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On Not Being a Morning Person

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 3:23 pm
by wtrc
So, the June test is great because it's at noon (why is that, anyway?). And I've taken that, which was fine. But now that I am doing Oct/Dec, I need to get used to waking up real early. I wake up at around 9 now, and if the test is at 8... even if the test center is right near where I sleep, it probably makes sense to wake up super early to get a quick 10 minute run in, drink some coffee, have a light breakfast, maybe drill a bit, and just wake my mind up, so it would make sense to be up at around 6 I think? I've started waking up at 830, so I can gradually get used to waking up early without being exhausted (presumably, if I do the October test, would do 8 in a week or two, then 7, etc.)

Did anyone here start waking up hella early well before test date to train your mind to do that? Each point counts, and missing a few because I'm sleepy seems kind of awful.

Re: On Not Being a Morning Person

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 3:48 pm
by relevantfactor
weathercoins wrote:So, the June test is great because it's at noon (why is that, anyway?). And I've taken that, which was fine. But now that I am doing Oct/Dec, I need to get used to waking up real early. I wake up at around 9 now, and if the test is at 8... even if the test center is right near where I sleep, it probably makes sense to wake up super early to get a quick 10 minute run in, drink some coffee, have a light breakfast, maybe drill a bit, and just wake my mind up, so it would make sense to be up at around 6 I think? I've started waking up at 830, so I can gradually get used to waking up early without being exhausted (presumably, if I do the October test, would do 8 in a week or two, then 7, etc.)

Did anyone here start waking up hella early well before test date to train your mind to do that? Each point counts, and missing a few because I'm sleepy seems kind of awful.
I would honestly start waking up around 6 the 3 weeks before the test. And then, on the week of the exam, wake up at 5. Obviously you would need to go to bed early. I'm not a morning person either.

Re: On Not Being a Morning Person

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 4:07 pm
by NoodleyOne
I've started getting up at 7. It's not because of the LSAT though... it's because I don't want to be the type of person that sleeps until noon anymore.

Re: On Not Being a Morning Person

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 4:10 pm
by CyanIdes Of March
NoodleyOne wrote:I've started getting up at 7. It's not because of the LSAT though... it's because I don't want to be the type of person that sleeps until noon anymore.
Society sucks in that way.

Re: On Not Being a Morning Person

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 6:20 pm
by CalAlumni
I typically start studying at around 2pm; however, since the test is early in the morning (I'm usually fast asleep) I'm thinking I should start prepping early.

Re: On Not Being a Morning Person

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 7:14 pm
by Pocahontas
I work part-time from 10-4 and usually didn't usually get up until about 9:15. Starting last week, I've been getting up at 6am, spending an hour running, showering and eating breakfast. Afterwards, im able to put in two solid hours of prep before getting ready for work at 9. I've been really surprised at how alert I've been, oftentimes more so than I am during evening prep. I love it and the progress I'm seeing.

Re: On Not Being a Morning Person

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 7:30 pm
by aw45
Every night I tell myself, "tomorrow I'll wake up at 6am, workout, do some lsat prep, and conquer the world."

Yeah. Tomorrow never comes for me. I should probably get on that. :roll:

Re: On Not Being a Morning Person

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 7:42 pm
by Br3v
the test is at 9ish I thought?

Re: On Not Being a Morning Person

Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2012 1:23 am
by objection_your_honor
I work a day job so I'm up at 7:00 anyway. Gonna switch that to 6:00 pretty soon. I'm also using vacation time for the whole week leading up to the test so I can practice the full routine every day.

Re: On Not Being a Morning Person

Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2012 5:45 am
by cookiejar1
Adrenaline the morning off should keep you charged.

Re: On Not Being a Morning Person

Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2012 5:54 am
by CR2012
Luckily, as I am taking this test abroad, I will have the luxury of taking it at 2pm.

Before I noticed that my test is at 2 I was trying to convince myself that taking it earlier in the morning would be better because I would have a fresh mind that hadn't yet been tainted by all of the things that can enter a brain throughout the day. Now, I am just thankful that I can sleep-in and have a solid breakfast and lunch under my belt before taking on this test.

Re: On Not Being a Morning Person

Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2012 4:50 pm
by airplay355
Drugs are your friend...

I mean the legal kind. I have a really hard time going to bed early. I could be exhausted all day and when 10PM rolls around I'm not tired at all until 2AM when I force myself into bed. The day before the test I took some tylenol cold or something (not really recommended as you don't need the pain relievers, but whatever your liver will get over it) so I could fall asleep nice and early. It worked and I felt great when I woke up. I still drank half of a 5 hour energy just in case. I'm going to try the same thing for October that I tried on the June test (test center was far away so I still had to wake up early for June, October center is close).

I also got real weird, listened to crazy music the whole way in the car, drank a bunch of Bolthouse Farms kiwi/algae grossness and sat in my car meditating before the test. Anything to combat the fight or flight anxiety. It worked.

Re: On Not Being a Morning Person

Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2012 5:29 pm
by wtrc
airplay355 wrote:Drugs are your friend...

I mean the legal kind. I have a really hard time going to bed early. I could be exhausted all day and when 10PM rolls around I'm not tired at all until 2AM when I force myself into bed. The day before the test I took some tylenol cold or something (not really recommended as you don't need the pain relievers, but whatever your liver will get over it) so I could fall asleep nice and early. It worked and I felt great when I woke up. I still drank half of a 5 hour energy just in case. I'm going to try the same thing for October that I tried on the June test (test center was far away so I still had to wake up early for June, October center is close).

I also got real weird, listened to crazy music the whole way in the car, drank a bunch of Bolthouse Farms kiwi/algae grossness and sat in my car meditating before the test. Anything to combat the fight or flight anxiety. It worked.
So my issue with Tylenol Cold (anything with Diphenhydramine in it) is sometimes I don't sleep that well and I'm totally exhausted the next day. Sometimes it works great for me but occasionally it totally f*cks me the next day. Can't take the risk :(. I'm thinking the more-natural melatonin and lavender the night before, and getting into a routine with exactly the same amount, and about same time of sleep and wake up, at least a week before the test.

Re: On Not Being a Morning Person

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 1:45 pm
by Cerebro
CalAlumni wrote:I typically start studying at around 2pm; however, since the test is early in the morning (I'm usually fast asleep) I'm thinking I should start prepping early.
You know it's early in the morning when ...
  • the sound of your car starting wakes the rooster.
  • you go to McDonald's for breakfast and they aren't open yet.
  • the hipsters are still waiting to pay their bill at Norm's.
  • you extol the merits of DST and wonder why it can't be light at this hour year round.
  • the hookers coming out of the motel on the corner debate the viability of another trick.
bgyna!

Re: On Not Being a Morning Person

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 11:01 pm
by aw45
Cerebro wrote: You know it's early in the morning when ...
  • the sound of your car starting wakes the rooster.
  • you go to McDonald's for breakfast and they aren't open yet.
  • the hipsters are still waiting to pay their bill at Norm's.
  • you extol the merits of DST and wonder why it can't be light at this hour year round.
  • the hookers coming out of the motel on the corner debate the viability of another trick.
bgyna!
Dodging drunk drivers on the road after a full night of fun.
Having to eat last night's Thai food for breakfast.
Listening to the radio before the morning talk show comes on, and actually hearing music.

Re: On Not Being a Morning Person

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 11:07 pm
by Zensack
I've started rolling back my waking and rising times for the October LSAT. When manipulating one's sleep schedule I've found that it's crucial you do it gradually, even if (or perhaps because) some backtracks and hiccups will happen.