Don’t obsess over the “best” bar exam supplement. Be the BEST STUDENT instead.

This rant was inspired by a moment I had in therapy, a new thing that I started in December. Yeah, I don’t do New Year’s resolutions. Anyway, I’ll tie this back to the therapy story later.

Bar exam takers have passed using Barbri.

People have passed using Themis.

People have passed using Kaplan Bar Review…

And this is despite all the shit I say about Kaplan because they’re like Olive Garden trying to be everything which ends up being bland and giving you diarrhea. Just look at how many fucking tests they prep for LOL

Continue reading “Don’t obsess over the “best” bar exam supplement. Be the BEST STUDENT instead.”

dreams of becoming an attorney

I want to talk about dreams.

The world is changing, and so must we. We can’t stay the same and can’t pretend everything else will stay the same.

Changing means not staying complacent.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” —Charles Darwin paraphrased

Do our dreams have to change? Your dream of becoming an attorney doesn’t have to change… BUT how you get there might have to.

Continue reading “dreams of becoming an attorney”

101 Rules for Bar Exam Preparation

Here’s a list of 101 quick bullets on how to prepare for the bar exam.

Your answer is probably in here if you ever feel like asking vague questions like:

  • “Do you have any advice?” without any context
  • “Can you help?”
  • “Thoughts?”
  • “HELP!” “Let’s connect” (?)
  • Anything with more than three question marks or exclamation marks in a row unironically

If you have the Magicsheets & Approsheets bundle, you already have access to the exclusive pocket guide “17 Strategies to Get Un-stuck and Un-frustrated by the Bar Exam.”

I tried something even more straight to the point.

Why 101? I wanted to do something contrived like 100 and ended up with 1 more (say hi to your OCD for me). I’ll probably update this in the future. This is an amorphous and evolving draft. Nothing is set in stone. Things change. Things get better. Same with your bar prep.

Feel free to disagree with any point. Advice is autobiography. Advice is never one-size-fits-all. Take what you like and leave the rest.

If some rules seem contradictory, that’s where interesting things happen.

Let me know which parts you agree with, parts you disagree with, or contradictions you thought about on your own and resolved.

Continue reading “101 Rules for Bar Exam Preparation”

What to Do for the July Bar Exam as a First Timer

Now that everyone’s here, maybe we stand a chance against the final boss.

You got your books, you announced on social media that you’re going to be super busy for the next 2-3 weeks, and you got your favorite pens and highlighters ready. How hard can it be, right?

But as a first-timer, it’s unclear what to even expect from bar prep. Let me show you a vision of the future and how you can change it, using 20/20 FORESIGHT.

Continue reading “What to Do for the July Bar Exam as a First Timer”

“I’m so unmotivated to study for the bar exam”

Feeling unmotivated to study for the bar exam? 

There’s a lot of talk about motivation around this time of bar season.

Let’s first distinguish being unmotivated from being mentally exhausted.

If you’re TIRED, don’t accumulate exhaustion and enter a downward spiral. Stop at a reasonable point. Take an early day off. Reset your mind. Go the f🌕k to sleep.

Passive activities like watching (or rewatching) lectures, transcribing notes, or “reading” for hours also can be DRAINING if that’s all you do. Thinking about doing it is more exhausting than actually doing it. Don’t autopilot on default to avoid doing what helps you learn. Be more methodical and deliberate.

This is pretty boring stuff! It’s normal if you just can’t or don’t want to study right now. But this feeling will pass if you break eye contact with bar prep for a while. Your energy is at least as important as time, as we’ll talk about in the next email.

If you have the energy but still aren’t feeling motivated, that’s a separate issue. Being able to self-motivate is key. Otherwise, you might wait for a long time for things that make you say “I needed this today!” and do nothing about it.

Here are some strategies to fix the “unmotivated” issue:

Continue reading ““I’m so unmotivated to study for the bar exam””