You may know the story of a professor who stood before his class with an empty jar. He filled it with large stones and asked if it was full. His students agreed it was. He then added pebbles, followed by sand, each time asking if the jar was full, and each time the students agreed it was. Finally, he poured water into the jar, filling the remaining air pockets.
The lesson: If you don’t prioritize the big rocks — the most important things — you won’t have room for them later.
You start law school with an empty jar. It will quickly fill up with classes, studying, and extracurricular activities. You need to manage your time efficiently to ensure you have room for more than just your big rocks.
Time Commitments and Expectations in 1L
Law school is demanding and requires a significant time commitment to keep up with readings, case briefs, outlining, etc. Expect to spend about 30-45 hours per week studying, in addition to over 15 hours in class. As a rule of thumb, you’ll spend about 2-3 hours studying for every hour of class.
You’ll likely have other law school obligations, such as legal writing assignments and extracurriculars. While excelling academically should be your first priority, participating in moot court, law review, or student organizations is a valuable way to hone your lawyering skills, network, and prepare for your career.
Here are 5 time management hacks that will help you fill your jar wisely:
1. Simplify Goals With Multiscale Planning
We often find motivation in big, overarching goals but become anxious considering the sheer amount of work involved. A computer science professor and productivity expert, Cal Newport prescribes “multiscale planning.” This method divides goals across time scales: daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and even seasonally. You can make more efficient progress by fragmenting intimidating goals into manageable chunks.
Newport describes starting his projects with a yearly goal, such as completing a book, then setting monthly milestones for chapters, further breaking them down into weekly and daily tasks. For instance, you can start with a semester goal of achieving a top grade in a class. Break this down into monthly milestones, such as mastering different syllabus sections, then into weekly tasks, including reviewing lecture notes and reading case law, and finally into daily time blocks, such as deep reading morning sessions or afternoons summarizing notes.
2. Harness Your Peak Energy
Hormonal and chemical fluctuations throughout the day have a major impact on our focus. By understanding how these natural cycles of energy work, you can hack your biology. Research shows that our energy levels peak about 90 minutes after waking and continue to rise and fall in 90-minute cycles (ultradian rhythms) throughout the day.
Capitalize on these cycles by scheduling your most mentally demanding law school tasks, such as reading complex case law or writing difficult essays, during these peak periods. For example, if you wake up at 7 a.m., tackle your most challenging work during a 90-minute deep work session around 8:30 a.m. Then, take a 15-20 minute break and repeat.
3. Maximize Study Time with Tech Tools
Leveraging technology can help you get the most out of every minute of study time. Here are some powerful tech tools based on proven learning techniques:
- Spaced Repetition: Use digital flashcards, such as UWorld’s, which integrate spaced-repetition algorithms. This system helps you retain and recall information more efficiently by scheduling reviews of flashcards at intervals that increase as the information becomes easier to recall, reinforcing long-term memory retention.
- Digital Notes: We’ve all taken notes only to lose, forget, or never look at them again. UWorld’s My Notebook has tagging and linking features that allow you to create a structured and easily searchable web of knowledge.
- Task Management Calendar: Don’t waste time planning what to study when you can just study. Themis’s Adaptive Study Calendar provides daily assignments that adapt to your timeline and progress.
- Legal Research Databases: Westlaw, LexisNexis, and Bloomberg Law provide comprehensive databases of case law, statutes, and legal commentary. You’ll need these to conduct thorough and efficient research.
4. Prioritize with Proven Models
We often rely on our gut to set priorities, but a structured mental model can help distinguish the critical from the trivial more accurately. One such model is the Eisenhower Matrix, or the Urgent-Important Matrix, which categorizes tasks into 4 quadrants:
- Urgent and Important: Do immediately.
- Important but Not Urgent: Schedule for later.
- Urgent but Not Important: Delegate, if possible.
- Not Urgent and Not Important: Eliminate, if possible.
Another common model focuses on forming clear and attainable SMART goals. A SMART goal would be to “study constitutional law for 1 hour every morning at 8 a.m. for the next 2 weeks” rather than “study more.” Use the following framework to turn vague goals into SMART ones:
- Specific: Clearly define what you want to accomplish.
- Example: “Study constitutional law for 1 hour every morning” versus “improve in constitutional law.”
- Measurable: Make your goal quantifiable.
- Example: “Complete 10 practice questions each week” versus “do more practice questions.”
- Achievable: Make it realistic and attainable.
- Example: “Read 1 chapter of constitutional law daily” versus “read the entire textbook in a week.”
- Relevant: Align your goal with broader objectives.
- Example: “Complete weekly reading assignments to stay on track with the course syllabus,” contributing to your broader objective of academic success.
- Time-bound: Set a deadline.
- Example: “Complete the constitutional law practice exam by the end of the month.”
5. Beat Procrastination by Building Better Habits
James Clear’s book Atomic Habits focuses on the power of small, consistent changes — atomic habits — that compound over time to produce significant results. Here are some actionable insights from Clear’s research:
- Pomodoro Technique: Rather than stressing about an 8-hour study marathon, break tasks into manageable chunks. Remove all distractions, work for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break. After 4 sessions, take a longer break.
- Habit Stacking: When you develop a habit, the connections between the web of neurons that support that habit grow stronger. Pairing a new habit with an existing one makes it easier to form new routines. For example, if you habitually make coffee every morning, stack a new habit, such as starting your first Pomodoro session, right after your coffee.
- Environmental Design: Structure your surroundings to promote good habits and hinder bad ones. For example, putting your phone in another room before you go to sleep will make you less likely to roll over and start doom-scrolling first thing in the morning.
- Social Media Break: You could turn your phone off, but what if you need it to study or lack the willpower? Several tools are out there to help you block social media and other distractions.
Don’t Forget About Extracurriculars, Health, and Life
Law school is a grind, but you can still savor the ride by working smart. Fill your jar wisely, and you’ll have room to seize the opportunities this experience presents. Try to make time for extracurriculars. They offer a chance for you to apply what you learn in class, build essential skills, and create lasting memories.
Remember that your biggest rocks aren’t just academics but also your health and well-being. You’ll achieve academic success and enjoy a rewarding and well-rounded law school experience by striking the right balance.
