Make This Your Last Time | Page 8 of 37

January 27, 2024May 27, 2024 - 13 Comments

Enjoying Bar Prep: 6 Ways to Make Studying for the Bar Exam More Fun and Effective

Is it possible to enjoy bar prep?

It’s one of the dryest things a person can do on this planet. (Don’t invite space tourists to try this.) But we retain more and pay more attention when things are enjoyable.

I’ve talked about enjoying the process to maintain motivation when it comes to bar prep. How you do that is personal.

Ultimately, you can have fun with anything. It’s a mindset. If something isn’t fun, you can just enjoy not having fun!

You can have fun with bar prep too. Bar prep can be enjoyable if you go at your own pace and get better at it.

The default (typical, boring) approach of bar prep involves sitting still like a statue watching people in a suit drone on as you fantasize about throwing your computer or self out the window. If you’re especially masochistic, you’ll pause the video and make sure to fill in all the lecture notes.

This is surprisingly exhausting. As a bonus, you’ll also forget 99% of what you listened to. I’d rather watch water boil because at least I’d have something to show for it, like edible pasta. (Did you know the singular form of spaghetti is spaghetto?)

Something people forget to tell you is that you don’t actually have to follow the default.

“Just complete the course! Do all the things! Play it safe!”—The National Association of Barbri (probably)

No, instead of playing defense, it’s time to go on offense.

Follow this visual guide of 6 things that can help you make steady progress and enjoy bar prep—without the frustration and exhaustion that come with how bar takers typically approach studying for the bar exam.

(4th one is my favorite!)

January 26, 2024January 25, 2024 - No Comments

Grandmother Passes the Uniform Bar Exam with a 270

A self-professed “Partner/Mom/Grandma/Kindergarten teacher” told me she passed the UBE.

No big deal. I asked Nocona how she DID IT so I could pass her lessons onto you mortals.

Among other things, she told me that she passed the Oklahoma Bar Exam (UBE) using a combination of substantive resources and a mindset that gave her better control over her processes.

You might read all these stories and think, I can do this too (true).

Or you might wonder, why can’t it be me?

It CAN be you, homie. These were all people in the exact same position as you, just time shifted. Why torture yourself trying to reinvent the wheel?

January 21, 2024January 24, 2024 - 14 Comments

The Value of Redoing Practice Questions (You’ll See Them Again on the Bar Exam)

“How do I do MBE questions faster?”

“The way to approach these questions is not staying with me.”

“I thought I ‘got’ it and moved on, but I keep getting questions wrong.”

Have you ever felt that?

There is a SIMPLE and UNDERRATED way to fix this: REDOING practice questions.

"I followed your advice today and redid an essay I had taken; it was really good practice because I committed to understanding the rules even better than just 'oh look I can recognize this issue.'"

I say elsewhere that DOING is the best form of thinking. If you’re doing that, great. Now the next step is to REDO.

“But wait,” you say, “I have seen and remembered those questions and answers before. Should I be worried because I am not practicing new questions?”

January 19, 2024January 23, 2024 - No Comments

Pass the Bar Exam Using the Right Tools and Approach for You

John passed the 2023 July California Bar Exam on his first try after deciding that his bar review course wasn’t working for him.

I know. Yet another success story about someone who ditched the traditional route. Might as well pack up and go home.

But leaving the bar course behind isn’t just for repeaters. And messages like this often take multiple repeats to click in your head. Kind of like memorizing the law.

Well, let’s see how John did it. I’ve parsed out 5 teaching points from studying his success story and the multiple updates he sent me before and after the exam.

January 13, 2024March 18, 2024 - No Comments

Lessons Learned from Failing the Bar Exam (Live Workshop Replay)

I did a live workshop + Q&A with Doreen Benyamin (host of “Before You Take the LSAT”) on what I wish I had known on my first attempt at the bar exam.

This was a fire conversation! I’m happy to share that the recording is now available as a podcast episode (links and handout below).

It’s been edited down to 48 minutes long. But you’re not here to dilly dally. So here’s some social proof from other people who already spent the time:

"I found you from Doreen’s Benyamin’s zoom a few weeks ago and I appreciated your insight. I’m in crunch time and I’m hoping your Magicsheets and Approsheets will get be over the hump. I’m obviously very nervous and worried that I haven’t dedicated enough time to this but I look forward to going over your sheets!"

Hopefully this forced a suggestion in your mind that maybe it’s worth a click.

Not sorry in the least. I know it’ll be worth at least a few seconds of your time, so it’s my obligation to share it with you.

If you’re in the middle of preparing for the bar exam, this is a great time to calibrate how you’re doing in your studies.

The episode covers:

Philosophies for effective bar prep
What moves the needle in bar prep
Optimizing for learning vs optimizing for performance
How to spend the last month of studying (including sample schedules in the Handout linked below)
Memorizing
Motivation and confidence
Q&A (tons more Q&A and goodies in the Handout)

Listen on Spotify:

Listen on YouTube:

And a message from Doreen:

Handout linked above. Magicsheets samples here.

I’m eternally grateful to Doreen for making this happen and for her hard work putting this together for us.

Please show her some support:

Play the episode.
Share the Spotify or YouTube link above (or this page) with a bar taker you care about.
Tell us your takeaways or what you want to see in the future, by commenting on the YouTube video or below.