Monday, July 4, 2011

1L Timesheet

In May I finished my first year of law school at Loyola University Chicago.  I ended up doing really well and just transferred into UCLA.

Prior to law school I was really anxious about doing well (or more specifically, not doing well). I read a bunch of prep books (Getting To Maybe, Law School Confidential, Law School Without Fear) and browsed through all the collective wisdom on Top Law Schools.  Yet, two weeks into class I had no idea if I was doing enough. So I created a Google Doc and started to keep track of the hours I spent doing work outside of class.  When I started doing work I would punch in, when I stopped I would punch out.  It gave me a sense of accountability and allowed me to see exactly how much time I was devoting to each class.  Also, it helped me get into a routine and set weekly goals.

I figured that I would post my timesheet for anxious 0Ls to see how one 1L studied for his first year.  Feel free to ask me any questions about my first year.

My two tips for doing well: 1) Get into a good routine, and 2) Take every practice test you can.

Here are a few stats:

  • Total hours: 727 hrs, 25 min
    • 1st semester: 356 hrs
    • 2nd semester: 371 hrs, 25 min
  • Average week: 26 hrs, 29 min
  • Low week: 5 hrs (1st week, 2nd semester)
  • High week: 50 hrs, 20 min (week before finals, 2nd semester)

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