Are these burnout symptoms? Forum

[EdmundBurke23]

I've been doing really well until last week. I've been experiencing some crazy burnout symptoms.. but I'm not sure. Maybe it isn't burnout. I just feel like I'm stressed out like crazy.. Please take a look:

1. I look at the stimulus, and my mind just starts spacing out while reading halfway through it.
2. I have trouble retaining the information that I just read from the preceding sentence.
3. My usual test-taking strategies somewhat go down the drain. The only thing that's been working for me is LG, where I usually get -0 to -4.
4. Overall, I've been losing my concentration on the test. I feel restless (I work 55~60 hrs a week), and every time I am not spending time studying for the test, I feel like I'm (1) wasting time, (2) losing my LSAT skills, and so on.

Has anybody taken a prolonged period of break-time from the LSAT and has succeeded in maintaining their pre-burnout scores? Well I'm sure there are many, but could you please share your experiences on this thread?

I went down to the low 160s twice. And it's not like one of those days where you find out that you did poorly when you thought you nailed it during the PT session. It's one of those low 160s you get after you dread throughout the entire PT about how poorly you're doing.

[EdmundBurke23]

Also:

I used to score in the mid to high 160s before this "burnout."

[TheLuckyOne]

4. Overall, I've been losing my concentration on the test. I feel restless (I work 55~60 hrs a week), and every time I am not spending time studying for the test, I feel like I'm (1) wasting time, (2) losing my LSAT skills, and so on.

^^^ This could be the problem. I don't know your schedule, but don't take more than 1 test per week or you may lose your mind. Have a schedule along lines of: Saturday - take a test. Sunday - rest. M-F - review 1 section per day before or after work.

[waxecstatic]

I've been doing really well until last week. I've been experiencing some crazy burnout symptoms.. but I'm not sure. Maybe it isn't burnout. I just feel like I'm stressed out like crazy.. Please take a look:

1. I look at the stimulus, and my mind just starts spacing out while reading halfway through it.
2. I have trouble retaining the information that I just read from the preceding sentence.
3. My usual test-taking strategies somewhat go down the drain. The only thing that's been working for me is LG, where I usually get -0 to -4.
4. Overall, I've been losing my concentration on the test. I feel restless (I work 55~60 hrs a week), and every time I am not spending time studying for the test, I feel like I'm (1) wasting time, (2) losing my LSAT skills, and so on.

Has anybody taken a prolonged period of break-time from the LSAT and has succeeded in maintaining their pre-burnout scores? Well I'm sure there are many, but could you please share your experiences on this thread?

I went down to the low 160s twice. And it's not like one of those days where you find out that you did poorly when you thought you nailed it during the PT session. It's one of those low 160s you get after you dread throughout the entire PT about how poorly you're doing.

Bring it up with your doctor. He is more qualified to make a diagnosis.

[EdmundBurke23]

4. Overall, I've been losing my concentration on the test. I feel restless (I work 55~60 hrs a week), and every time I am not spending time studying for the test, I feel like I'm (1) wasting time, (2) losing my LSAT skills, and so on.

^^^ This could be the problem. I don't know your schedule, but don't take more than 1 test per week or you may lose your mind. Have a schedule along lines of: Saturday - take a test. Sunday - rest. M-F - review 1 section per day before or after work.

God.. I couldn't imagine the stress I would have to go through in taking just a single PT a week. I only have fourteen weeks until the June (Asia) LSAT, and I gotta finish as many PTs as possible. I'm already getting physical therapy in order to get the muscle pains off of my shoulder. I have about fifteen "vacation allowances" that I've stacked up that I'll be splitting into half-days so that I can just stay home and study during the morning. My goal is to plow through three PTs a week starting next next week.

Does anybody else have concentration issues at times when prepping for the test?

[waxecstatic]

4. Overall, I've been losing my concentration on the test. I feel restless (I work 55~60 hrs a week), and every time I am not spending time studying for the test, I feel like I'm (1) wasting time, (2) losing my LSAT skills, and so on.

^^^ This could be the problem. I don't know your schedule, but don't take more than 1 test per week or you may lose your mind. Have a schedule along lines of: Saturday - take a test. Sunday - rest. M-F - review 1 section per day before or after work.

God.. I couldn't imagine the stress I would have to go through in taking just a single PT a week. I only have fourteen weeks until the June (Asia) LSAT, and I gotta finish as many PTs as possible. I'm already getting physical therapy in order to get the muscle pains off of my shoulder. I have about fifteen "vacation allowances" that I've stacked up that I'll be splitting into half-days so that I can just stay home and study during the morning. My goal is to plow through three PTs a week starting next next week.

Does anybody else have concentration issues at times when prepping for the test?

Make sure to begin your studying at 4:20 each day. That will take care of your anxiety issues.

[FreeGuy]

haha, that might have a negative impact on mental agility, though

[EdmundBurke23]

I actually wake up at 4:30 in the morning, and 5:00 at the latest:D

[mapes]

haha

[TheLuckyOne]

4. Overall, I've been losing my concentration on the test. I feel restless (I work 55~60 hrs a week), and every time I am not spending time studying for the test, I feel like I'm (1) wasting time, (2) losing my LSAT skills, and so on.

