25 TIPS FOR STAYING SANE DURING LAW SCHOOL

Law school is stressful, and thats by design: the rigors of earning your
law degree are similar to the rigors youll endure as a budding legal
professional, where only the strong survive. And although law school
can be difficult, that doesnt mean you have to become insane on the
way to graduation. There are several ways to cope, prevent stress, and
stop the insanity before it starts. Weve outlined 25 tips that can help
you stay sane and happy, and even live like a normal person now and
then.
1.

Keep your goals achievable

Its great to set big dreams and work toward making them a reality, but
be careful not to overdo it. Think about how youre going to get there,
and set achievable goals that you know you can reach along the way.
Checking off goals that are realistic for you to achieve can really build
your self confidence, and give you momentum to keep going for the
big stuff.

2.

Give your mind a break after lectures

After going through lectures and briefing, your mind needs a break.
Although its tempting to go straight to the books, spending a little
time vegging out is important to your mental health and energy. For an
hour after your lectures are over, just take some time to do something
else, like playing with your pets or watching TV. Anything that can
temporarily get your mind off of law school and let you be yourself for
a while.

3.

Practice time management

Its tempting to just jump in and do all you can without thinking about
how its actually going to get done, but by budgeting your time, you
can accomplish more and have less anxiety about it all. Manage your
time by reviewing your weekly goals and tasks, then organize your
time into daily task lists. You may not meet your goals perfectly every
week, but by managing your time, you will likely get closer to perfect
and have less worry about how its all going to get done.

4.

Eat a balanced diet

Junk food is convenient and easy to mindlessly shove down your throat
while youre trying to focus on studying, but its terrible for your energy
and health. Take the time to eat food thats actually good for you,
because junk food will catch up with you eventually. Healthy food
including fruits and vegetables can be made accessible, and they will
help keep your mind going when you need it the most.

5.

Spring clean your life

Before you begin law school, tame all of the issues that might pop up
as a distraction to your studies. Visit the dentist, organize your house,
and take care of any nagging issues that can mess with your time
management. Do whatever you can to automate your life, including
paying bills, so that you can focus on whats absolutely necessary. If
you didnt get a chance to do this before school started, be sure to
take care of it during breaks.

6.

Figure out your financial situation

Law school is scary on its own without the worry of financial ruin, but if
you dont have a clear picture of how youre going to handle the sixfigure student loans that come along with your law degree, you just
might lose your mind while youre working to get your degree in the
first place. Have a plan for the investment and how youre going to
take care of your living expenses while youre in school. Its also wise
to work hard to find scholarships so that you dont have to bear the full
weight of law school on your own.

7.

Use The Buzzer

If you just cant get anything done, avoid distractions, or focus, using
The Buzzer method for law school can be incredibly helpful. With this
method, youll set a timer for 45 minutes, work straight through
without any interruptions, not even bathroom breaks, and then take a
break and repeat. You may not get anything done, but chances are that
at some point in the 45 minutes, youll get bored and want to start
doing some sort of productive work. If this method works for you, it can
help save your sanity and make you get things done so you can move
on and do things that dont revolve around law school.

8.

Hug a puppy
Get some perspective and release endorphins by taking a minute to
hug a puppy when youre at your most stressed. At George Mason
University School of Law, 15 homeless puppies were enlisted in the
fight against exam stress, and made students feel like they could get
to be human again. The Yale Law Library has added a therapy dog,
Monty, as well, and theWashington Post reports that he helps to break
the pressure on campus.

9.

Think about the exam on the first day of class

The Girls Guide to Law School shares a secret: whats tested in law
school isnt necessarily whats taught in law school. It sounds weird,
but its true. So that means youll need to consider what you really
need to know from the very beginning, and save your energy by simply
working on that. Shoot for a flexible understanding of the law, or,

