Time Management for the Bar Exam

Congratulations - finals are over, and now you have some time to relax! However, for some of you, the bar exam is in the near future - the bar exam requires a huge commitment of time and effort. Your bar review course is structured to guide you through the material, but you must make the effort to learn it. It is completely possible to adequately prepare yourself during the bar review period if you devote your time exclusively to bar preparation.

It is important to realize that even if you had all the time in the world to study and prepare, there are still limitations on how much information you can retain and there is only so long that you can maintain the level of intensity required during the relatively short bar preparation period. For those of you that have started your bar review courses, it should be clear that studying for the bar exam is unlike any other experience - you must be prepared to put the time and energy into the process.

During the first weeks of your bar review, make sure to:

• Set a realistic work schedule that allows for going to the lectures, time for reviewing material covered in class, time to practice problems, and relaxation time;
• Refine realistic study goals based on your strengths and weaknesses; and
• Vary your study activities throughout the day to maintain your concentration level.

The following schedule might be a template that works for you; and allows you enough time to attend your lectures, review material, and practice problems:

• 9:00-1:00: Bar review course
• 1:00-2:00: Lunch break
• 2:00-4:00: Review notes from morning session; make flashcards of black letter law; consolidate notes
• 4:00-:4:30: Take a break
• 4:30-6:30: Work through MBE questions in the subject you have just studied
• 6:30-7:00: Dinner break
• 7:00-9:00: Work through additional MBE questions; essays from a released bar exam (or maybe a MPT, depending on your needs)
• 9:00-11:00: Review materials for the next bar review session or review notes from one subject covered earlier in the bar review period

Remember, there is not a one size fits all schedule, and there are a number of reasons why you might need to adapt the schedule to fit within your needs, including the possibility of having an evening bar review course. The key thing to remember is that you must make time to study, and you must plan ahead to give yourself enough study time.

While you prepare for the bar exam, Professor Darrow-Kleinhaus' books, Acing the Bar Exam (Thomson West 2008) and The Bar Exam in a Nutshell (2d ed. 2009), are great resources.