Top Law Schools

I'm in law school and I find it virtually impossible to put in even an hour of study . I've always been the kind of kid who has performed under pressure or when there is no go . My whole school life I needed that extra yell or (slap lol) from my tutor to make me study and when they happened I did great.
Now I have no pressure.I probably study a few hours before the actual exam and either pass or don't .The thing is Midnight studying isn't going to cut It at the university level and quite frankly If i don't know my subjects I'm just going to make a bad lawyer .
I took a vow (A serious one , went to the temple )3 days ago saying that I'd put in 4 hours of study everyday and since that day I haven't changed ..I feel so guilty!

What do you do to keep yourself motivated ? How do you stay focused?
Maybe I'm just an idiot because people say that the will to work should come from within and It's just not happening with me ..

Help!

Sometimes you just have to Sit down and reevaluate what you are working upwards. For some people the desire to achieve their goals motivates them to work harder. For me at least I used to have the same problem where I just had tronle sitting down, but that got better after I took time to just sit down and make some promises to myself.

Try a fee different things and see what works best. Good luck

I am motivated by:

- a desire not to let down my family, my boyfriend, and everyone who means something to me
- a desire not to let myself down ... I know I can do well but my success is dependent on how much studying I do
- a desire not to waste $150k by not being able to get a job out of law school

If you're not motivated to do well for yourself, think about the people you'd be letting down if you didn't. Not just parents--maybe you don't care--but the friends who believe in you, the teachers and tutors and mentors who've encouraged you.

Good luck.

Chicks dig the CALI.

Routine and planning

I used to have the exact same problems in undergrad but all along I've been really determined to turn that around during law school and so far so good.

Planning - during the weekend I sit down with my planner and syllabus and roughly set out what I need to do each day that week to keep just ahead of the coursework. As the week progresses I update assignments as need be but really try to stick to the plan as closely as possible.

Routine - every day I come home from class and do pretty much the exact same thing. Grab a quick bite, make the bed, set up my books in the order I'm going to read them, sit at my desk, check my planner, and just open the book and start.

The hardest part is reading that first page but I find if can get past that, the rest just flows. HTH

Edit: to answer the question more directly - for me its the nike mentality (just do it). I made the decision I want to learn the law and that I want to do well. I'm determined to stick to my word

...

the thought of sleeping at a reasonable hour, rather than staying up to read past midnight.

honestly, it sounds like you're burnt out.

-

During 1L... The fear that low grades and a lack of hard work would make me virtually unemployable ITE.

Now I'm at a school that doesn't have grades, and it's making me lazy, too.

vanwinkle wrote:During 1L... The fear that low grades and a lack of hard work would make me virtually unemployable ITE.

Now I'm at a school that doesn't have grades, and it's making me lazy, too.

QF Boalt?

betasteve wrote:

booyakasha wrote:

vanwinkle wrote:During 1L... The fear that low grades and a lack of hard work would make me virtually unemployable ITE.

Now I'm at a school that doesn't have grades, and it's making me lazy, too.

QF Boalt?

or QF Yale?

or maybe QF school in Boston that rhymes with Schmarvard?

Precious little

I haven't done reading for the first two weeks of class... le sigh.

--ImageRemoved--

betasteve wrote:

booyakasha wrote:

betasteve wrote:

booyakasha wrote:
QF Boalt?

or QF Yale?

or maybe QF school in Boston that rhymes with Schmarvard?

Naa... couldn't be that school. http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 3&t=130099

touche, sry winkie.

booyakasha wrote:touche, sry winkie.

Today I remembered a reality that I feel most law students forget, I know I did. And that is people depend on lawyers. Sometimes they depend on them for their lives, their careers, keeping their business. And the loss or gain of these things will effect those individuals around them, their husband or wife, their children, their employees.

The harder we study, the more likely we are to provide substantial help to these people and their families. If you've ever had to put your faith in an attorney during a dire situation then you probably understand what I'm saying. If you haven't, I hope that you will now, or at some point in the future.

So study hard. It matters.

In front of my computer I have homemade motivational posters... highlights include

" Study like a champion today"- rip off of notre dame play like...

"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard" - I generally have coasted on being smart.. i have to remind myself to put in the work

also i have one that i printed off the interwebz that has a picture of french fries with the word "potential" under it and then the sub heading 'not everyone gets to be an astronaut when they grow up'

alllucknotalent wrote:In front of my computer I have homemade motivational posters... highlights include

" Study like a champion today"- rip off of notre dame play like...

"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard" - I generally have coasted on being smart.. i have to remind myself to put in the work

also i have one that i printed off the interwebz that has a picture of french fries with the word "potential" under it and then the sub heading 'not everyone gets to be an astronaut when they grow up'

you sound like a big ball of funsies.

I enjoy the material.

Where I study, I have a picture of a Bentley Continental GT with the caption "Poverty Sucks."

My loans.

I'm a 1L, so take my words with a grain of salt if you wish.


1. Family. Everyone's rooting for me.

2. Loans. I've got too many.

3. Job environment. If I went to a top school where landing in the bottom half would still land me an ok job, I wouldn't be working half as hard as I am now.

4. Personality. I've always been one to put extra time into my work.