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This question is mainly for June 2010ers or other previous test-takers, but October people should feel free to weigh in with their plans.

How far out from test day should someone begin the transition to his test day wake-up routine? Currently I go to bed around midnight and wake up at 8:30 AM to go to work. Some days I'll go to bed slightly earlier and wake up at 7:45 AM to go running before work. I'm planning on waking up at 6:00 AM on test day. I'll go on a 30 minute jog, eat breakfast, have a cup of coffee, shower, and leave my apartment at 7:30 AM, giving myself a full hour to make what should be a 25 minute trip to the testing center. I'm curious when I should start this routine of waking up at 6:00 AM. Since it will require a lot of adjustments (eating dinner around 6:30 PM, not really hanging out with friends or girlfriend, etc.), I imagine it should be at least one or two weeks before the exam. What do those with experience have to say about giving yourself enough time before the exam to get into the routine you intend for test day?

All responses appreciated. Thanks.

You should be doing this routine every day, or at least as often as possible, from here on out. The more test day seems routine, the more comfortable you will be.

also, I think it's a great idea to take your practice tests at 9 AM if possible.

I started waking up early a week before my test. Would go to bed early, wake-up early, and take a PT at the time the real test would be. Do this for 4-6 days before the real thing, and you should be good-to-go

Audio Technica Guy wrote:You should be doing this routine every day, or at least as often as possible, from here on out. The more test day seems routine, the more comfortable you will be.

You think he should start waking up early from here on out for October?? That's ridiculous

Start this routine at least a week out from test day, and keep to it on the weekends too. If after a couple of days you find yourself still waking up miserable and tired, start going to bed even earlier. The goal is to wake up on test day feeling fresh and ready, so the earlier you start this routine the better-adjusted you'll be to go to bed nice and early and wake up nice and early, without feeling like shit.

Also, if your schedule makes it possible (i.e. no work obligations) then I recommend supplementing this schedule with practicing for the LSAT at the same time in the morning that your test is scheduled to begin on the actual test day. This will allow you to get used to this routine, and will also help you gauge whether you're getting enough sleep (if you find yourself with heavy eyelids during this practice then it might be time for an adjustment).

Cilent21 wrote:

Audio Technica Guy wrote:You should be doing this routine every day, or at least as often as possible, from here on out. The more test day seems routine, the more comfortable you will be.

You think he should start waking up early from here on out for October?? That's ridiculous

Eh, I think it helps. I mean it's not like a life change. It's waking up a couple hours early. If his plan is to jog for 30 mins before and he just starts that a week before, you can have all sorts of issues. The more routine test day seems, the better. It's not just about getting yourself able to wake up at 6, it's about establishing a routine, so that everything seems as normal as possible. I'm also not saying it needs to be everyday, just as often as is reasonably possible.

I don't think it would be possible for me to do this every day until October. I think two weeks out is what I'm going to shoot for, but I want to know what other people suggest.

By the way, I'm jogging a few mornings a week already, so I don't think that part will require any adjusting to. Really I'm going to be doing the same thing on test day that I do on most mornings, just two hour earlier, which is still a big difference to me.

Unfortunately it's not really possible for me to do a 3.5 hour PT before I have to leave for work at 9:30 AM. I may start studying for an hour every morning once I get into this routine, or taking one or two timed sections. Thanks for that piece of advice.

sgtgrumbles wrote: Unfortunately it's not really possible for me to do a 3.5 hour PT before I have to leave for work at 9:30 AM. I may start studying for an hour every morning once I get into this routine, or taking one or two timed sections. Thanks for that piece of advice.

weekends?

Audio Technica Guy wrote:

sgtgrumbles wrote: Unfortunately it's not really possible for me to do a 3.5 hour PT before I have to leave for work at 9:30 AM. I may start studying for an hour every morning once I get into this routine, or taking one or two timed sections. Thanks for that piece of advice.

weekends?

Whoops, you're right. I was just thinking about during the work week. Yes, I plan on starting to take PTs early on the weekends. I'll shoot for 9:00 AM.

sgtgrumbles wrote:

Audio Technica Guy wrote:

sgtgrumbles wrote: Unfortunately it's not really possible for me to do a 3.5 hour PT before I have to leave for work at 9:30 AM. I may start studying for an hour every morning once I get into this routine, or taking one or two timed sections. Thanks for that piece of advice.

weekends?

Whoops, you're right. I was just thinking about during the work week. Yes, I plan on starting to take PTs early on the weekends. I'll shoot for 9:00 AM.

cool, good luck man.

It's 11:30 and I'm still half-asleep.

yea.. I definitely will be trying to be up a lot earlier for this go around. Its a lot easier to go to sleep now that i'm out of school....

For actual comfort, about a week per hour you're changing your wakeup time by is reasonable. Obviously, the more routine everything seems, the better, but if you're only adjusting by a couple of hours, a couple of weeks is fine.

I actually did something that worked out extremely well for me. I went to Europe with my family 2 weeks before the lsat (got back home the week before). I decided to keep the jet lag until after the lsat. Basically I would go to sleep every night at 6 or 7 pm and wake up at around 6 am. This ended up working extremely well for the test because when I took it at 8 I was not tired at all and scored the highest I had ever scored on any practice test (this was the actual LSAT). I recommend trying something extreme like that 2 weeks before if you have the ability.

mrm2083 wrote:I actually did something that worked out extremely well for me. I went to Europe with my family 2 weeks before the lsat (got back home the week before). I decided to keep the jet lag until after the lsat. Basically I would go to sleep every night at 6 or 7 pm and wake up at around 6 am. This ended up working extremely well for the test because when I took it at 8 I was not tired at all and scored the highest I had ever scored on any practice test (this was the actual LSAT). I recommend trying something extreme like that 2 weeks before if you have the ability.

Step 1: Convince parents to take me to Europe.

Step 2: Take LSAT.

Step 3: Draft TLS "How I got a 180" post.

I heard it takes 2 weeks to get into a habit...I'll probably get up at 7am everyday in September.