend a case, but they don't understand it in way that allows them relate it to the overall framework of the course.
  They know the rule, but misunderstand the reasoning it took to get there.
  They don't know which supplements, restatements, hornbooks, etc., are best suited for the specific course.
  They don't see the direction of the course.

And you know all this three weeks in? I study just about as much as you do, but I don't really think the amount of hours is the problem. It's more like you see all of the aforementioned or you don't, but at this point if you can confidently claim to see all of that I think yoar doing it rong.

I didn't mean to sound like a know-it-all gunner. I definitively don't have all the answers, and the answers I think I have could very well turn out to be wrong. I can't "confidently claim to see all of that," but I do recognize that those things are major issues that need some serious wrangling. It seems like the 4-hours-I-get-it-that-wasn't-so-hard-time-to-party crowd either shrugs the issues off or isn't aware of them. But this is just my anecdotal experience.

[UML]

you are studying 12 hours on top of going to class some days?

I just have one 50 minute class that day.

[downing]

3 weeks in, and I pretty much stopped briefing.
There are some great online resources, as well as books(Casenotes... But I found that it's seriously lacking in the breadth department. at least for Ks), which provide all the briefs you could need. However I do get a handful of cases I can't find any briefs for, and end up briefing those, albeit briefly. Seems like there are better things to do: reread a case/assigned reading to gather a better idea of the BLL, policy issues, and reasoning; clarify any areas of the law that I don't immediately "get" by using a supplemental work (E&Es, etc), and so on. Morever, I read the night before or sometimes two nights before class, so the material is fresh in my mind.

[FlanAl]

Anyone else doing more modern cases in con law that make it harder to focus on the holding? This has wasted a ton of my time lately. "hmm what do I think about abortion"

[dreakol]

you are studying 12 hours on top of going to class some days?

I just have one 50 minute class that day.

what do you do?

[UML]

ldk

[dreakol]

you are studying 12 hours on top of going to class some days?

I just have one 50 minute class that day.

what do you do?

Read Cases, make notes, read hornbook, add to notes, compare with past student outlines, add to notes, read commerical outline, add to notes, read supplement, add to notes, read articles by prof., add to notes, read articles mentioned in hornbook or prof.'s articles, add to notes, then I agonize for hours over how to translate everything I've read into binaries (e.g., broad interpretation/narrow) and compress it all into a brief paragraph in my outline that fits into the framework of the course.

jesus, brotato, sounds intense. Although I do pretty much everything you do except for the articles. good luck this year.

[TheFactor]

you are studying 12 hours on top of going to class some days?

I just have one 50 minute class that day.

what do you do?

Read Cases, make notes, read hornbook, add to notes, compare with past student outlines, add to notes, read commerical outline, add to notes, read supplement, add to notes, read articles by prof., add to notes, read articles mentioned in hornbook or prof.'s articles, add to notes, then I agonize for hours over how to translate everything I've read into binaries (e.g., broad interpretation/narrow) and compress it all into a brief paragraph in my outline that fits into the framework of the course.

lol

[ilovesf]

you are studying 12 hours on top of going to class some days?

I just have one 50 minute class that day.

what do you do?

Read Cases, make notes, read hornbook, add to notes, compare with past student outlines, add to notes, read commerical outline, add to notes, read supplement, add to notes, read articles by prof., add to notes, read articles mentioned in hornbook or prof.'s articles, add to notes, then I agonize for hours over how to translate everything I've read into binaries (e.g., broad interpretation/narrow) and compress it all into a brief paragraph in my outline that fits into the framework of the course.

what the fuck

[target]

you are studying 12 hours on top of going to class some days?

what do you do?

Read Cases, make notes, read hornbook, add to notes, compare with past student outlines, add to notes, read commerical outline, add to notes, read supplement, add to notes, read articles by prof., add to notes, read articles mentioned in hornbook or prof.'s articles, add to notes, then I agonize for hours over how to translate everything I've read into binaries (e.g., broad interpretation/narrow) and compress it all into a brief paragraph in my outline that fits into the framework of the course.

what the fuck

[OklahomasOK]

Read Cases, make notes, read hornbook, add to notes, compare with past student outlines, add to notes, read commerical outline, add to notes, read supplement, add to notes, read articles by prof., add to notes, read articles mentioned in hornbook or prof.'s articles, add to notes, then I agonize for hours over how to translate everything I've read into binaries (e.g., broad interpretation/narrow) and compress it all into a brief paragraph in my outline that fits into the framework of the course.

what the fuck

Seriously...

[BarbellDreams]

you are studying 12 hours on top of going to class some days?

