Professional Post-Grad Planner + Coupon Code

It's the best week of the summer!! AKA the week that I got my new law school planner in!! In undergrad, I'd always get excited to use my planner and then slowly stop using it after the first few weeks of class. But since then I've realized that the reason why I stopped using it was simply because the planner I was using wasn't cutting it. Which is why I'm a Plum Paper superfan. If you're new here, you can check out my post comparing Lilly Pulitzer Planners, Kate Spade Planners, Erin Condren Planners, and Plum Paper Planners and my follow-up post comparing The Happy Planners, Day Designer Planners, and Passion Planners. 

Anywhoo, back to this year's planner. As you may know, this past year I have switched to I guess two planners— using the iStudiez app for class assignments and using my PP planner as more of a life planner. I ended up having to use an app for my assignments because 4 out of 5 of my classes ended up getting way off from the syllabus so the "move assignment due date to next class" feature ended up being a necessity since my planner was getting scribbled all over it and I ended up having a hard time knowing what I was supposed to actually be reading. 

Related: How I use the iStudiez app and my Plum Paper Planner together

Why I love Plum Paper

This is my third year ordering a PP planner and each time I get a new one I'm reminded of why I love these so much. The plastic cover before the designed cover on my first planner was slightly opaque and kinda hid the design so I'm glad that they've switched to a much clearer cover. The two covers itself is a great idea because the clear one keeps your design from getting ruined by accidental spills or pen marks.

I reached out to Plum Paper Designs and they were so nice to give me another coupon code for y'all to use again. So use THIS LINK when checking out and get 10% off your order 😃 One thing I'll say is that now is the time that everyone is ordering theirs for the new school year so order now because if you wait until August your planner might not get to you before the first day of class. 

Layout

Because I've started using an app just for assignments, I knew that I wanted to get my next planner to have a layout that was the most compatible with my setup (I've always used option 1). After trying out the Passion Planner, I learned that I really liked having just a whole bunch of time slots to write out my day (option 2). It saved time so that I didn't have to write meeting times in my planner and I could just write whatever needed to get done at that hour on that time slot. But this wasn't always great because sometimes I just needed to get things done but didn't have a certain time I needed to get it done, so I also was thinking about getting my new planner to have just a bunch of blank lines (option 3). But then I got to thinking about how really I could get by with just the monthly layout (option 6) since I don't seem to be using the daily pages near as much. Of course after this my next though was well if you're going to do that you might as well just get the fitness layout (option 5) and instead of writing down daily assignments I could keep up with my calories throughout the day. Yes I realize this is level 5 over-thinking it, but I can't help my mind.

In the end, I decided to try out the new horizontal layout for a few reasons. First off, I decided that I still want daily pages even though this won't be just an assignment planner anymore. Secondly, I really liked the Day Designer planner and it had a layout very similar to this. Third, I'm not taking any classes my spring semester and am instead working for class credit so I needed something that could be versatile enough to be useful the fall semester when I am in class and the spring semester when I'm working. Overall, I think this split-side layout will end up being really great for both uses. 

Right now how I'm using it (I'm currently in summer school), is that I'll write down any due dates and my exam dates on the left side. On the right side, I use the box for two purposes since it's so big— the top to keep track of what I wear to work so I keep from wearing the same thing over and over again, and the bottom to keep track of what I eat (lazy calorie counting). The only thing that I'm iffy about on this layout so far is that it doesn't have the weekly and daily checklists like what come with option 3. I usually like to put little to-do's in there so I miss that but I'm making do by putting these in the notes section at the top of the week.

Another thing that I like about this planner that other planners like Day Designer, Happy Planner, and Passion Planner incorporate is that it has places for you to write out your ideas at the beginning and then at the start of every month it has a place where you can prioritize your goals to help you accomplish them.

Add-Ons

Of course to make this work, I needed a few add-ons too. Since I ended up not getting the fitness layout, I decided to get the fitness tracking section again. I'm starting to get really in to working out every day and have loved having this in my 2016 planner because it keeps me accountable and helps me track my progress. I've been getting in to spin class lately so I love that this has a place for me to keep track of my monthly progress but also the first page is a before/after for me to see how much progress I make overall in the year.

