Habit #2: Make a Plan and Stick to It

7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. - Wake up and study

9:00 a.m. to noon - Class

Noon to 11:00 p.m. - Study

(I’m exaggerating a little bit, of course, as there was a sprinkling of 30 minutes for dinner here and 20 minutes for laundry there.)

I saw this schedule and thought, “This is crazy! I can’t do this schedule, and I can’t compete with people who can do this schedule.”

Despite this, I spent the first few days of law school trying to follow this plan. Before long, I found that it was impossible. Maybe it was impossible for me. Maybe it was impossible for anyone. But I knew it wouldn’t work. I found myself burning out after only a few days. I knew my class notes and cases very, very well, but I no longer cared. Soon, I wasn’t paying attention in class, and I teetered on the verge of complete burn-out. I realized what was happening, so I backed off and abandoned this insane study schedule. I then over-compensated for my near-burnout, and began not studying enough. I floundered for a few days until I decided: I needed a schedule. A plan, one just for me.

Everyone is different and will prefer studying at different times of the day and in different ways, but schedules are equally important. Law school requires a great deal of thinking, and each day will bring more and more assignments and concepts for you to make sense of. A schedule will help focus more energy on what you are learning and less energy on deciding what to do each day.

Your schedule must be your own. You have to live it, so make sure you can.