When You Have Other Commitments - Part 2 - Spread It Out

In part 1 of this post series, I discussed the first option available for those of you who must study for the bar exam while balancing other commitments. Now I discuss Option 2 - Spread It Out

You can always skip an administration of the exam and take the following one, giving yourself more time to prepare. For some reason unbeknownst to me, few people seem to take this route or see it as a viable strategy to passing the bar exam.  Perhaps they believe it will put off obtaining their license too long, or that people will think they’ve given up.  Another possible reason is that people think it’s simply unnecessary and they will be able to scrounge together enough time to prepare despite their other commitments.

If you are unable to remove some or all of your commitments, and are relegated to studying in the late evening hours after you’ve returned home from work or put the kids to bed, consider whether the time you’re finding for study is even effective.  You are probably physically and mentally exhausted.  You likely have little to no time to put into maintaining even a single personal relationship, making you feel even more drained and isolated.  You won’t be able to carve out any time to spend on yourself or activities that rejuvenate you, such as exercise, thereby adding to your stress and exhaustion. How long could you operate at this pace before the study time you do get becomes utterly worthless?  Your ability to concentrate, build mental stamina, put forth a good effort, and retain information will be close to zero.  It ends up being a waste of time and almost entirely ineffective.

Instead of this impossible schedule, why not spread it out over a longer period of time?  If you’re studying for the first time, and have to do substantive review, you need even longer than if you’re repeating and already know the law.  If you are a repeater, however, you are working with an even shorter time frame because there is so little time until the next administration of the exam.

By spreading out your study schedule, you will be able to maintain a steady, effective pace.  You will be under less stress, and have some time for important things like personal time and exercise. Do not undervalue these things - they will help you study better.

The most important benefit of this option, however, is that it gives you the amount of time you really need to make sure you are adequately prepared for the exam and will not have to take it again.

{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}