What is your "typical" day like, as a law student? Forum

[z0mbiecatz1234]

I'm curious to see how other students structure their days compared to how I structure mine. What time do you wake up, what do you do once you get home from school, etc.

[oshberg28]

If I have a 10:00 class, 11:00 class, then a 1:30 class, for example:

I will get up at 8, get to school at 9, review the case briefs I prepared for that day and make notes on it or underline key parts for my 10:00 and 11:00 classes. Lunch. Then same thing for the 1:30 class. After the last class ends, I will head to the library to read the following day's assignments (and maybe some of the next day's as well). Is could take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours, on average. Go home, relax...sometimes I'll leave some reading for when I get home if my last class of the day ends at 4 and I need to eat dinner at home. Typically I'm done with everything by 8. Watch tv, go to sleep by 11 or so. Rinse and repeat. Starting 3-4 weeks before exams, it's the same thing except I'll study until 10 or so after I'm done with the assignments.

I'll also try to hit the gym 2-3 days a week (I lost 10 lbs of muscle last year / 1L year, ugh).

[acr]

8:30 am wake up
9:00 am arrive at school
9:00 am - 10:20 am civ pro
10:20 am - 12:00 pm property
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm lunch
1:00 pm - 2:30 pm con law
3:00 pm get home
3:00 pm-5:00 pm read for next day classes
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm gym
6:00 pm - 6:30 pm dinner
6:30 pm-10 pm extra reading/supplements/outlining/random LRW shit
10:00 pm - 12:00 pm relax/TV/drinks
12:00 pm bed


during finals time: study all day

[Gray]

.

[Hikikomorist]

Mon.-Thurs.
8:30-9:00: Skim the cases I read on the previous Friday.
9:00-11:30: Classes.
11:30-1:00: Free lunch/skim cases from Friday.
1:00-2:30: Classes.
3:00-midnight-ish: Netflix, TLS, Facebook, etc.

Friday
9:00-10:30: Class.
10:30-2:00: Read for the next week (free lunch and some Facebook/TLS somewhere in there, too).
2:30-midnight-ish: Netflix, TLS, Facebook, etc.

I would sometimes spend an hour or so reading on Sunday, and I did my LRW writing on weekends, which sucked for a few weekends each semester.

[GreenEggs]

Mon.-Thurs.
8:30-9:00: Skim the cases I read on the previous Friday.
9:00-11:30: Classes.
11:30-1:00: Free lunch/skim cases from Friday.
1:00-2:30: Classes.
3:00-midnight-ish: Netflix, TLS, Facebook, etc.

Friday
9:00-10:30: Class.
10:30-2:00: Read for the next week (free lunch and some Facebook/TLS somewhere in there, too).
2:30-midnight-ish: Netflix, TLS, Facebook, etc.

I would sometimes spend an hour or so reading on Sunday, and I did my LRW writing on weekends, which sucked for a few weekends each semester.

You did all your reading for an entire week in under 3.5 hours?

[Hikikomorist]

Mon.-Thurs.
8:30-9:00: Skim the cases I read on the previous Friday.
9:00-11:30: Classes.
11:30-1:00: Free lunch/skim cases from Friday.
1:00-2:30: Classes.
3:00-midnight-ish: Netflix, TLS, Facebook, etc.

Friday
9:00-10:30: Class.
10:30-2:00: Read for the next week (free lunch and some Facebook/TLS somewhere in there, too).
2:30-midnight-ish: Netflix, TLS, Facebook, etc.

I would sometimes spend an hour or so reading on Sunday, and I did my LRW writing on weekends, which sucked for a few weekends each semester.

You did all your reading for an entire week in under 3.5 hours?

I read reasonably quickly, and I had two professors each semester who assigned very manageable reading loads. I guess I also read on the bus to school, which I didn't count before.

[GreenEggs]

I read reasonably quickly, and I had two professors each semester who assigned very manageable reading loads. I guess I also read on the bus to school, which I didn't count before.

If you were to re-do the year, you'd stick to the same schedule?

[Hikikomorist]

I read reasonably quickly, and I had two professors each semester who assigned very manageable reading loads. I guess I also read on the bus to school, which I didn't count before.

If you were to re-do the year, you'd stick to the same schedule?

Yeah, or I'd cut back some more. Really didn't matter in the grand scheme of things if had ever read for most of those classes. I would have changed my schedule the last few days before each final and my general level of focus during finals (which I did second semester).

[lavarman84]

Depends on the year. I actually read during 1L and did not during 2L. Obviously, that affected my schedule. During 1L, it was generally:
8:00 AM - Wake up
9:00 AM - Class begins
4:00 PM - Class ends (there were a couple one hour breaks that I'd use to socialize)
4:30 PM - Get home and start reading for the next day
6:30 PM - Dinner Break
7:30/8:00 PM - Finish reading for the next day
8:00 PM to 12:00/1:00/2:00 AM - Watch TV, browse internet, socialize

I also did not do work on Friday or Saturday. I didn't begin studying/outlining until exam week.

