What's In My Law School Finals Bag

Well I'm in the middle of finals (currently procrastinating) and I'm sure you are too. I just thought I'd give y'all a little idea of everything that I take in to my finals so to maybe give you an idea of something to bring that you hadn't thought about. 

I've mentioned it before, but the tote bag really is the Swiss army knife of the adult world. It can be a purse, an overnight bag, or a backpack. I take my purse with me to finals instead of my backpack because it's smaller and I don't always go home right after finals. 

My pencil bag is the biggest thing I use during the actual final. I always make sure to bring pencils and a big eraser for my test. I also bring a highlighter or two to so I can highlight issues when I'm reading long questions. Another thing that's really a must is ear plugs. I never thought to bring ear plugs to my finals until last year they gave us some and holy crap it helps so much being in complete s i l e n c e while you're working on a test. And I know they say to use #2 pencils only on scantrons, but I've been using my click pencils on my tests for years and have never had an issue. So just in case I always keep extra lead in my pencil bag because I promise you if I don't end up needing it then one of my neighbors always do.

I keep lip balm in my pencil bag too so that it can be setting out on my desk ready if I start to get dry lips from the nerves (does this happen to anyone else?). Another weird thing that I like to bring to my finals is a pack of breath mints. They dissolve so you don't have to worry about being stuck with the same piece of gum for 4 hours, but also you can suck or bite on them and I swear moving your mouth while you think helps somehow.

And of course I have to bring my planner to make sure that I'm in the right room and also just because I take this thing everywhere with me. Another bulky thing that I always remember to pack is a water bottle with a good lid. This way, I don't get thirsty during my test but also don't have to worry about it leaking everywhere if I accidentally knock it over at some point. But of course sometimes those 8AM finals require coffee, too.

For tests that allow us to use Exam Soft, I definitely bring my laptop and charger(!!) because I've found that it's faster to type out answers than it is to write them. But for tests that we don't get to use laptops, I always bring my iPad and a pair of headphones with me so that I can last minute cram. And I record my outlines and then can listen to them on the way to the test and while I wait to go in to the exam room.

I always 100% make sure to bring my analog watch. Of course my school doesn't let me wear my Apple watch in to the test, but also some schools don't even let your bring in regular digital watches because they tend to beep and it can be annoying. If if you're not a watch person, I'd still say ask a friend if you can borrow it for a few hours and then lay it on your desk for the test. Time is the biggest enemy for law school tests so it really helps having that little reminder and way to track it right beside you. 

Probably most importantly is make sure that you bring your school ID! At least all schools at least require this but possibly also your drivers license. A good way to not remember these is to attach them to your keys with a keychain wallet. This way you can also add your debit card and grab a snack at a vending machine or like me head straight to the bars after your test.

I also pack my travel makeup bag in my bag because usually my friends and I will go out for a quick celebratory drink before dragging ourselves back to the library. My favorite mascara is Better Than Sex and their travel sized one is great to freshen up and give yourself some confidence to kick ass. I also recommend you try out these makeup remover q-tips that clean off the black smudge that forms under your eye after the stress makes you cry (kidding but not). And make sure that you bring an extra hair tie or two for if you decide to put your hair up out of your way or just in case your current one breaks.

Last but not least, bring a jacket. I've learned the hard way last year that the end of the semester is when the AC/heater is most likely to go haywire. Since it's winter, they might be blasting the heater so if you only wear a sweater you could be dying after 10 minutes. And during my spring final last year, I wore a t shirt to one test and the AC was blasting so I wore a long sleeve shirt to the next test and the AC was broken. It's best to have options.

Good luck to all of y'all still powering through finals! And if you also have something great to pack for finals (wish I would've known about earplugs earlier), please comment below!

9 Steps to Sleeping Better During Law School Finals

I know that this is a super stressful time because most likely most of your classes will depend on just one grade - your final. It sucks, it really really sucks, I know. But it will be okay and you'll get through this. Remember that it's just as hard to get an F as it is to get an A thanks to the curve. I know like half of my posts have a theme of "everything's going to be alright" because in retrospect I think that's something that I needed to here more often. 

You just have to get through these next few weeks. And trust me from my own mistakes, you are going to need to control your stress so that you can sleep. Not to scare you, but it's a slippery slope from getting a shitty night's sleep to being brain dead while you study to stressing out because you can't get your brain to work to not sleeping because you're stressing and it just becomes a vicious cycle. So here's how to sleep better.

1. Go to sleep one hour earlier than usual

Trust me, this one extra hour of sleep will help you so much more than one extra hour of studying. And if you really think that you need this one hour to study then I suggest you try to figure out a way to be more efficient in your studying. If you need help sticking to an earlier bedtime, you might your phone's bedtime alarm. 