Another add-on that I got again is the blogging section. If you have a blog, I highly suggest having this! I credit this for keeping me from forgetting to blog throughout the busy times during the semester. I love how this year they moved the blog stats and expenses to the bottom of each month so now I don't have to flip back and forth through three sections to keep track of everything.

In my last planner, I got a to-do checklist at the back of every month and used each little checklist to keep up with my outlines progress and study schedule. But since I'm only going to be making outlines for one more semester (hallelujah) I decided that I probably don't need that this time (but we'll see). This year PP added some dotted pages in the back so I figure that if I do end up needing a checklist, I can make it back here.

Instead, I got a cleaning checklist added for each month. I like how this breaks down the cleaning by room so that I can work on deep cleaning one room each week. And on the back of the checklist there's enough extra space that I can put my weekly checklist (like laundry, dishes, trash) and keep track of that back there. For some reason, having a messy apartment will really add unnecessary stress so my hopes is that this will help me maintain a clean place.

The last add-on that I got was a monthly bills tracker page. I used to not need this because I had automatic withdrawal set up for my rent, my utilities, and each of my loans (I'm paying them off a little each month during school to try to keep the interest down). However this summer I realized that automatic withdrawals are too scary for me because the withdrawal dates sometimes come before I have money in my account and I got slapped with a big overdraft fee last month. Plus I realized it also really sucks thinking I have a couple hundred dollars in my account so I think I'm fine and then next thing I know my card's getting declined because I forgot about all of this money getting sucked out of my account. But I still want to be a responsible adult and not miss a payment so this was a must for me.

Design

Yet another way where I overthought this planner. I have loved the designs of both of my planners each year, so when I saw that they re-vamped them (new version of my '15 design and new version of my '16 design) I seriously considered getting them again. I'm obsessed with how my planner looks so honestly as soon as I saw that they had an updated version of it, I made a beeline for the cart and was thisclose to ordering it and then last minute decided to actually go through and look at the other designs and I'm so glad I did!! Here's the top six that I had it narrowed down to:

one // two // three // four // five // six

What I love about PP is that you can completely customize the front cover! I never opt to get the year just because I add so much that I don't want too much going on. Of course I had to have them add my monogram, just like I do every year. And this year I decided to try something different and get my blog's name across the bottom. I've never added my blog name to my planner before, but I decided why not since I use this for my blog so much.

Check out the cute little notepad they included for free!

Planner Tips

The only way a planner can be useful to you is if you actually use it. What I did was get in the habit of taking it out of my backpack first thing when I get in from class. Then I can look over it and see if there's anything I need to do. I also am in the habit of "journaling" in it right before bed. I'll record my workouts, my meals, and check off what I've cleaned for that day before I pack it in my backpack. Pick a time to use it and stick with it and it'll be much easier.

Fill it out as much as possible as soon as you get it. Fresh new planners are fun but the funness does wear off after a few months. So while you're still excited, go ahead and mark the first and last day of class, when you should start studying for finals, doctor's appointments, and major things to remember. You can either find a sticker set for these or use washi tape to block days off and just write on it. Make sure to add these days to both your monthly and your weekly sections, just to be double sure you never forget anything.

Keep up with serious and fun goals. Obviously I'm tracking my progress to being healthier and my loan repayments with my planner, but it shouldn't be all serious. I also have a page in my planner that is a bucket list of places to eat/things to do where I live that I'm slowly working through. I also have a page of books that I want to read. What I did for that is drew a simple bookshelf and then drew books in it. Some have titles, and I'll color those in as I read them. I left some books blank so I can fill in any unexpected books I read. Then I can look back on what I've read at the end of the year :)

Add something positive to your planner. I have a whole Pinterest board of motivational quotes and I always write one in the notes part of the page! It might seem silly at first, but I promise you that there will come a time when you're having a rough week and seeing that little pick-me-up note from yourself will make things a little better.

Planner Accessories 

I also have a few planner accessories that I highly recommend because they're just so useful! Last year I ordered these college stickers and they have been perfect so I just re-ordered them! They fit perfectly in a PP planner and have stickers for everything from a registration sticker to a book buyback sticker. And the best part about ordering through Etsy is that in the notes to the seller, I always just request that they change the color scheme to match my planner design (so I asked for a pink/purple/baby blue scheme). I also got these planner sticky notes for when I need little things to stand out. The last little thing that I got to decorate my planner is washi tape. I use it to tape off long-lasting events like 4 day weekends or finals week.

