Solid Study Plan? Forum

(Study Tips, Dealing With Stress, Maintaining a Social Life, Financial Aid, Internships, Bar Exam, Careers in Law . . . )
Post Reply
User avatar
TFALAWL

Bronze
Posts: 283
Joined: Fri Dec 20, 2013 2:48 am

Solid Study Plan?

Post by TFALAWL » Fri Jan 24, 2014 10:57 pm

1L:

My plan for this semester is as follows: 3 sets of notes for each class. One set will be on the case-book readings where I will do a 2-3 sentence case-brief, note down any important casebook problems, and note anything instructional that the casebook has, the second will be class-notes, the third will be a compilation of useful stuff from E&E and hornbook. I will put in bold anything that I find confusing, and try to resolve it with the professor either after class or in office hours as quickly as possible, or if the prof indicates that It's not important and/or I'm overthinking it, then I will note as follows. About a month before the exams I will take a practice test - from there I will compile my three sets of notes into an outline and cut-down/tailor as needed.

My supplements are as follows:

ConLaw - Chemerinsky + casenotes + possibly E&E TBD
Property - E&E + Understanding Property (no casenotes for my casebook)
Evidence - E&E
Intl. Law - E&E + TBD

When I read assignments I read the casenote before the actual case b/c I find that it helps with my efficiency.

Mental Health: run 3 times a week and yoga three times a week + a 15 minute mindful body scan at the end of each day.
Nutrition: no caffeine after 5 pm, balanced (but not overly-healthy) diet of high-protein breakfast, protein + carbs + fruit + clif bars throughout school day, fish/chicken + past for dinner. Multi-vitamin + gaba + St. John's Wart + 5HTP

work/life balance: bar review + maybe an additional social activity that comes up per week; adjustable as needed, but definitely will not be left out completely until finals come rolling around.

Any Suggestions?

dkb17xzx

Bronze
Posts: 403
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 6:25 pm

Re: Solid Study Plan?

Post by dkb17xzx » Fri Jan 24, 2014 11:04 pm

as far as your notes are concerned, that's what I did. It was OK. I would however recommend using just one page and typing in it w/ different colors - so your notes will be in black; everything in class is in red; and supplement in blue - that way you'll have everything on the same page - easy to compare and don't have to keep switching b/w tabs / documents.

Ask profs for supplements - I would also try out multiple supplements in the beginning to see which one is easy to read / fits with what the prof is teaching.

For office hours Q's - before you go type up all your questions in a document / page and keep space b/w them to write the answers.

HTH

Also, St Johns warts has some nasty side effects. research it

orangecup

Bronze
Posts: 276
Joined: Fri Dec 06, 2013 11:41 pm

Re: Solid Study Plan?

Post by orangecup » Fri Jan 24, 2014 11:07 pm

Chem and Wikipedia are all you need to get an A/A- in Con Law. Seriously.

User avatar
TFALAWL

Bronze
Posts: 283
Joined: Fri Dec 20, 2013 2:48 am

Re: Solid Study Plan?

Post by TFALAWL » Fri Jan 24, 2014 11:17 pm

Thanks for the advice! You are absolutely right about the St. John's and thanks for mentioning that as the last thing I would want is for a lurker to start taking it without research - for me I've been on it for about a year and have had great results (far better than the year I spent on lexapro). Brain chemistry is a strange thing, and supplements/Rx's require trial and error - for me, I'm just sticking with what's worked.

Additionally, do any of you guys have a preferred note-taking tool: I use evernote. It's not fantastic, albeit I'm comfortable with it b/c I've been using it for a few years

dkb17xzx

Bronze
Posts: 403
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 6:25 pm

Re: Solid Study Plan?

Post by dkb17xzx » Fri Jan 24, 2014 11:22 pm

TFALAWL wrote:Thanks for the advice! You are absolutely right about the St. John's and thanks for mentioning that as the last thing I would want is for a lurker to start taking it without research - for me I've been on it for about a year and have had great results (far better than the year I spent on lexapro). Brain chemistry is a strange thing, and supplements/Rx's require trial and error - for me, I'm just sticking with what's worked.

Additionally, do any of you guys have a preferred note-taking tool: I use evernote. It's not fantastic, albeit I'm comfortable with it b/c I've been using it for a few years
I use OneNote but I also have Windows. I find it much more convenient than Word.

Not sure if you know about/ have read through the thread, but there's a sticky in this forum that links to threads by high achievers and how they did it (their study plans, etc)

Want to continue reading?

Register now to search topics and post comments!

Absolutely FREE!


User avatar
TFALAWL

Bronze
Posts: 283
Joined: Fri Dec 20, 2013 2:48 am

Re: Solid Study Plan?

Post by TFALAWL » Fri Jan 24, 2014 11:47 pm

I have read that link with mixed results - my achilles heel last semester was organization, and seeing all of those different methods kind of psyched me out. So I'm trying to start small and maybe get more sophisticated throughout the semester. This brings up a point that I hadn't thought of though: I should probably retitle this thread as "is this a good study plan for first half of semester" - I'd like something relatively simple for now (e.g. bread and butter + a healthy regimen of work hours).

As a side note, while I was organizationally terrible last semester, what saved my grades was the amount of effort I expended into meditation/sports psychology/hypnotherapy. In the past I had ALWAYS been a choker, every sport I ever tried, tests you name it. Due to my "head game" regimen however, i felt I was able to take my exam with a clear mind and low anxiety - the result was that while I was relatively under-prepared (due again to my lack of organizational skills) I was able to pick all the low-hanging fruit. The reason I say this is for reciprocity - I truly appreciate the help that TLS'ers give me on the areas that I need help, and since this particular area which used to be my greatest weakness is now my greatest strengths, I would love to offer advice to anyone struggling in that department (feel free to PM me if it is a sensitive issue).

User avatar
TTRansfer

Gold
Posts: 3796
Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2012 12:08 am

Re: Solid Study Plan?

Post by TTRansfer » Mon Jan 27, 2014 2:12 pm

Just do them all in the same word file and use headings to show what is what (i.e. Class Notes, Casebook Notes, Supplement Notes).

User avatar
shifty_eyed

Gold
Posts: 1925
Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2009 8:09 pm

Re: Solid Study Plan?

Post by shifty_eyed » Mon Jan 27, 2014 2:17 pm

What I did last semester was I'd write my notes at home in black ink, and then add to them in blue ink in class, starring anything the prof said was important. Then when I'd type them up later, I'd focus on the blue ink, but reference the black for background info, rules, etc. Towards the end, I switched towards taking all my notes in class, writing down rules and stuff from the case in my notes when the prof was going on a tangent/boring me. This helped prevent me from completely zoning out and I felt productive. Taking notes from the casebook at home before class seemed like a waste of time when I could just do it in class, although I did find the visual effect of black and blue ink helpful when typing notes/preparing my outline. YMMV. I also see no reason to type out notes from supplements, although typing out answers to E&E problems was helpful.

Want to continue reading?

Register for access!

Did I mention it was FREE ?


Post Reply

Return to “Forum for Law School Students”