Summer Series: Holding Yourself Accountable During the Bar.

Our Summer Series continues! This series highlights different Latina students and law grads as they embark in their summer jobs and/or bar prep all across the country. We hope to provide a variety of work experiences, options for a healthy work-life balance, and general motivation through different guest contributors to help you to take charge of your summer and professional goals!  Today we hear from Gaby, a law school grad ready to take on the New York Bar and what she’s done to stay the course this summer.

My name is Gaby.  Originally from Nevada, I graduated from law school in Washington, DC.  I’ve decided to study for the New York bar from my home in Las Vegas.  In the fall, I’ll return to DC to work as an associate for a firm.

As I enter my final week of bar studying, I’ve reflected on what’s worked well and what I could have done differently over the past ten weeks.  During this reflection, I created a game plan for my final week of bar prep. Below, I’ve included some parts of plan and some tips that may help you hold yourself accountable during bar studying—and especially now, during this final push.

1. Use the tools that work for you.

Your bar prep course armed you with a dozen books, practice exercises, and a hefty schedule to follow.  They certainly give you enough tools.  But, I found it important to complement—not supplement—their tools with the tools that have worked well for me in the past.  Early on in law school I discovered that I’m a visual learner.  My outlines didn’t look like my classmates’ because mine were filled with tables and charts.  Though this was a little more time consuming, it paid dividends for me because it helped me retain bits information faster.  Like most bar takers, I’ve also created flashcards for easy memorization.  So, while I’m reviewing practice question sets, essays, or lecture notes, I update my tables, charts, or flashcards.  And in the process, I’m understanding and memorizing information a little better.  So, if you have a learning style or method that’s worked well for you in the past, consider incorporating it into your bar prep.

2. Take a break from social media.

Sounds crazy, but it might be worth it.  Toward the second half of my summer, I deactivated my Facebook account, and even though I kept my Twitter and Instagram accounts alive, I refrained from checking and posting.  Taking a conscious break from social media helped me avoid the dozens of distractions that would pull me away from a lecture or a practice exercise.  It was so tempting at first to just log back in, but I knew that my social media break would be short-lived—I’d be back right after the bar.

3. Review and take stock.

Review and assess your progress on a macro and micro level. It’s easy to get caught up on daily bar tasks without taking a look at your strengths and weakness.  What are your strong subjects?  Are you falling behind?  What can you do to catch up?  How can you start each week ready to focus?  On a micro level, I closely reviewed the explanatory answers to MBE questions and state essay question answers. Making mistakes and reviewing them helped me understand what to avoid next time.  On a macro level, well, I didn’t focus on the big picture enough.  I fell behind—for unplanned travel at the beginning of my summer—and it was hard to catch up.  Because of this, it was hard to assess my strengths and weaknesses.  Ask yourself early and often: What are your lowest scores?  Is timing an issue? How’s your essay structure? Then, take stock, and charge forward.

4. Stay organized.

Ari and Bertha’s posts highlighted the importance of planning ahead and staying on schedule.  I couldn’t agree more.  What can you do to plan ahead and not get behind?  When you review and take stock, where can you jot down your action plan? Try using a planner along with the checklist of daily tasks that your bar prep course offers.  When you skipped a practice question set or didn’t flashcard a topic, write it down in your planner so you can come back to it later.  Did you think property could use an extra review? Write it down so you know that you need to spend more time reviewing your property notes. I used a daily planner to keep track of tasks that I didn’t finish or that I needed to review.  Keeping a list separate from what the bar prep course offers also allows you to plan for other things: need to schedule a run, an appointment, or yoga between assignments and don’t want to forget where you left off? Write it down.

5. Leverage your support network.

Finally, don’t be afraid to tell your loved ones how they can help you when you need it!  Whether it’s asking them to bring you food, to join you for a run, or to not bother you—let them know how they can help you.  Maybe it’s asking your partner for a wake up call so you don’t sleep in.  Or, maybe it’s asking a fellow bar taker to help you stay on schedule.  I decided to study for the bar back home in Las Vegas because I wanted to be close to my family, and truly, because I wanted easy access to my mom’s food.  Although she knows how much I love enchiladas and chiles rellenos, she also knew I had to eat healthy and sleep well.  Studying for the bar is a bit isolating, but don’t be afraid to ask others for a little bit of help!

The past ten weeks were not easy, but neither is the week ahead.  So, I’m trying to focus on a few subjects, I made a list of those areas I need to review, I’m using the tools that have worked for me, and I’m trying to hold myself accountable for the goals I set in May.  The marathon finish line is so close, our supporters are cheering us on, and we’re going to finish smiling!