2L year:
7:30 AM - Wake up
8:30 AM - Class
2:00 PM - Class ends (with a hour break I'd use to read if I knew I was getting called on or I'd socialize)
2:15 PM to 3:30 PM - Pick-up basketball
4:00 PM to 6:30 PM - Watch TV, browse internet, etc.
7:00 PM to 10:00 PM - Socialize, workout, or intramural sports
10:00 PM to 12:00/1:00/2:00 AM - Watch TV, browse internet, etc.

That's if I didn't have law review edits. If I did, those would generally eat up an entire Thursday and Friday afternoon. But otherwise, I didn't do any work on weekends.(counting Thursday afternoon because I had no Friday classes)

[z0mbiecatz1234]

Mon.-Thurs.
8:30-9:00: Skim the cases I read on the previous Friday.
9:00-11:30: Classes.
11:30-1:00: Free lunch/skim cases from Friday.
1:00-2:30: Classes.
3:00-midnight-ish: Netflix, TLS, Facebook, etc.

Friday
9:00-10:30: Class.
10:30-2:00: Read for the next week (free lunch and some Facebook/TLS somewhere in there, too).
2:30-midnight-ish: Netflix, TLS, Facebook, etc.

I would sometimes spend an hour or so reading on Sunday, and I did my LRW writing on weekends, which sucked for a few weekends each semester.

That schedule sounds awesome. I never managed to have weekends off during 1L but I suspect much of that is because I could only tolerate reading for class for so many hours before I had to save it for another day. I'm going to try to make weekends off happen 2L year, Fridays I'm off woohoo.

[z0mbiecatz1234]

Depends on the year. I actually read during 1L and did not during 2L. Obviously, that affected my schedule. During 1L, it was generally:
8:00 AM - Wake up
9:00 AM - Class begins
4:00 PM - Class ends (there were a couple one hour breaks that I'd use to socialize)
4:30 PM - Get home and start reading for the next day
6:30 PM - Dinner Break
7:30/8:00 PM - Finish reading for the next day
8:00 PM to 12:00/1:00/2:00 AM - Watch TV, browse internet, socialize

I also did not do work on Friday or Saturday. I didn't begin studying/outlining until exam week.

2L year:
7:30 AM - Wake up
8:30 AM - Class
2:00 PM - Class ends (with a hour break I'd use to read if I knew I was getting called on or I'd socialize)
2:15 PM to 3:30 PM - Pick-up basketball
4:00 PM to 6:30 PM - Watch TV, browse internet, etc.
7:00 PM to 10:00 PM - Socialize, workout, or intramural sports
10:00 PM to 12:00/1:00/2:00 AM - Watch TV, browse internet, etc.

That's if I didn't have law review edits. If I did, those would generally eat up an entire Thursday and Friday afternoon. But otherwise, I didn't do any work on weekends.(counting Thursday afternoon because I had no Friday classes)

That's pretty impressive that you found a way to not read 2L year. Did you feel like you were overwhelmed come finals because of that?

[BizBro]

Depends on the year. I actually read during 1L and did not during 2L. Obviously, that affected my schedule. During 1L, it was generally:
8:00 AM - Wake up
9:00 AM - Class begins
4:00 PM - Class ends (there were a couple one hour breaks that I'd use to socialize)
4:30 PM - Get home and start reading for the next day
6:30 PM - Dinner Break
7:30/8:00 PM - Finish reading for the next day
8:00 PM to 12:00/1:00/2:00 AM - Watch TV, browse internet, socialize

I also did not do work on Friday or Saturday. I didn't begin studying/outlining until exam week.

2L year:
7:30 AM - Wake up
8:30 AM - Class
2:00 PM - Class ends (with a hour break I'd use to read if I knew I was getting called on or I'd socialize)
2:15 PM to 3:30 PM - Pick-up basketball
4:00 PM to 6:30 PM - Watch TV, browse internet, etc.
7:00 PM to 10:00 PM - Socialize, workout, or intramural sports
10:00 PM to 12:00/1:00/2:00 AM - Watch TV, browse internet, etc.

That's if I didn't have law review edits. If I did, those would generally eat up an entire Thursday and Friday afternoon. But otherwise, I didn't do any work on weekends.(counting Thursday afternoon because I had no Friday classes)

That's pretty impressive that you found a way to not read 2L year. Did you feel like you were overwhelmed come finals because of that?

It's not that impressive. I literally did nothing 2L except go to class (sometimes).

[lavarman84]

Depends on the year. I actually read during 1L and did not during 2L. Obviously, that affected my schedule. During 1L, it was generally:
8:00 AM - Wake up
9:00 AM - Class begins
4:00 PM - Class ends (there were a couple one hour breaks that I'd use to socialize)
4:30 PM - Get home and start reading for the next day
6:30 PM - Dinner Break
7:30/8:00 PM - Finish reading for the next day
8:00 PM to 12:00/1:00/2:00 AM - Watch TV, browse internet, socialize

I also did not do work on Friday or Saturday. I didn't begin studying/outlining until exam week.