^^^ This could be the problem. I don't know your schedule, but don't take more than 1 test per week or you may lose your mind. Have a schedule along lines of: Saturday - take a test. Sunday - rest. M-F - review 1 section per day before or after work.

God.. I couldn't imagine the stress I would have to go through in taking just a single PT a week. I only have fourteen weeks until the June (Asia) LSAT, and I gotta finish as many PTs as possible. I'm already getting physical therapy in order to get the muscle pains off of my shoulder. I have about fifteen "vacation allowances" that I've stacked up that I'll be splitting into half-days so that I can just stay home and study during the morning. My goal is to plow through three PTs a week starting next next week.

Does anybody else have concentration issues at times when prepping for the test?

In my opinion, this is a horrible idea. 3 tests is overkill. Your results will suffer sooner or later and most likely leading up to June. I've been as optimistic as you're now, and I've made a horrible mistake. I dunno why, but this thing exhausts you with time, and you start feeling nauseous when you look at it.

I suggest taking the test in fall if you need to dramatically improve your score. Of course, you may be just different than most people here, but I doubt that. Do some search on TLS, you will see how often people overestimate themselves.

In the end, it's your judgment and your decision.

P.S. your tar is the same like the one of another poster's and every time I see you posting some LSAT questions I'm like: what! he's retaking the test! It's confusing...

[invisiblesun]

Burnout is real. I went from a 1.5 month period where I PTed nothing but 178-180s, but was only taking 1-2 tests a week. Then the week before the LSAT I started taking at least one PT a day and my range dropped to 173-180. I freaked out a little but calmed myself down and realized it was probably burnout, so I did absolutely nothing for two days leading up to the test. And by absolutely nothing, I mean I worked out, ate tasty but healthy food, and watched the dumbest, most mindless TV shows I could find. I didn't even play video games that I thought might require some thinking. I was refreshed on test day and absolutely rocked the test.

This strategy might not work for everyone, but if you notice yourself burning out, go easy. After you start to reach the top of your scoring potential, the LSAT is more about your mental state at the time of the test than it is about how much you know/ how good you are at the test.

[sharpnsmooth]

I've been doing really well until last week. I've been experiencing some crazy burnout symptoms.. but I'm not sure. Maybe it isn't burnout. I just feel like I'm stressed out like crazy.. Please take a look:

1. I look at the stimulus, and my mind just starts spacing out while reading halfway through it.
2. I have trouble retaining the information that I just read from the preceding sentence.
3. My usual test-taking strategies somewhat go down the drain. The only thing that's been working for me is LG, where I usually get -0 to -4.
4. Overall, I've been losing my concentration on the test. I feel restless (I work 55~60 hrs a week), and every time I am not spending time studying for the test, I feel like I'm (1) wasting time, (2) losing my LSAT skills, and so on.

Has anybody taken a prolonged period of break-time from the LSAT and has succeeded in maintaining their pre-burnout scores? Well I'm sure there are many, but could you please share your experiences on this thread?

I went down to the low 160s twice. And it's not like one of those days where you find out that you did poorly when you thought you nailed it during the PT session. It's one of those low 160s you get after you dread throughout the entire PT about how poorly you're doing.

Take it easy for a week then ease back in.

Get a massage, see a ball game and get laid. You will blow up completely if you continue at this pace too much longer.

[Miznitic]

I'm certain my opinion is going to be in the minority, but I think "burnout" is an over-hyped excuse. It's something that you'll just have to learn to overcome and force yourself to work through.

[TheLuckyOne]

I'm certain my opinion is going to be in the minority, but I think "burnout" is an over-hyped excuse. It's something that you'll just have to learn to overcome and force yourself to work through.

Mind sharing your schedule?

[Gemini]

I've been doing really well until last week. I've been experiencing some crazy burnout symptoms.. but I'm not sure. Maybe it isn't burnout. I just feel like I'm stressed out like crazy.. Please take a look:

1. I look at the stimulus, and my mind just starts spacing out while reading halfway through it.
2. I have trouble retaining the information that I just read from the preceding sentence.
3. My usual test-taking strategies somewhat go down the drain. The only thing that's been working for me is LG, where I usually get -0 to -4.
4. Overall, I've been losing my concentration on the test. I feel restless (I work 55~60 hrs a week), and every time I am not spending time studying for the test, I feel like I'm (1) wasting time, (2) losing my LSAT skills, and so on.

Has anybody taken a prolonged period of break-time from the LSAT and has succeeded in maintaining their pre-burnout scores? Well I'm sure there are many, but could you please share your experiences on this thread?

I went down to the low 160s twice. And it's not like one of those days where you find out that you did poorly when you thought you nailed it during the PT session. It's one of those low 160s you get after you dread throughout the entire PT about how poorly you're doing.

YESSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I worked like crazy and got a 158 on the LSAT. Took it again with barely any study, but I forced myself to learn to RELAX and my score shot up to 163. I will be retaking for the last time in September and must find that balance between lots of study and just RELAXING.

