Your first year is a marathon, not a sprint. Slacking off or sprinting ahead in September will make for a difficult December. Keep in mind, it’s usually the students who consistently show up and work hard every day who succeed, not the person rolling into class 20 minutes late.
You have embarked on a new journey, but you have also joined a new community in the truest sense of the word. Think of those around you. Hold open the door for the person coming into class behind you. Introduce yourself to strangers. Say “Hi” to Carol when you swipe your ID card at the front desk.
Sometimes we put so much focus on finishing something, that we don’t give credence or attention to how we began. We look at the result, how we did, what we have to show for it, and don’t respect the first steps we took to make it to the end. As law students, it’s easy to use your grades as a measurement of your experience during a semester, but really the path to those grades started fourteen weeks before the exam. And now, with the spring semester just beginning, you have the opportunity to start off as strong as you mean to end. What do I mean by that? In order to do well on exams, you must approach the entire semester in a manner that will lead to success in the end. If doing well on exams takes hard-work, grit, and determination, then you must put hard-work, grit, and determination into your everyday routine. It’s early in the semester and exams seem far away, but that doesn’t mean you should take it easy. Take advantage of …
We are more than half way through the fall semester, and for many law students, late October is a time for looking ahead to what is in front of them. You have settled in to a routine, finals are on the horizon, and you may be asking yourself questions such as, how much more reading can there be? When am I going to outline? Will I travel for Thanksgiving? Looking ahead is critical because knowing what you have to do and when you have to do it keeps you focused and on task. And really, time marches on no matter what anyone does. The semester will end and finals (like winter) are coming. Just as important, however, is looking back at where you have been. Like a coach or player at halftime, now is the time to think about self-assessment and adjustment. Granted, you don’t have a score to use as a measurement of your performance, but you can think about your classes, how you have approached them so far, and whether that approach is …
While the mistakes students make as they study law are not on par with the more famous seven sins, common mistakes and bad habits do affect students’ performance throughout the semester and ultimately on the exam. But, as with many things, a little self-awareness goes a long way. Learn the common mistakes law students make in the list below. Then make it your mission not to let them stand in the way of your success.
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