There is No Try: Last Things To Do Before the Feb Bar

Many of you are just three weeks away from the February Bar. Eeek! This far out you just want it to be over but you also feel like you’ll never know what you need in order to pass the bar. It sucks.  At the moment, there is also so many distractions. Every day there seems to be a new situation that demands our attention and/or creates unease about the state of our nation. I don’t envy any you, for realsies, but I am sending positive vibes your way.

Here are some things you should keep in mind as you finish your bar studying:

One. Be selfish. These last weeks are make it or break it. You can learn a lot of tricks, memorize a ton of stuff, and practice enough to really up your skills. ONLY IF you actually have the time available to devote to this. Often times a big bar exam setback happens because something big in our life occurs. I’m telling you, unless it’s a real emergency in your life that you can actually resolve then be ok with letting it go. Drama in the family? Missing a kid’s recital? Primo-hermano needs another small loan?  Let it go. Be ok with the fact you won’t be able to fix the issue this time because you need to focus on this exam. Getting your license is literally the last step to your career and you should be extremely selective about what you let interrupt that.

That goes with the ish happening right now all around the country. I have a feeling there will be plenty of horrible things to protest and litigate in the next years to come, so take this time to work towards your license. Trust, you will be just as, if not more, formidable once you can come practice in the trenches.

Two. Make good choices. It is so easy to eat junk, to get hyped on coffee, get no sleep. But your body is going to hate you and it’ll make focusing and passing the bar that much harder. I’m not going to pretend that I was the epitome of health during my bar prep (aha!). I was horrible! And I felt horrible. Strive to eat something healthy at least once a day. More water than coffee and get some sleep! I will yell about this until my dying day because I did manage to get eight hours almost every night during bar prep and that made such a difference.

Three. Beat the winter blues. It sucks to miss the summer studying for the Bar. All that sun and fun that you basically never experience. It may seem easier to gruel through bar prep in the dead of winter. Maybe. I think either way it still can take a toll. You’re studying all the time, it’s never sunny, even if you want to do something fun–there’s very little you can do, and if you live in cold climate then it’s likely everyone else is miserable too. So make sure the winter blues don’t bring you down. Take breaks where you talk to friends/family about things that aren’t going to make you sad. Watch videos that make you laugh. Eat food that increase your vitamin D–whatever makes you feel better.

Four. Keep the faith. If this is your second time around, it can be disheartening. Don’t let emotions steamroll your ability to study (and pass) this test. Focus on your strengths. Did you do great in certain areas or styles? How did you study for that? Can those tricks be used in other areas where you weren’t as successful? Keep practicing and keep believing that you will do well. Because you will.