Time Management Tips as a 1L
Perhaps one of the most crucial skills I’ve had to develop since starting law school in the fall is my time-management abilities. Between a full course load, extracurriculars, familial and social obligations, networking, and so much more, the life of a law student is incredibly time-consuming. Being able to stay on top of all my deadlines and commitments has been very difficult at times, but at this point in the school year, I’ve developed some strategies for organizing and managing my time that have helped me immensely.
To-Do Lists
I think this is the first point on every blog post that talks about time management in human history, but I will re-iterate it anyways! To-do lists are any busy person’s best friend for a number of reasons. Firstly, when there are so many tasks floating around your head from different spheres of life, it can feel quite overwhelming to have them all bouncing around in your brain. For me, writing out all of my tasks makes them seem so much more manageable, and leaves space in my brain for other things. Even if you are not someone who uses To-Do lists, try just jotting down your tasks and see if having them written out in front of you makes you feel a bit better about your ability to accomplish everything.
Additionally, To-Do lists are great because of the satisfaction of seeing your task list get smaller as you accomplish more. For me, getting to take something off my list is huge motivation to remain productive. I should also add, while some people have super fancy To-Do lists in journals or agendas, mine is just a running note in the notes app on my computer, so your lists definitely only have to be as fancy or casual as you want them to be.
Prioritize Goals
When so many goals come your way as a law student, it’s impossible to do everything at once. If you try to tackle too much at once, it can actually detract from the quality and focus of your work. For this reason, prioritizing your goals by immediacy, necessity, the amount of work required, or any other method of prioritization you see fit is a great help for managing and balancing your variety of tasks. Something I use to help with this is that I have a “short term/immediate” and “long term” to-do list on my computer, so I can still be conscious of distant tasks that are on the horizon, but also prioritize by goals based on which needs to be completed the soonest. This also helps with my planning and organization of my obligations, as the length of my short and long-term to-do lists help dictate the best time for me to schedule plans with friends or family or devote my time to networking.
Digital Calendar
If something happened to my computer, I think I would be most distraught about losing my calendar. Whether you are a google calendar person, an outlook calendar person, a paper calendar person, or anything else, I think having a running calendar is one of the best ways to stay on top of your tasks. Calendars help visualize the immediacy of all of your different tasks, especially those calendars that give you the ability to colour-code your events into categories, such as “deadlines”, “tests/exams”, “holidays”, and more!
One tip I have is to take some time at the beginning of each semester to go through all of your class syllabi, and put all important dates into your calendar right from the beginning. Being able to visualize when these assignments and exams are due throughout the semester will keep them on your radar and help you ensure you put aside enough time to prepare for each assessment.
Accountability Meetings with Study Groups
As an undergraduate student, I rarely studied with anyone else. I was a very independent worker and found collaborating with other people to be distracting. This was one of the things that changed most about my approach to studying when I came into law school.
When you’re surrounded by others learning the same material as you — and probably having the same points of confusion as you — study groups can be a huge help. Even further, setting weekly or bi-weekly consistent meetings with your study group to discuss course materials can help ensure you are on top of your work and hold you accountable to consistently review what you are taught.
The only way I know I actually understand a concept or idea is if I can successfully explain it to someone else, so being able to discuss materials with members of my section makes sure I am consistently reviewing the material throughout the year — instead of cramming and panicking right before the final exam.
Know Your Limits
While time management and creating strategies to take on various tasks are certainly important, it is also important to schedule time for breaks or self-care as part of your time management. Burnout is REAL, especially in law school when our minds are constantly moving a million miles a minute! Being conscious of when it is time to put aside your tasks for the day or for the week is a super important skill, one I think law students overlook far too often.
When doing everything I mentioned — making to-do lists, updating your calendar, etc. — remember that making time for rest and relaxation is just as important as making time for studying!