And I use my Staedtler pens for color-coordinating with a color for each class, a color for pro bono hours, one for extracurricular activities, one for my work schedule, one for my wardrobe planning, and one for keeping track of what I eat (but I'm extra haha). But another method of color-coordinating that you might consider is one color for meaning that something is due in a week, one color for due in a few days, one for due tomorrow, and one for due now. My pens are also great for making rules or elements stick out in my notes for class. I don't need a separate pen color for meal planning because I use this snap-in dashboard to keep track of my weekly meals and what I need to buy for those meals.

Another thing that I bought for my last planner and get a lot of use from are these bookmark bands. I love this 3-pack because I use one to keep my place for what week I'm on, another to keep my place in my blogging section, and the last one to keep my place in my fitness section. 

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5 Things to do the Summer Before Law School

Hi guys! In case you didn't know, this blog was created because of my nerves before law school. And I know if you're here reading this now then you probably are feeling the same never too lol. So I thought I'd take some time for today's post to talk about what you can be doing your summer before law school.

Work

Best case scenario, you get a paid job in the legal field. But I'm a realist so I will just let you know now that unless you already know someone who has a law firm that has an opening, then this probably isn't going to happen. Unless you need to get a job to survive, your next best option would be to just go to law firms and see what free help you can do. Even if you're not getting paid, this will give you some great experience! You'll be learning vocab and why things happen the way they do before you even step foot in to a class and that will help you a lot. Another bonus is that you'll also be a little ahead of your classmates when you go to apply for jobs because you have relevant experience.

On the flip side of this, if you need cash flow or you strike out trying to find an unpaid job at a firm (yeah I know right like wtf why is it so hard to even get an unpaid job?!), then just get you any job. If you thought college was expensive, try tripling that and that's about what you'll be spending in law school. So money can always help. Even if you have a full-ride scholarship or your parents are nice enough to cover this for you, you'll find a need for this money at some point. Books, supplements, and a lawyer wardrobe are three things that will cost more than you anticipate. Plus, getting in the groove of a set schedule will help you later on.

Related: How to find a legal job

Watch a trial

Trust me when I say that it'll be to your benefit if you can go watch a trial. Trials are open to the public so you should be able to find one without much problem. Just go down to your nearest court, let them know that you're an incoming law student, and tell them that you are interested in watching a case. In my experience, court clerks are super helpful about getting you in to see some action. 

Even if you want to do one type of law but you can only find cases that are for something totally unrelated, it's still worth it to go. Just like working in a law firm, you'll learn so much about things in the law that will really help you connect and understand what you learn in class. Most importantly, it opens the door to the golden word in law school: networking. Seriously, every career service person, academic support person, or lawyer that you meet will tell you that it's not about the grades you make; it's about the hands you shake is soo true in law school. So get your name out there, meet people, ask questions, and get to know more about the world that you're about to be thrown in.

Related: My experience watching trials

Be childish

Ok so I know this is completely opposite of the last points but in reality most people turn in to total nerds when they get in to law school. I'm talking you're in bed by 11 on a Saturday night because you know you need to not be hungover the next morning so you can read for your next class. So while you're out there gaining some experience, also be young. 

Remember that you're still in your early 20's and according to SATC, you're supposed to be taking body shots and burping the alphabet or something. You're about to be super lame so have some fun while you can (but remember that the Bar is still watching you so like, not too much fun).

Related: How I chilled the summer before law school

Explore your new city

Almost everyone I know ends up moving to a brand new city for law school. And while you may be thinking oh I have a whole 3 years to explore this city, chances are that won't be as easy as you thought. The problem with law school is that a lot of times you're either too busy reading to do anything or by the time that you have free time to do something, you're so tired you just want to sit on your ass and binge watch Shameless (PS if you haven't seen it then just stop reading this now and go watch it. Only come back once you have a solid opinion on whether juvie Carl or cop Carl is better).