2L year:
7:30 AM - Wake up
8:30 AM - Class
2:00 PM - Class ends (with a hour break I'd use to read if I knew I was getting called on or I'd socialize)
2:15 PM to 3:30 PM - Pick-up basketball
4:00 PM to 6:30 PM - Watch TV, browse internet, etc.
7:00 PM to 10:00 PM - Socialize, workout, or intramural sports
10:00 PM to 12:00/1:00/2:00 AM - Watch TV, browse internet, etc.

That's if I didn't have law review edits. If I did, those would generally eat up an entire Thursday and Friday afternoon. But otherwise, I didn't do any work on weekends.(counting Thursday afternoon because I had no Friday classes)

That's pretty impressive that you found a way to not read 2L year. Did you feel like you were overwhelmed come finals because of that?

Nope. Had access to good outlines, and I took notes in class. My performance wasn't quite as good as 1L year, but it wasn't much of a drop-off in terms of GPA and my class ranking stayed pretty much the same.

[Chris4943]

7am arrive at work
11-11:30 lunch
3:30 drive to campus
4 arrive at library and get ready for class. Speed read assigned chapters and double check that any assignments are ready to turn in.
6-10 class
10-12 complete assignments/read in library
12-12:15 InNOut on way home

[foxes]

get to school like 2 minutes before class starts, crack open book and start reading the first case. while gunners are sharing law thoughts, continue reading, staying one case ahead of the discussion and hoping I won't be cold called. get cold called, answer in two or three word sentences, impress no one.

between classes, try to read, but end up chatting with people about nonsense or going on facebook to pass time. Immediately after class, go home, cook dinner and pretend everything is fine while low key panicking about something that I should probably be working on instead of binging netflix.

Basically this. I can't believe ppl stick to schedules beyond the first two weeks.. Wow.

[jnwa]

If I have a 10:00 class, 11:00 class, then a 1:30 class, for example:

I will get up at 8, get to school at 9, review the case briefs I prepared for that day and make notes on it or underline key parts for my 10:00 and 11:00 classes. Lunch. Then same thing for the 1:30 class. After the last class ends, I will head to the library to read the following day's assignments (and maybe some of the next day's as well). Is could take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours, on average. Go home, relax...sometimes I'll leave some reading for when I get home if my last class of the day ends at 4 and I need to eat dinner at home. Typically I'm done with everything by 8. Watch tv, go to sleep by 11 or so. Rinse and repeat. Starting 3-4 weeks before exams, it's the same thing except I'll study until 10 or so after I'm done with the assignments.

I'll also try to hit the gym 2-3 days a week (I lost 10 lbs of muscle last year / 1L year, ugh).

crying

[Big Red]

Easily the best thing about law school is that there is no structure.

I will try to wake up at a time that allows me to shower & get to class before the prof starts talking. Sometimes you have time structured between classes to do reading, other times not. I split time working at the lib, my apt, coffee establishments, whatever. Some days are structured around something I want to watch on TV, some around (other peoples') alch habits, and sometimes I do sports and play workout.

If you're trying to get a sense of how much time you need to be working, you should probably stop. People spend so much time trying to figure out what everyone else is doing that they don't ever really figure out what works for them.

[z0mbiecatz1234]

It's definitely interesting to see how everyone had a lot more time 2L year. 1L year I felt like I had no time. I'm not trying to find out how much everyone works as much as I'm curious what other law students do in their days.

[LeDique]

8am - wake up, smoke weed
9am - considering going to legal writing
9:18 am - arrive to legal writing 18 minutes late
10:30 am - smoke weed on the roof
11 am - torts
1 pm - stroll through the law library looking for undergrad sluts, settle for katie from torts (she was a tri delt so you know, she'll do)
2 pm - civ pro
4:20 pm - meet with civ pro prof, what did u think was going here
6 pm - brown rice, vegetables, weed
8 pm - crossfit
10 pm - sleep

[oshberg28]

If I have a 10:00 class, 11:00 class, then a 1:30 class, for example:

I will get up at 8, get to school at 9, review the case briefs I prepared for that day and make notes on it or underline key parts for my 10:00 and 11:00 classes. Lunch. Then same thing for the 1:30 class. After the last class ends, I will head to the library to read the following day's assignments (and maybe some of the next day's as well). Is could take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours, on average. Go home, relax...sometimes I'll leave some reading for when I get home if my last class of the day ends at 4 and I need to eat dinner at home. Typically I'm done with everything by 8. Watch tv, go to sleep by 11 or so. Rinse and repeat. Starting 3-4 weeks before exams, it's the same thing except I'll study until 10 or so after I'm done with the assignments.

I'll also try to hit the gym 2-3 days a week (I lost 10 lbs of muscle last year / 1L year, ugh).

crying

I didn't say how much fat I gained - honestly though, I lose weight when I don't hit the gym, and it doesn't matter how good/bad I eat - sooner rather than later this trend is going to reverse (I'm 32).

[jnwa]

x

[Clearly]

Wake up whenever, consider stopping by class, usually don't. Do other stuff. If afternoon class has attendance, attend roughly half of classes.
Last 2 weeks, download outlines. Study 18 hours a day, read most of borrowed casebook, tap out any papers. Read practical law on topic, read old tests and answers, pray.