as The Girls Guide to Law Schoolsays, figure out whats set in stone,
and whats malleable.
10. Have an outlet
When law school is consuming your life, its easy to forget that youre a
real person with interests other than legal briefings. But you
actually are a real person with needs, and an outlet is a great way to
meet them. Do something fun for yourself, like going to the gym on a
regular basis, or taking the time to go to the movies on occasion. Its
essential that you indulge yourself from time to time so that you dont
burn out.
11. Recognize and minimize procrastination
If youre feeling stuck and lonely during long nights of studying, it
might feel like a good idea to log on to Facebook and spend a few
hours connecting with your friends and family that you never seem to
have time for anymore. But the more time you spend putting off
studying, the less time you have to actually participate in real life.
Buckle down when its time to do the work, and enjoy the fruits of your
labor when its appropriate.
12. Avoid coping through chemistry
Drugs, alcohol, and overloading on caffeine can make a small stress
problem even bigger. Dont be a drunken lawyer and give the Bar a
reason to refuse your application. Learn to cope through healthy
outlets, and use, but dont abuse, alcohol as an occasional way to
relieve stress.
13. Dont be afraid to rely on the study skills you already know
Plenty of people will tell you that law must be studied in a way thats
radically different from anything else, and you have to do things
completely different from the methods youre used to. But Ilya Somin
of The Volokh Conspiracy does not agree, remarking that if it works for
you, you can certainly study the same way you got through your work
as an undergrad or graduate student. You may need to make minor
modifications, but its certainly possible to go with what you know and
avoid the stressful process of learning a brand new way to learn.
14.Break large projects down into small tasks
Make humongous efforts feel like less work by taking them one small
step at a time. Identify tasks within large projects, breaking things into
subtopics and assigning smaller time blocks so that you can focus on
manageable pieces. This will help you keep things organized, and give
you motivation to keep going as you accomplish small goals along the
way.

15. Dont be a perfectionist

Law school naturally attracts highly driven students who are bent on
doing everything perfectly, but life is much easier if you accept that
some things dont have to be perfect. Many schools have a B- curve,
and some professors simply dont ever give As. Recognize that a good
grade isnt always an A plus, and that you dont have to be in the top
10% of your class to become a good lawyer.
16. Dont get sick
Law school can make for close quarters and a perfect environment for
picking up germs that can knock you down and make studying even
harder. Stay well and on the top of your game by putting up a good
defense: maintain a regular sleep schedule, a healthy diet, and
practice good hygiene and hand-washing techniques.
17. Focus on what you really need to know
As Listless Lawyer notes, 95% of what you want to achieve in law
school will be based on your grades, which come from your exams. And
while youll spend lots of class time looking over the minutia of cases,
chances are, that same minutia isnt going to show up in the relatively
short exam. Focus on the holding that summarizes the rule that the
case stands for, and anything else you may retain is gravy on top.
18. Avoid taking on too much
MSU Law recommends that you simply focus on the stress of law
school without adding to it unnecessarily. Getting in over your head
and overextending yourself with too many society and association
groups can seriously bog down an already busy workload. Consider
which opportunities offer the most value to you, and focus on doing
well with them. And of course, know yourself and what you can
reasonably handle.
19. Put everything where it belongs
Emily Rushing, law librarian, recommends that law students keep their
lives neatly filed. Keep emails, notes, projects, and anything else you
might collect in the right place. By putting information where it
belongs, you can easily retrieve it when necessary. As she points out,
being smart is often more of a question of whether you can find
information, rather than how much you can absorb or retain.
20. Take short breaks when youre feeling the pressure
Its natural to feel a little overwhelmed in law school, and its also
understandable for students to want to push through and work as hard
as possible. Its important to be human, and take short breaks before
your stress and anxiety turns into full-blown panic and a situation in

which you just cant get anything done. Take short breaks, do mindful
breathing, and allow information to sink in while you rest.
21. Treat law school like a job
If you let law school become your life, you truly will go insane. Set
limits much like you would with a job. Plan to work on law school
studies during certain hours, and then actually put in the time, but
when its over, you really do have to put the books down and stop
studying. If possible, study away from home, and when you get home,
leave your books in the bag.
22. Remember that its only temporary
If youre a first-year law student, its easy to feel the strain and feel
that the reality youre in will continue for years two and three as well.
But UCLA law students Sylvie Levine and David Burke point out that
things get more relaxed as you go. The second year becomes a little
more relaxed than the first, particularly with fewer classes to attend.
The third year is the most relaxed, as most students have already
secured jobs, and with their eyes on the prize, are just hoping to get
things done without screwing up enough to lose their jobs. All of this is
to say that law school is a downhill battle, one that may be tough in
the beginning, but gets easier as you go.
23. Maintain relationships in law school
As law school wears on, its easy to crawl into your own hole and
buckle down with work, but maintaining relationships with your
classmates and professors is important. Use the people you know in
school for both positive reinforcement and references. You should also
continue to build your network, as youll certainly find opportunities to
call on them during your job search and career as a lawyer.
24. Know your deadlines
Always know when your assignments are due. This is a simple task that
will save you time and allow you to better juggle your schedule.
Whether they are papers, projects, or assignments as a summer
associate, always find out the date and time an assignment is due, and
dont be afraid to ask for clarification if you need it.
25. Have friends outside of law school
Although law school relationships are important, you should also make
a point to maintain your friendships outside of law school as well. While
youre freaking out about exams, your law school friends cant really
help you: theyre dealing with the same issues. But people in the real
world can bring you out of your dark hole when your law school friends
fail to do so.