Ok got off topic there for a sec. But anyways, yeah. What I wish I would've done differently is move in a week or two before orientation. Guilt trip your mom, friends, sister, whoever in to staying with you and then go out exploring. It'll help with the homesickness that's gonna slap you in a few months and it'll come in handy when your classmates all say they're going out to this one place and you have no idea if thats a bar or a restaurant or where it even is. Lastly, it'll remind you that there's more to do in that city than just read about the Dormant Commerce Clause.

Read?

I'm torn between telling you to read before law school. It's a very fine line between getting used to a heavy reading load nightly and burning yourself out. I tend to get burned out and I've been a big reader my whole life, so I personally opted for the no-read summer. But if you're not a reader, than it might not hurt to slowly work your way up to being able to read 50 pages a night. 

If you're wondering about pre-law books, here's my limited advice. I did not read any how-to-law-school books before I came (I guess because I was too busy trying to write about it), so I can't tell you whether or not I think they'll help you. I've passed this far so all I can say from experience is Is it necessary? no, Is it helpful? maybe. I've seen lots of recommendations for Getting to Maybe, so right now my plan is to start there and read through a few of the other big name pre-law books and give y'all a review. I'm a little busy rn (so much for 3lol) so I'm not sure if I'll be able to get around to that. If you've read this or any other law school book, please comment below what you thought of it so that others can know if it's worth it or not!!

What NOT to do

Stress yourself out too much. I promise you that you'll be fine without taking a pre law prep class over the summer and you won't be behind if you haven't started pre-learning about your courses. If you want to skim through an E&E, that's probably as much as I'd say is sane to do (Q: What's an E&E? A: here). Just know that if you do any of this, you're just being extra. So in my opinion you're definitely not too far behind if you hear the word "tort" for the first time at orientation. You're smart- you'll catch up.

4 Reasons to Start Law School Early

Hey guys! So I'm super excited for this post because it's Brazen and Brunette's first guest post! My plan is to feature lots of guest writers on my blog so you can get several different perspectives on law school. Today I'm featuring one of my amazing readers! She contacted me a few months ago using the questions and suggestions form (this post was actually a suggestion of hers) and we've been talking ever since. So naturally when she told me that she was starting her law school journey early, I just had to ask her to write about her experience. If you have a great law school experience you'd like to share, use that same contact form (on the bottom right) and let me know!

A little about today's writer Chandler...

School: North Carolina Central University School of Law

Undergrad: University of Delaware

Major: Psychology

Minors: Women's Studies, Legal Studies

Hi All,

Firstly, I must say that Nikki is one of my favorite bloggers and she has done an excellent job of sharing her journey as a 1L. I started my 1L year at the end of June and Nikki has asked me to share a little about why I decided to start law school early and some of the benefits of doing so. Below I have listed few reasons why I decided to participate in my school’s summer start program. All I ask is that you all remember everyone’s law school experience will be different.

What is the summer start program for law school? 

At the school I attend they offered a summer start program where we could start our fall classes early. This is the first year that my school has done this so this whole program was very new to everyone involved. During the Summer Start Initiative (SSI), we received instruction on the four major doctrinal first-year classes: Torts, Contracts, Civil Procedure, and Property. We also had one Critical Thinking class and several exam-taking, note-taking, outlining, and essay-writing workshops hosted by our professors.

How much time did you have to get ready between class and graduation?

I graduated in December of 2015 and started law school in June 2016, so I had six months to get ready for law school. Every school is different when it comes to terms of what exactly you have to do to get ready. When I was preparing I definitely found that Nikki’s posts about what she did in the days leading up to orientation were very helpful. I highly suggest any 0L go take a look at those posts.    

Why did you decide to start early?

As I mentioned before, I took six months off between graduation and law school. I used that time to…… do nothing! I was a student-athlete in undergrad so personally, I’ll emphasize personally, I needed a break! I took those 6 months to travel, relax, spend time with friends and family, apply to law schools, and network with some accomplished law students and lawyers who I knew could give me some credible advice. This being said, by June I was like, “Whoop! I’m ready, I’m recharged! Let’s do this law school thang!”

What are the benefits of starting early?

You won’t be as nervous about the infamous 1L fall semester.