2. Lights off

When you're studying in the evening and it gets dark, yes you'll need lots of lights on to read without straining your eyes. But as time gets closer to your (new) bedtime, start turning off the lights little by little. Usually by the time I'm about to call it quits for the night, I have all of the lights off except for my floor reading lamp and some candles. This helps my brain know that it's time to start winding down.

3. Don't fight sleepiness

I know for me at least, if I start to feel tired but then think No just study the rest of these flashcards and then sleep, by the time I'm done with the flashcards the feeling of sleepiness is gone and now I'm wide awake. The moment you start to feel tired, just accept the fact that your body needs to rest and recharge and give in to that feeling. This is the opposite of what an academic advisor would tell you because you're not being self-dedicated when it comes to your studying, but those cards will still be there tomorrow and most likely this won't make you fall behind in your study plan. This is when I began to realize the true benefits of studying in advance for finals rather than cramming :D

4. Be ready for bed

Normally during my study breaks I'll clean up a little around the house or do a few chores. But once it starts getting within a few hours of my bed time, I'll use these breaks to remove my makeup, wash my face, change in to pajamas... you get it. This way when the feeling of sleepiness does come, all I have to do is turn off the few lights and go straight to bed. If I'm not already ready for sleep, then I end up waking myself up going through my bedtime routine. 

5. Try some sleep aids

This is especially important if, for example, you used to go to bed at midnight and now you're trying to be asleep by 10. Sometimes you just need a little help. You can try a glass of wine, but just make sure that it's enough to make you tipsy sleepy but without being so much that the sugar makes you bloated/uncomfortable or actually drunk (you don't go into the REM cycle like you're supposed to when you're drunk). Or you could try taking a few melatonin pills durning a final study break to help make you sleepy. If you're really stressed and not sleeping or just in general have a problem with falling asleep, you can try something like Simply Sleep to help you fall asleep fast. The only problem that I've had with these are that you really need to get a full night's rest after taking them or you'll wake up feeling groggy. But for the sake of your body, don't try to do more than one at once!

6. Adjust the temp

Here is the coziest way that I've found to fall asleep. Bump your AC down a few degrees colder than you normally keep it. Either turn on a heated mattress pad or warm up a blanket in the drier and spread it out on top of your fitted sheet. Then when you go to bed, you'll have a cool room and a warm bed so it just makes you want to snuggle up and sleep like a baby. To keep from getting sweaty, I always turn off my mattress pad before I sleep. Then when I wake up, I have a cold bed and a warm room so it makes me want to get out of bed.

7. Make it pitch black

The bedroom in my last apartment was so bright from street lights that I could never fall asleep. So my mom bought me some blackout curtains and omg it helped so much. I never realized how total darkness can help you sleep so well. Just be careful with these though. My friend stayed over one night and the next day was a little cloudy so my room was dark all day and she accidentally slept for like 12 hours because her body was used to the sun waking her up. If you don't want to swap out your curtains, I bought this eye mask to sleep on long flights but I also use it for daytime naps because it seriously blocks out some light.

8. Add some noise

While it sounds counterintuitive because noise usually makes it hard to sleep, this could help! If you use a white noise app or machine, your body will get used to this soft sound and your ears will actually start to tune it out. Since your ears are kind of "turned off," they'll be less likely to pick up on the sound of your neighbor's voices through the walls or the slamming of a door. Basically, it just keeps you from waking up in the middle of the night thanks to assholes.

9. Track your sleep 

Ok so tbh after downloading this sleeping app I became *obsessed* with it and tell everyone to download it. You open this app and then you keep your phone nearby as you go to sleep. Then your phone will either track your movement or your sounds. Basically no movement/sounds from you = deep sleep; movement/sounds = light sleep. The app will consider the window which you said you want to wake up during, and will make sure to wake you up during your light sleep so that it feels more natural to you. 

It's so effective that the alarm sound is a quiet strumming since you don't need a blaring alarm to get you out of deep sleep. But if you're not quite ready to get up, all you have to do is nudge your phone a little (not even open an eye to press a button!) and then it'll snooze. Afterwards, your phone will show you how you slept throughout the night and show you the quality of your sleep in a percentage. Just tracking your sleep like this can help you be aware of how well you're actually sleeping.

Final Thoughts

These are just a few steps that have really helped me improve my sleep, but I really hope they help you! School is enough of a stress so you don't need to add more to it by not resting your brain properly at night! 

PS - here's proof that I've actually been putting a lot of thought into this for some time 

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