Preparing for the Bar Exam - Burn Out and Boredom

Several students have complained recently about either beginning to feel burned out or being bored by the whole bar exam process. While the two complaints are not the same, my advice is similar in both cases -- it is important to strike a balance between the overly aggressive approach of doing too much and the overly complacent approach. Regardless of whether you are burned out or bored, you should take a step back, look at your schedule and set realistic goals for yourself. For example, if you know that there’s no way you’re going to get through 50 multiple choice questions a day, don’t set such an unreasonable goal. You must be able to sustain the effort over the entire review period, up to and including the bar exam itself. It’s not good if you burn out or are completely bored by the process. Remember, the objective in practicing questions is not the “doing” of numbers but the learning of law and the process of analysis.

It is important to maintain a realistic work schedule, one that allows for lecture
time, review time, practice time, and time that you are not studying. Reexamine your schedule to make sure you have set a realistic work schedule that allows for:

Lecture time

Review time

Practice time

Relaxation time

In considering this, look at whether you have defined realistic study goals based on your strengths and weaknesses:

Are you varying your study activities sufficiently throughout the day to maintain your concentration level?

Have you set up a daily work schedule to include time for: attending your bar review class; reviewing the material covered in each class; consolidating your notes; working through practice questions; learning black letter law; and taking study breaks and exercising?

Have you set up a weekly schedule that includes a little time away from your studies?

Also, you might want to consider revising your schedule to:

Vary the sequence of your study activities, and maybe change your study location;

Or consider revising your approach to: alternate your review materials to take up the topic in another form -- anything that keeps you interested and adds to your understanding of the subject (i.e. read a different outline from your bar review materials; go back to your law school outline; or consult a hornbook).

Finally, you may want to consider the balance of study time vs. practice time to allow more time for practicing questions.

It might be worthwile to reconsider and revise how you are scheduling your time. You can refer to our blog post on time management for more tips.