There tends to be a lot of apprehension around starting your first year of law school. I know a lot this fear comes from the horror stories that current law students tell us and I also know a lot of it may come from what we see in the media about 1L year (example: The Paper Chase), but starting early, starting a little slower, and starting with less people around can help dispel this apprehension. You may even come to realize that it really isn’t as bad as you were making it out to be in your head.

You’ll get to know your professors.

I used the summer semester to learn what makes my professors tick. What is their teaching style? What do they want to see on the exams? What do they not want to see on the exams? What questions about the cases do they always ask in class? For instance, I have one professor who always asks questions from the notes after the cases and the footnotes in the cases. She loves that stuff! I also took this time to ask myself how I should be briefing to prepare for class for that particular professor.

You’ll get to know yourself better…. earlier!

This was a biggie for me.  I believe Nikki has mentioned this in at least one of her posts, but as a law student you should probably be aware of your learning style. If you don’t know, figure it out. I know during this summer semester I found out that I was a super visual learner. Knowing my learning style has definitely helped me study in a way that will “stick.”

You’ll get to establish a routine before the crazy kicks in.

During the summer, campus is relatively calm and peaceful, at least at my school it is. Because there were not a lot of people, it made it easier for me to figure out the quickest route to school, the best place to park, where my classes were, and the place where I like to study. Granted, this may change when everyone else returns to campus, but at least with starting early, I have some idea of how I would like for my fall routine to look.

Is the class load the same as if you started later? 

The class load is not the same as if I started later. Because the section I’m in started earlier, we have more time to cover the fall semester material. This being said, we have the “luxury” of moving at a slower pace. This doesn’t make the it any easier, but it does give us more time to process the complex material that we are covering class.

For example, we have reading assigned for every night, but because we aren’t covering as much each day as we would in the fall. The professor can discuss a certain topic in class, I can go home and study my notes from class or add that concept to my outline, and then have a really thorough understanding of the concept. Whereas in the fall, I would probably have to skimp on some reviewing due to the time crunch.

Lastly, I want to suggest a really great book I read in preparation for law school. It’s called 1L of a Ride by AndrewJ. McClurg, a law professor. Go check it out because it is definitely worth a read!

That’s all I’ve got, but I want to leave you all with a quote I think every future lawyer should live by:

Stop wondering if you’re good enough

And start acting like it.

-Simon Black

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Essential Law School Supplies

If you haven't gone in to full on panic mode about getting everything together for law school, then beware my friend because class starts in a few weeks and the panic is right around the corner :) But for real though, what I did and didn't need for class was one question that I never felt that I got a direct answer about. During orientation I got the oh-so-helpful blanket response that what I need will just depend on my study style. Well, here's what I think you should have. 

Class Supplies

 

Padfolio and legal pad — I really felt like I was drinking the Kool-Aid when I realized that I loved these, because before I felt like only douches had a padfolio. The thing is, legal pads are great for taking class notes because there's no metal ring on the edge for you hand to run in to. And padfolios hold a legal pad, a pen, and handouts from you professor. Basically if you forget everything else but this, you won't die in class.

  

Notebook — But on that note if you're taking notes by hand for all of your classes, then you would have to keep up with like 3 or 4 legal pads on any given day. This would be super inconvenient considering that your books are huge so they'll be taking up a lot of space already in your bag. In college I would get two different 3 subject notebooks and use one for MWF classes and the other for TTR. My local book store sells notebooks with an extra-wide margin and I'm really starting to love it because I can use the "Cornell method" to take my notes. The bookstore calls this "law margin" but you can find them as Cornell notebooks if you're interested in getting one. On the left side I'll put the black letter law and on the right side I'll elaborate more and add cases and examples.

Related: How I Take Notes in Law School

      

You probably used a bluebook for finals in college which was basically just a bunch of notebook pages stapled together. That's not what this is. Basically every law school will make you get a BlueBook for your writing class which are all the rules you'll need to properly cite in legal writing. Remember MLA and APA citations you used to use for citing sources in papers? Yeah, it's like that but harder of course because this is the law and we can't do anything simple. You'll also use this for citations during your upper-level writing requirement and for sure if you want to be on law review or a journal. And if you're in Texas, we have our own version that you'll also need called the GreenBook which is how you cite Texas cases. Because we're Texas so of course we're extra and had to get our own book.

