Law School Time Management Tips

Law School Time Management Tips

If you are in law school, you may find that you “run out of time” to get everything done. However, we bet that if you try some of our law school time management tips that you will find that you have a little extra time. Take a look at some of our top time management tips.

Law School Time Management Tips

1. Make a law school schedule.

Stick to said schedule. Seriously. Your schedule should reflect everything—even the things you don’t think about. Since things like sleeping, waking up, exercising, and commuting take time during your day, schedule them. Your schedule should also include things like reading for class, reviewing after class, outlining, and practice exams. You should try to make your schedule a habit. According to research, if you make something a habit, it then gets easier over time. So, if you make time each week to outline and review and practice exams—these should get easier too! Read this post on how to create a good, tailored, law school study schedule.

2. Take time in the morning to plan your day.

Try not to complete any tasks until you have a schedule planned out for the day. Is today a day that you have to review your notes from the week? Plan out how long that will take you—that includes picking a beginning and end time. You will be more productive if you know when and how long you should be doing something.

3. Learn to say “no.”

This tip also goes hand-in-hand with the two above. It is tempting to volunteer or to take on a task to help someone out. It is also tempting to get over-involved in law school clubs and activities.  However, it is okay and important to learn to say no. You have to build in some “you” time and even fun time. So, that might mean cutting out some extra-curricular activities or favors for friends or family.

4. Eliminate distractions.

When you sit down to study, outline or review—focus on the task at hand. This means turn off your phone or put it somewhere you can’t see. So stay off social media. You may also want to consider leaving your computer at home. Or, if you study with friends and find that distracting—try studying alone.

5. Treat studying like a job.

This means, stick to your schedule (above) and add in a set amount of time for a task. We also recommend that you set a timer. Turn the timer on when you are settled and distraction-free. Every time you take a phone call or text message, stop the timer. Every time you get up to eat or use the restroom, stop the timer. Watching the clock will show you how productive you are being and make you accountable for your time. This is just one idea to help you stay productive, but there are many more out there!

6. Make a “to-do” list.

We recommend that you make a new one each week. Include things like reading for civil procedure twice, if you have class twice a week. Also include things like reviewing your class notes and things like outlining. It may seem silly to write everything down, but you will feel more productive if you can cross things off. You might also feel like it is more manageable.

7. Don’t spend all of your time reading cases!

Many students spend all of their time reading cases. This means they have less time to do anything else—like outline, learn their outlines, and practice exams! The good news is that there are easy ways to reduce the amount of time you spend reading cases. Read this post if you are looking for more tips.

8. Get a tutor.

Finally, if you are really struggling with making a schedule or your time management meet with one of our tutors to help you out. We frequently meet with students who just want to make a schedule and discuss what they should be doing. Even one tutoring session can go a long way. You may find that one session will go a long way! Feel free to learn more about our law school tutoring program here.

We hope these law school time management tips help you manage your time better! Let us know in the comments if you have other ideas that work for you!

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