Does law school have you feeling overwhelmed? Do you feel like you are running around putting out one fire after another? This might be because you are making too many decisions in your day-to-day life. Decision fatigue is a real thing, just ask Mark Zuckerberg about his decision to only wear grey t-shirts. Cutting down on the number of decisions you make each day will help you save time and conserve energy. A great way to cut down on your decision making is to establish and implement systems. Here are five systems to get you started.
1. Organization
The first system is organizing your stuff. Look, you don’t have to go total type A super-duper organized to be successful in law school. But you do need to get your life together. This means getting your physical stuff (your backpack, binders, car, locker, study space, etc.) and digital (I’m looking at you “Mr. I save every file to my desktop and leave it there” guy) stuff together. The key to setting up each of the systems in this article is to not overthink it. Often, students get stuck because they can’t see the whole picture on step one. Don’t worry about whether your system is perfect, just pick something you think will work and go with it. The great part about having a system is that you can evaluate and adjust it whenever necessary.
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2. Case Briefs
The earlier you are in your law school career, the more time you spend creating case briefs. Streamlining the system you use to write them will make your life much easier. Start by deciding on the format. Will you handwrite or type? Next, figure out the crucial parts that you will include in every brief (spoiler alert: facts, issue, holding, and reasoning should definitely make the cut here) and decide if you will use any kind of color coding system. Finally, decide where you will keep them. A binder, a folder on your computer, web-based storage, or something else? Whatever you do, keep all your briefs in one place — you imagine how much time this will save you later. I don’t even want to think about how much time I wasted searching for a misplaced brief.
3. Note taking
Similar to briefing, first, decide whether you will handwrite or type your notes. This might not be the same for each class, which is fine, but you need to decide. Next, figure out what things you will listen for and write down. For example, black letter law, testing tips, and hypothetical questions are important items to pay attention to and incorporate into your notes. After you take your notes, create and maintain a process that incorporates spending a few minutes after each class condensing and reviewing them.
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4. Exam Prep
Final exam prep can be a giant time suck if you let it. There are a million different ways to successfully prepare for a final exam, and you can waste a lot of time trying them all out if you aren’t careful. Here is a system that both limits your decision making and gives you the flexibility to customize your exam prep for each class:
- Schedule outlining sessions;
- Gather your materials (textbook, syllabus, briefs, class notes, etc.);
- Break down information (create a traditional outline, chart, series of flashcards, etc.); and
- Do practice questions.
5. Self-care
When it comes to law school, it isn’t a matter of if you will experience stress, it is a matter of when and how much. In order to keep the stress from becoming completely overwhelming and interfering with your success, you’ve got to have a plan in place. To create this system, evaluate your day to figure out when you have your highest energy and lowest energy, and when you are most productive and least productive. Use this information to play to your strengths and plan accordingly. Find some time during those low energy/low productivity parts of your day to build in some self-care down time. It is important that you set hard time limits on studying. There will always be more to do. You have to decide when you are done. I know this isn’t easy, but you have to carve out the time and then respect it. Find things that that make you feel relaxed and ready to come back to the daily grind.
Everyone has an opinion about what the best systems are for law school. You will hear a lot about what you should or shouldn’t do or what you “have to do.” And while there are definitely some best practices, the most important thing is that you create systems that work for you, evaluate them, and tweak them as necessary.
Kerriann Stout is a millennial law school professor and founder of Vinco (a bar exam coaching company) who is generationally trapped between her students and colleagues. Kerriann has helped hundreds of students survive law school and the bar exam with less stress and more confidence. She lives, works, and writes in the northeast. You can reach her by email at [email protected].