I just have one 50 minute class that day.

what do you do?

Read Cases, make notes, read hornbook, add to notes, compare with past student outlines, add to notes, read commerical outline, add to notes, read supplement, add to notes, read articles by prof., add to notes, read articles mentioned in hornbook or prof.'s articles, add to notes, then I agonize for hours over how to translate everything I've read into binaries (e.g., broad interpretation/narrow) and compress it all into a brief paragraph in my outline that fits into the framework of the course.

I learned during 1L that more times than not these kids end up below median. But please, enjoy the hell you're willingly putting yourself through all the same.

[dreakol]

you are studying 12 hours on top of going to class some days?

I learned during 1L that more times than not these kids end up below median. But please, enjoy the hell you're willingly putting yourself through all the same.

his workload is around 60 hours, which doesn't seem that bad

though you may be talking about his approach and not the amount of time he spends studying.

[chrisbru]

his workload is around 60 hours, which doesn't seem that bad

though you may be talking about his approach and not the amount of time he spends studying.

60 hours EVERY WEEK isn't bad? Who ARE you?

[dreakol]

his workload is around 60 hours, which doesn't seem that bad

though you may be talking about his approach and not the amount of time he spends studying.

60 hours EVERY WEEK isn't bad? Who ARE you?

lol

idk, man. i look at it this way-10 hours monday through friday, including class time, and 5-6 hours on sat/sun.

gone by 6pm during the week and by 3pm on weekends doesnt seem too rough

[BarbellDreams]

his workload is around 60 hours, which doesn't seem that bad

though you may be talking about his approach and not the amount of time he spends studying.

60 hours EVERY WEEK isn't bad? Who ARE you?

lol

idk, man. i look at it this way-10 hours monday through friday, including class time, and 5-6 hours on sat/sun.

gone by 6pm during the week and by 3pm on weekends doesnt seem too rough

If you're doing 60 hours INCLUDING class time this may be manageable (although I was commenting more on his method). If you're dog 60 hours outside of class time you're either going to burn out by the end of October and get horrible grades or you're one of the biggest anomalies in the history of law school.

[chrisbru]

lol

idk, man. i look at it this way-10 hours monday through friday, including class time, and 5-6 hours on sat/sun.

gone by 6pm during the week and by 3pm on weekends doesnt seem too rough

I just think that's DEFINITELY too much, especially this early in the year. It doesn't take that long to read, take notes, etc. if you are efficient with it.

But, to each their own.

[crossarmant]

I'm starting to feel like I have too much free time on my hands now. I have always been ahead on my reading, always read the relevant parts of the E&Es, I've looked over some sample exams and done some basic working of those hypos, started to peruse CALI, etc. but I still have like hours upon hours of free time.

I feel completely abreast on the material and feel comfortable with my knowledge of it, but I feel as if that's a solid way of settling at median. What am I missing? Or is this just paranoia and fear of doing poorly?

[adonai]

I learned during 1L that more times than not these kids end up below median. But please, enjoy the hell you're willingly putting yourself through all the same.

I've actually heard the opposite. These kids are the snipers that really seem to kill it. The ones who end up median are the ones who raise their hands in class and tab and book brief their books in 10 different colors until there's no white on the page. From all the people I've talked to who have done well, you really have to do more than the minimum.

[Redzo]

Work smart, not hard. Or do both if you like. But smart is #1.

[mrloblaw]

Didn't read thread. To answer the OP, I watched over 50 complete seasons of tv (including the entirety of several shows that ran for 5+ seasons: Seinfeld, Lost, etc.) during my 1L year.

I never figured out what the crikey the people who were in the library for 12 hours a day were doing. If you understand the material (use the class discussion as a check on yourself) and have loads of free time, you're doing it right, IMO.

2L, when you have things going on that are far more important than class, is another thing altogether.

[Sandro]

my section is mostly gunners. today was the nail in the coffin.

[JusticeHarlan]

you are studying 12 hours on top of going to class some days?

I just have one 50 minute class that day.

what do you do?

Read Cases, make notes, read hornbook, add to notes, compare with past student outlines, add to notes, read commerical outline, add to notes, read supplement, add to notes, read articles by prof., add to notes, read articles mentioned in hornbook or prof.'s articles, add to notes, then I agonize for hours over how to translate everything I've read into binaries (e.g., broad interpretation/narrow) and compress it all into a brief paragraph in my outline that fits into the framework of the course.

He gunnin'

[bartleby]

things are picking though now, huh? i don't feel like i have that much free time anymore. i'm in week 6