What did you sacrifice? Forum

[epokei]

I need a big time reality slap.

I've been studying for this coming Oct LSAT, and I know I need to study more.
By meaning "study more" bears connotation of "quality", not necessarily time spending.

So I would love to know what others sacrifice to devote for LSAT. "Sacrifice" maybe not the appropriate word though. Maybe "refrain from"?
Anyways,
like completely stopped watching TV, exercise for more concentration etc.

I know what I should refrain from.
Stop renting "Criminal Mind" ,and infertile endless internet-surfing.

By knowing others doing hard, I will face the reality that I am the only one indulging myself and hopefully I pay penance laziness.
This may be still passive-aggressive topic, but I need to get out from vicious circle somehow.

Any thoughts will be great. Thank you.

[notaznguy]

I think it's normal to surf the web for an hour or 2. Look, if you're dedicating your whole summer to the LSAT, you have to find some way to keep sane right? Nobody can just sleep, eat, study for 8 hours straight, and not communicate with another human being until October 1st.

It's impossible.

That being said, I haven't hung out with ANY of my friends since school ended. The only way I talk to people is via facebook. My friends have asked me to hang out with them, go karoke, go out to eat, watch improv shows, etc. and I've denied them all. Everyday, if I'm not in class, I will be at the public library for anywhere between 4-6 hours and during that time, I am studying or drilling problems. That isn't to say that I'm efficient for 4-6 hours straight. I do take periodic breaks, but I do study most of the time.

I haven't been completely socially deal though. On July 4th, I went to an Angels baseball game with my cousins and I recently went out to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Aside from those 2 things though...I've pretty much given up any other social event people have asked me to go to.

[dasani13]

what I've learned so far:

You can't wake up one day and say you're gonna start studying 6-8 hours per day outta no where. Start with 1 hour, next day 1.5, next day 2, then 3, then 3 again, 4, etc.. You have to get used to it gradually. Eventually you'll be studying 6-8 and it'll feel "normal"

My lonely, needy, low-life, clingy friends aren't capable of understanding what this test means to me and they each call me at least twice a day to try to change my mind and hang out. Get rid of those people!

But, I noticed that once in a while I need to get my mind off of the LSAT, so I take a night off and I go out to dinner or something low key. Then, when I return to studying, I feel refreshed and a little excited to start studying again.

I also realized that's impossible for me to go on a diet while studying because food makes me happy when I'm stressed out . Exercise is a good way to clear the mind though so it kinda balances out (not really).

I've prohibited myself from watching tv in my room (where I study at night). This helped a lot!!

Also, as motivation, I always tell myself that I'm going to eat the food I'm craving the most for lunch before I start studying.

I've detected a pattern here so I'm gonna stop now..

[bruss]

Wake up early and set a schedule, you have to be really anal about things. If you have your schedule set to hang out with friends for 2hrs on Wednesday make it 2hrs not 2hrs 5mins. Have a schedule of what your are going to review, drill or read. Have a breaks put into your schedule. If you know you can't just play the game for 20mins then don't add it for a break. Be a machine.

sometimes when I want a push I don't touch any lsat stuff on the weekends, which in turn makes me anxious knowing that someone else is out there studying their ass off. Come Monday I'm on fire.

[Ruxin1]

Working out after an intense day of studying will help you clear your mind and let everything sink in, don't stop working out, the healthier you are the better you'll test, all other things equal.

[incompetentia]

You don't need to cut yourself off entirely. In fact, I would strongly advise against this. Mental relaxation time seems to actually help in terms of score improvements.

You just have to know how to compartmentalize your life - make sure that you are actually studying when you're studying, and then do whatever you will during the rest of your time.

Make sure you plan enough breaks for study (outside of taking actual PTs). As long as you can hold off on your indulgences during the few hours where you study, the rest of the time really should be used to rest your mind and do something else.

[clouds101]

sometimes when I want a push I don't touch any lsat stuff on the weekends, which in turn makes me anxious knowing that someone else is out there studying their ass off. Come Monday I'm on fire.

