First off, let me remind you that you are not alone! I dare you to try to meet a law student who doesn't feel overwhelmed. This is totally normal and unfortunately it's just going to become a feeling that is a part of your life now. And while I can't do anything to help with all of the reading assignments and internship applications that are about to come flying at you and smack you in the face, I can help you with how you handle it.
See here's the thing, almost all of us in college got in this really bad habit of running away from our problems. That final that's in two weeks? Nah I'll just pretend like it doesn't exist and then pull an all-nighter right before it and everything will work out just fine. But you can't do this in law school so when you try you just build up this mental to-do list in your head and then you stress about everything you have to get done each day on top of stressing out over that mountain of things you need to get done eventually. Sound familiar?
So here's my challenge to you— start out this semester and try to go as long as possible being organized. Realistically, yes you'll slop off about halfway through. It's okay I do too because we're human after all. But at the beginning of every month I'll try to gently remind y'all to stay focused on this and I promise it'll help. I say this because I used to always be afraid of "those people" who had their whole day scheduled out because I wanted freedom in my day and didn't want to live my life by a planner. But I tried it and it really helped with a lot of my stressors so I'm telling you to give it a try. And don't give up when you slop off!! Just keep trying and next time hopefully you can stay organized just a little longer.
Also related: 5 Habits for a New Semester
1. To-do lists
I start out every Sunday by writing down a general to-do list for the week: chores to get done each day, errands to run, bills to be paid, readings to do. I start out every morning with my daily to-do list: reviewing what I've already written down on Sunday that needs to get done that day, checking to see how much reading I have to do, etc. Just getting this out on paper helps clear your mind so you don't spend all day thinking okay don't forget to go mail that package before UPS closes over and over again so you don't forget. It also helps prevent the crap was something due today??? feeling.
It will also help if you'll prioritize your to-do list. I just write mine all out and get it out of my head and then go back and label them as 1 for do-this-first and so on. Another option to prioritize them is to set a time to get them done (so read for X class from 4-5; make dinner from 5-6; do a load of towels from 6-7). Play around with it until you find a system that works best for you!
I use my planner to help me get organized, but if you'd rather have something smaller, these to-do list notepads will work perfectly!
Related: What to do during your morning "me time"
Related: What to do during your morning "me time"
2. Budget
This is a hard one for me because if I had my way I definitely wouldn't think about money because money stresses me out the most (can I get an amen!). But keeping track of your money is very, very, very important when you're spending borrowed money that you're going to have to pay back plus interest. Plus like we're in our mid-twenties now so we might as well figure out how to do this. I strongly suggest you do this daily because if you try to do it weekly you can quickly get behind. At the end of every day, make a list of what you spent money on. That's it! It will help you see where you're wasting you're money (hence why I stopped eating to-go food so much) and will help you reign in your spending. Then you'll be just a little bit stressed about where all your money went to.
I have a section for budgeting in my planner, but here is a really great daily budget planner for you to get you started! I also highly suggest you download the app Mint.
Related: How to make a budget for law school
3. Jobs list
Okay I know y'all are audibly sighing at this but hey me too. Job hunting is a never-ending thing for 3 years during law school so it can get really old really fast but also our whole future depends on it so it's slightly important. I prefer to make my job hunt as one big to-do list with things such as: update résumé, update LinkedIn (here's me if you want to connect), buy résumé paper, run your résumé, mock cover letter, your writing sample, and a mock cold email by your career counselor, check LinkedIn for jobs, check Symplicity for job openings, ask everyone who know who might know of a job, make a list of jobs you want to apply for, add those application deadlines to your planner, look on your state bar's website for alumni who you can cold email. It's a long list but think of it as a semester-long list and just try to do a little something each week so you can stay on top of the job-hunt game.
If you have me on Instagram then you probably saw that this is the same approach that I took to writing my big research paper this semester. I just wrote down everything that I need to get done and checked off items as I went along. Here is the big to-do list notepad that I used for that.
4. Meal planning
This isn't something I started to do until Ryan moved in but I actually found to be really useful. Meal planning/prepping can be so nice for those days when you come home and you're mentally exhausted and just don't have the energy to decide what to eat and then make it. Meal plan/prepping also will save you money because 1) you're less tempted to eat out if it's already planned out for you and 2) you're only buying groceries that you need so there's less food going to waste. It's also a lot easier to eat healthier this way. Even if you live alone you can meal plan so you know what to buy at the grocery store and can save time in general throughout the week figuring out what you're going to have!
I have found that I prefer to keep track of this both in my planner and with another notepad on my fridge just because you always have a reference guide to remind you of what you're going to eat and what you need to buy for it. This list has a place for meal planning and grocery list in one!
5. Gratitude
This is so cliché I know but hear me out, law school is hard (duh) and it's really easy to lose sight of the good amongst all of the bad. It's just a really good reality check that we could all use because I feel like the anxiety and stress of law school can make a lot of people borderline legit depressed so hopefully this helps you from getting to there. A bonus tip is to use this as a goals check, too. So for example, your gratitude could be that you actually outlined chapter 6 today or that you sent out your résumé to a few prospects. Sometimes it can be hard to find something to be grateful for every. single. day. but once you get in the habit of it I really feel like it helps you have a more overall positive and optimistic outlook on life.
You can do this every evening before you go to bed either in your planner or in a little gratitude journal (PS this also makes a great, cheap little gift for someone!).
Lol so as you can tell, I'm a big fan of lists, but I promise you that me and every other blogger and all of Pinterest are all about lists because they really will help you! If this seems overwhelming, then just pick the one that interests you the most and try that for a month and then just add a new one every month and by the end of the semester you'll be so organized and your head will just feel clearer! This was a lot of separate little lists so here's a few all-in-one options too if you want to simplify.
let's be friends!
Thank you so much for your blog, I always love reading your posts! Good luck on your new adventures, you are truly awesome! :)))
ReplyDeleteWow thank you for being so kind! Best of luck on your law school journey!
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