When You Have Other Commitments - Part 1 - Cut Back

For many of you, the challenge of studying for the bar exam will be made more difficult because you are either working full-time, or have some other time consuming commitment such as being the primary caregiver for a child.  Whatever the cause, you have a significantly decreased amount of time to study.  If this is the situation you find yourself in, there are a few options available to you.

Option 1 - Cut Back

Decrease or eliminate your other commitment(s).  This is obviously not going to be an option for everyone.  There is a good chance that the reason you have the other commitment is because it is not optional.  Perhaps you provide the sole income to support your family and simply cannot stop working.  But if you are a post-bar clerk with no family to support, or have a spouse who brings in an income, you have more flexibility and can eat rice and beans for a few months.

The important thing to realize about this option is that it IS going to be uncomfortable to make adjustments.  It will cost you money to cut back at work.  Oftentimes people think that sacrifices are okay to make so long as they are not difficult or cost much.  If that’s the case, then it is not really a sacrifice.  Consider whether the price you will have to pay to get licensed will take that kind of sacrifice.  Depending on your situation, you may very well have to make greater sacrifices than other people have to reach the same goal.  But is it worth it to get the desired result?  If you knew right now that you would never pass the bar unless you cut down to part-time work, would you do it?  Why take the bar and fail over and over again because you weren’t willing to make the necessary sacrifice?

Many people have taken the bar 2, 3, 4, 5 or more times because each time they tried to fit bar study around their busy work schedule.  There’s a case at work, or a big project that needs to get done - there’s always some reason not to cut back the hours.  But if they had just dedicated those 2 or 3 months the first time, they could have saved themselves so much more time in the long run.

In future posts I am going to present options 2 and 3 for those of you who find yourself in this situation. Regardless of which option you choose, there is good news for you despite your challenging situation.  And that is this: The Goat's Guide approach, if you follow it, will give you the best results for the time spent. You will not waste time doing anything that does not directly contribute to improving your score on the MBE, PTs, or essays.  Therefore you can rest assured that your precious time will be spent wisely.

{Did you find this post helpful? It came straight out of my book, The Goat’s Guide: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Preparing for the California Bar Exam on Your Own}