[Miznitic]

Mind sharing your schedule?

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 7#p2737097

[TheLuckyOne]

Mind sharing your schedule?

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 7#p2737097

Are you telling me that this was your schedule for 8 months? Like every day? No breaks, nothing?
Okay, I have another question: do you generally belong to people who study 24/7? (nothing offensive implied)

I personally get extremely bored of doing the same thing over and over again, and I would bet most of people do as well. I was neurotic when my schedule somewhat resembled yours, and I cannot say it truly benefited me. I concluded from my extensive studying experience that LSAT should be approached with "pleasure", not with hate. Info is perceived so much easier this way. I cannot force my mind to THINK about something it refuses to think about. And for the record, I have a pretty strong will power.

Unless you scored 180 I can still prove you would have been better off by having a lighter schedule at least leading up to the test. People tend to naturally zoom out when they despise what they're doing and force themselves to 100% focus.

[Miznitic]

There were a few days here and there when I did something else because of family concerns, but 99% of the time, this is exactly what I did. I scored a 141 in Feb of '09. I took it as a personal challenge to score better than that and dedicated myself to this effort. I'm not the type to usually study 24/7, but that score hit a nerve. I'll admit though, I've definitely refined my study habits and I do believe (hope!) that'll come in handy during law school.

[Gemini]

There were a few days here and there when I did something else because of family concerns, but 99% of the time, this is exactly what I did. I scored a 141 in Feb of '09. I took it as a personal challenge to score better than that and dedicated myself to this effort. I'm not the type to usually study 24/7, but that score hit a nerve. I'll admit though, I've definitely refined my study habits and I do believe (hope!) that'll come in handy during law school.

You are a success story and living proof that the LSAT is learnable and you give me hope!
Not looking for a 179, though that would be lovely, lol. Just want to hit 170+.

[TheLuckyOne]

There were a few days here and there when I did something else because of family concerns, but 99% of the time, this is exactly what I did. I scored a 141 in Feb of '09. I took it as a personal challenge to score better than that and dedicated myself to this effort. I'm not the type to usually study 24/7, but that score hit a nerve. I'll admit though, I've definitely refined my study habits and I do believe (hope!) that'll come in handy during law school.

I've just noticed that you scored 179. Impressive!!! Good job, though, I don't think I would want to do it this way, I'd rather take more time and take it slow to keep my sanity

[sharpnsmooth]

There were a few days here and there when I did something else because of family concerns, but 99% of the time, this is exactly what I did. I scored a 141 in Feb of '09. I took it as a personal challenge to score better than that and dedicated myself to this effort. I'm not the type to usually study 24/7, but that score hit a nerve. I'll admit though, I've definitely refined my study habits and I do believe (hope!) that'll come in handy during law school.

You are a success story and living proof that the LSAT is learnable and you give me hope!
Not looking for a 179, though that would be lovely, lol. Just want to hit 170+.

It isn't even possible to get a 179 on most exams. Normally if you get 1-2 wrong, you get a 180 and the 3rd drops you down to a 178.

[invisiblesun]

There were a few days here and there when I did something else because of family concerns, but 99% of the time, this is exactly what I did. I scored a 141 in Feb of '09. I took it as a personal challenge to score better than that and dedicated myself to this effort. I'm not the type to usually study 24/7, but that score hit a nerve. I'll admit though, I've definitely refined my study habits and I do believe (hope!) that'll come in handy during law school.

You are a success story and living proof that the LSAT is learnable and you give me hope!
Not looking for a 179, though that would be lovely, lol. Just want to hit 170+.

It isn't even possible to get a 179 on most exams. Normally if you get 1-2 wrong, you get a 180 and the 3rd drops you down to a 178.

That's really only the case on a few exams, actually. I got plenty of 179s in PTs, and it ended up being my real score as well.

[Shrimps]

It isn't even possible to get a 179 on most exams. Normally if you get 1-2 wrong, you get a 180 and the 3rd drops you down to a 178.

Only 3 of the last 10 tests had no 179.

[Gemini]

There were a few days here and there when I did something else because of family concerns, but 99% of the time, this is exactly what I did. I scored a 141 in Feb of '09. I took it as a personal challenge to score better than that and dedicated myself to this effort. I'm not the type to usually study 24/7, but that score hit a nerve. I'll admit though, I've definitely refined my study habits and I do believe (hope!) that'll come in handy during law school.

You are a success story and living proof that the LSAT is learnable and you give me hope!
Not looking for a 179, though that would be lovely, lol. Just want to hit 170+.

It isn't even possible to get a 179 on most exams. Normally if you get 1-2 wrong, you get a 180 and the 3rd drops you down to a 178.

That's really only the case on a few exams, actually. I got plenty of 179s in PTs, and it ended up being my real score as well.

SNS, Are you this nitpicky in real life?

[eternallearner]

I recently came across this list. It has helped me and hope it helps you:

http://shine.yahoo.com/event/makeover/1 ... y-1125425/