Related: Which books to rent and which to buy

Folder — Another thing that I buy every year is at least one 3 brad folder. Sometimes I'll use one just to keep all my syllabi together in one place. This year it was extremely helpful when I was working on my big brief for legal writing because I could have a printout of my research for the case and my graded papers regarding the case all in one convenient place.

Planner — I also would bring my planner to class every day. It's really common for professors to drift from their syllabus just a little, so it's very important that you write down the new pages you're assigned to read so you don't waste time reading more than you have to. It also came in handy because a lot of times we'd have someone from either my section or another class come make an announcement right before class started about a guest speaker or something happening on campus that week, so I could make sure that I didn't forget about those.

Related: The Best Law School Planner

 

Pens and such — I always bring pens and pencils to class every day. Even in the classes that I took all of my notes on my laptop, I'd still need them for everything from signing in for attendance to jotting down notes in my book. I saw a lot of other students using this pen set and I think I'm going to try it out this year since it has so many color options. I usually prefer ballpoint pens because they glide so easily which is very necessary when you're quickly taking notes, so we'll see how the switch goes. I also make sure to bring my highlighters with me to class and will pick a certain color to highlight what my professor is going over in the book.

Related: The Best Highlighters for Law School

Water bottle — Drinking water is just a good habit to get in. I started bringing water to class in the middle of my first semester and I feel like it helps me stay focused because I'm not getting up 5 times during a lecture to run to the water fountain. If you buy a reusable water bottle or cup with a to-go lid, you'll end up saving money because they're a lot cheaper to refill than constantly buying plastic water bottles.

Related: How to Budget in Law School

Study Supplies

Flash drive — Between class notes, case briefs, outlines, and legal memos, you're going to be having a lot of information to save. While obviously you should constantly be backing up your computer or using something like Drop Box, go ahead and get a flash drive. It's really handy to have literally all of your work right at your fingerprints, no matter what computer you're on. We got a free one from WestLaw during orientation, but I never used that one because everyone had the exact same one and I want to easily be able to identify mine.

Binder — I personally didn't use a binder, but I have a friend at another law school who came up with a binder system and loved it. I think maybe it's because she hand writes her notes and I don't, so it's something to consider if you're handwriting notes or just like to organize a lot. In hers, she had looseleaf paper in the front to work on her outline and then behind a page divider she kept the hard copies of her briefs or any class handouts she got.

Related: Law School Success Using the Binder System

Notecards — Again, I prefer a computer to paper so I actually use Quizlet for my notecards. But some people need to have something physically in their hand to study. So make sure you get lots of notecards because there's a lot to memorize. If you haven't been studying with notecards in college, make sure to grab a hole puncher and a binder ring to keep them together. I also like how people have started to highlight their notecards to color-cordinate them. 

Book stand - After reading for a few hours in a row, my neck will start hurting from looking down so this sets my book up so I can read without straining my neck.

Bags

Backpack — Being a Texas girl, I had a Jon Hart backpack from undergrad that I just upgraded to the large backpack this semester because my books were so bulky that I could only fit about one in there and had to carry the other two. I've recently noticed that a good amount of people have these rolling briefcase type bags that look like what I imagine actual lawyers use as their carry ons when they have to fly in for a day to do some work. However, these people are the kinds that bring ALL of their books every day for some God forsaken reason. Keep in mind that a lot of classrooms have stairs so you'll have to carry that big bag up and down the stairs for each class! I would definitely say just make sure to get a roomy backpack like this Northface backpack because the books are bulky (~700-1200 pages). 

Well after 4 years I finally needed a bigger backpack since I actually have to bring my books to class

A photo posted by Nikki (@oh.nikki.you.so.fine) on Jan 21, 2016 at 12:47pm PST

A quick review of Jon Hart backpacks... 

Pros: colorful, waterproof, durable, customizable, roomy enough 
Cons: front pocket is kinda small, only has 1 side pocket that it isn't stretchy, the backpack itself isn't expandable

Related: The best 5 law school backpacks under $100

  

Tote bag — There will be times when you need to haul around your planner, padfolio, etc., but a backpack would be too informal. Cue the tote bag to the rescue. If I didn't have my big Louis Vuitton, I would definitely want a Longchamp (or this more affordable dupe). You need something big enough for your padfolio, but still professional looking. I wouldn't recommend using a purse as a backpack because you could really hurt your back like that. 