+1

I was on a 4-day road trip and I was forbidden to touch LSAT stuff. After that trip, I studied like a mad man because I had so much nervous energy. It's counterintuitive, but it worked for me.

[beezy08]

I had very little fun during my LSAT prep. I turned 21 right in the middle, and took a few days to celebrate, but for the most part I studied my butt off, went to my LSAT class and went to work every so often. I studied probably 5-6 days per week for 4-6 hours each day (with short breaks). I started off very strong and as the test got closer I studied less as to not burn myself out and that ended up working in my favor, but do whatever feels comfortable for you.

[shoeshine]

I had very little fun during my LSAT prep. I turned 21 right in the middle, and took a few days to celebrate, but for the most part I studied my butt off, went to my LSAT class and went to work every so often. I did some web surfing when my concentration started to fade, but I stayed away from TV because that can suck me in very quickly.

^^^ Who is this "beezy" doppelganger.

OP: You don't need to give anything up. You just need to learn self control/discipline and truly focus and concentrate on studying when you have scheduled yourself time to do that.

[gavinstevens]

Get lots of exercise!

I've heard about people getting out of shape because of their lsat prep. Do not give up your exercise routine for prep. If you don't exercise, now's a good time to start.

[birdlaw117]

I never studied for than 4-5 hours in a single day. That's half the time of a normal workday. So, in the summer, you should have plenty of time to partake in more enjoyable activities. Plus, you don't want to burn out, particularly in July or August.

If you're still in UG and will be in a full class load this fall, you might have to make more sacrifices then in order to maintain your GPA and do well on the LSAT. But at that point, you should be mostly taking PTs, and you don't want to do that every day anyway.

[Sloth Hero]

Not much sacrifice over here, I thoroughly enjoy studying for this test. It's a fun challenge. The only time it feels like a sacrifice is when I do things I 'have' to do, like PT review etc. I don't get excited about what I got wrong, instead I normally get mad at myself for being dumb.

But yeah, I don't get to read as much philosophy as normal. This saddens me.

But then again... now I have a better excuse for not going to dumb frat parties with friends.

And... cute girls in the library often ask to study with me.

EDIT: Girls

[Yeshia90]

Booze. I had one beer in the month before my LSAT.

[gavinstevens]

I gave up getting drunk for the most part, but not drinking. I'd limit myself to a nice six pack on my day off.

Oddly enough, I did make my best PT score the night after heavy drinking. As we all know though, correlation =/= causation.

[Eichörnchen]

Not much sacrifice over here, I thoroughly enjoy studying for this test. It's a fun challenge. The only time it feels like a sacrifice is when I do things I 'have' to do, like PT review etc. I don't get excited about what I got wrong, instead I normally get mad at myself for being dumb.

But yeah, I don't get to read as much philosophy as normal. This saddens me.

But then again... now I have a better excuse for not going to dumb frat parties with friends.

And... cute girls in the library often ask to study with me.

EDIT: Girls

Where do you live that there are libraries full of cute girls who are studying for the LSAT and ask random people to study together? I've seen one person studying for the LSAT in the time I've been studying. They had the LGB and I was like:
--ImageRemoved--

And if someone randomly came up to me and asked to study together, I would not be super pleased. But maybe that's because I've had bad experiences (I'm looking at you, kid in undergrad who plopped down at the table with me and tried to impress me with your being a "libertarian".)

[incompetentia]

And if someone randomly came up to me and asked to study together, I would not be super pleased. But maybe that's because I've had bad experiences (I'm looking at you, kid in undergrad who plopped down at the table with me and tried to impress me with your being a "libertarian".)

livin the dream went to your school?

[Eichörnchen]

And if someone randomly came up to me and asked to study together, I would not be super pleased. But maybe that's because I've had bad experiences (I'm looking at you, kid in undergrad who plopped down at the table with me and tried to impress me with your being a "libertarian".)

livin the dream went to your school?

Must've been her adoring husband.

[albanach]

So I would love to know what others sacrifice to devote for LSAT.

A squirrel got me a 163. It required a groundhog for the 168 and a goat for a 173.

[Dany]

I didn't sacrifice anything, really. Just the actual time spent studying, which wasn't a big deal.

[mths]

The rest of my life, apparently.

[crumpetsandtea]

I need a big time reality slap.

I've been studying for this coming Oct LSAT, and I know I need to study more.
By meaning "study more" bears connotation of "quality", not necessarily time spending.

So I would love to know what others sacrifice to devote for LSAT. "Sacrifice" maybe not the appropriate word though. Maybe "refrain from"?
Anyways,
like completely stopped watching TV, exercise for more concentration etc.

I know what I should refrain from.
Stop renting "Criminal Mind" ,and infertile endless internet-surfing.

By knowing others doing hard, I will face the reality that I am the only one indulging myself and hopefully I pay penance laziness.
This may be still passive-aggressive topic, but I need to get out from vicious circle somehow.

Any thoughts will be great. Thank you.

LOLOLOLOL @ the fact that OP knows this and their way of dealing with it is to start a thread on TLS about it. (Hint: urdoinitwrong)

Seriously though, don't overthink it. Study hard when you do study, and relax when you're not. But posting threads on TLS about it is probs not gonna get out of your vicious circle. Especially when the question you should be asking is "how do you stay focused" and not "what do you need to sacrifice".

[SchopenhauerFTW]

The rest of my life, apparently.

[Eichörnchen]

I need a big time reality slap.

I've been studying for this coming Oct LSAT, and I know I need to study more.
By meaning "study more" bears connotation of "quality", not necessarily time spending.

So I would love to know what others sacrifice to devote for LSAT. "Sacrifice" maybe not the appropriate word though. Maybe "refrain from"?
Anyways,
like completely stopped watching TV, exercise for more concentration etc.

I know what I should refrain from.
Stop renting "Criminal Mind" ,and infertile endless internet-surfing.

By knowing others doing hard, I will face the reality that I am the only one indulging myself and hopefully I pay penance laziness.
This may be still passive-aggressive topic, but I need to get out from vicious circle somehow.

Any thoughts will be great. Thank you.

LOLOLOLOL @ the fact that OP knows this and their way of dealing with it is to start a thread on TLS about it. (Hint: urdoinitwrong)

Seriously though, don't overthink it. Study hard when you do study, and relax when you're not. But posting threads on TLS about it is probs not gonna get out of your vicious circle. Especially when the question you should be asking is "how do you stay focused" and not "what do you need to sacrifice".

Haha good point crumps. Internet surfing is my enemy #1 though. Whyyyyy did I recently discover tumblr? As if FB and TLS weren't enough.

/hating self

[Dany]

I never found the internet to be a problem because I would just take my PTs to the coffee shop/library to do and leave my computer at home.

[Pocahontas]

Running/Working out gives me the extra motivation I need to get through days of lsat prep. While I have always been athletic (former SEC sprinter) I've always HATED running long distance. Asking me to run more than a two mile conditioning exercise was equal to cursing me out in Greek... My mind just couldn't comprehend it. This was much like the beginning of my prep. I was constantly frustrated and there were plenty of times when I would cut my planned 5 hour study session down to an exasperated 2 hours.

Each workout, I push myself to run further and faster. Each study session, I push myself to focus longer and work faster with more accuracy. Channeling my motivation for one thing into the other made all the difference for me. Each time I get hung up on a LG or get stumped by a LR question, I remember how I pushed my through the runs/workouts and I know I have what it takes to be successful with this test. Haha... I'm can now run 3 miles!! (Remember, I'm a sprinter by nature. Baby steps, lol)

As for sacrifices... I've done no such thing. I still hang out as usual and read cheesy romance novels before bed. I've always been on a tight schedule in college, so nothing has changed for me there. Also, I could give less than two shits whether or not my friends understand my need to study. They aren't paying for law school. I am.

OP, just find something that gives you motivation in other areas of your life and channel in towards your prep and you'll be fine. Discipline is something that can be learned... but only if you want to.