My senior year I got a keychain wallet and I love how it has a place for my school ID, drivers license, and debit card. Because it's attached to my keys, I never have to remember about brining my school ID with me when I don't have my backpack. I have a Tile on my wallet because if I lose this wallet, then I don't have my car keys, apartment keys, ID, and debit card. Tile is a little square chip that you can put in anything or attach to almost anything. If you can't find it, then all you do is open the app and your Tile will start chirping really loudly until you find it. I have one in my purse, in my pencil bag, attached to my keys, and attached to my cat (he gets out a lot). Sometimes when you're super busy it's easy to have so much going on that you forget where you put something, so I found this helps a lot.

Pencil bag — In college, I didn't put much effort into taking notes in class so I didn't even have a pencil bag. But now I always have my pencil bag on me because I use it as a catchall bag. I keep my pens, pencils, and highlighters in there obviously, but I also keep my flash drive in there (so it won't get lost at the bottom of my backpack) and even basic things like chapstick and a spare hair tie. I really want to get a minimergency kit this year so that I'll have room for more pens. 

Lunchbox — You probably haven't had one of these since elementary school, but it's time to bring lunch boxes back in style. Bringing your own lunch saves you money and calories because you know you're eating fresh ingredients. I also used mine every day during my summer internships because it's so much faster to bring a lunch rather than waste your lunch hour standing in line to order.

Electronics

Laptop — Duh you'll need a laptop. Make sure that yours has plenty of memory available, is the latest operating system, and has all the software your school requires (probably ExamSoft). To protect mine I got just a basic cover and then added a monogram. I'd suggest you get a lap desk so you can study in bed comfortably. 

Related: How to Turn Your Bed into a Study Space

GridIt — One thing I found for study abroad is GridIt and I still use both of mine to this day. The grid has all these rubber bands so you can strap down anything you want on yours. For mine I have: spare phone charger, laptop charger, earbuds, and a stylus pen. I asked for this for Christmas and got a grid and a GridIt laptop case. I always keep my grid in my backpack, and bring the laptop case when I'm not to lazy to put my computer in it. It's also great for traveling! 

iPad — If you have an older computer that's really heavy, you might try bringing an iPad to class instead. Because your books are so heavy, you won't want any more weight than necessary to haul around. If you get a keyboard cover, you'll be able to take notes just as easily as on a laptop. Although Word doesn't really work that well on an iPad, Evernote is a great substitute.

Related: Using iPads in Law School and My Favorite Law School Apps

Headphones — Another great gift I received before studying abroad is noise reducing headphones. I wear these all the time when I'm trying to study for finals because any little noise can easily distract me. I also like how mine will have white noise if you turn them on but don't have any music playing. It's just something relaxing to listen to that isn't as distracting as music or as lonely as no sound at all.

Office Supplies

Printer — Your campus will probably have printers that you can use, but you might consider investing in your own. I love my wireless printer that I got last year because I can finish a paper in bed and have it print without even getting up. Then I can fall asleep on my computer and in the morning grab it on my way out. I'd also suggest getting a good supply of paper and ink, because I had a lot to print out my 1L year. I'd print off assignments to turn in for my LRW class, hard copies of my brief were required in my Contracts class, and during finals I printed off old tests.

Hole Punch — Even though I already said this, you need to make sure you have both a 1 and a 3 hole punch. Trust me you'll end up using this all the time! It just ends up making you more organized when you can punch holes in paper and then file them in either a binder or folder.

Stapler — Again, another basic thing that you'll find uses for. In college I always had mini staplers but they would either break or get lost. Find you a sturdy stapler because sometimes you'll have a lot of paper to staple.

Paper clips — I'd say get a variety size pack because there's always something to keep together.

 

 

Post Its — Another thing to get in a variety of sizes. I use the flags to mark where I'm at in my textbooks (if you're someone who really likes to tab up your book, I suggest this cheap mega pack). I use little ones to jot down definitions. I use big ones for things I need to remember. I use tabbed ones for quick summaries during open book finals. I keep the Post It factory in business. 

Looking for more? Here's all my posts about law school supplies!

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