Thread by @JonahPerlin

Many #1L students are off for spring break or will be soon.

This is a challenging time. The novelty of 1L has worn of. You finally know enough to know you don’t know it all. It’s a marathon and you are at mile 16. Exhausted but lots to go.

Thoughts on how to finish strong 👇

1. LOOK FORWARD, NOT BACK. Don’t fixate on what you haven’t done & mistakes you’ve made. The class you missed. The outline you didn’t start. The office hour you didn’t attend. That’s in the past.

Focus instead on what you will do with the the semester you have left!

2. RESET YOUR PROCESS. In law school its more important to be disciplined than good. The best show up every day. But as the semester wears on those routines start slipping. Happens to the best of us. Take stock. Decide what habits are worth it and reengage with them, guilt free.

3. MAKE A PLAN. Decision fatigue is real. The brain is bad at deciding what to do in the moment (exercise? sleep? study torts?) Instead make a plan for the days and weeks to come. Make it reasonable. And execute. Even if you follow it 75% you’ll be better off and less stressed.

4. TAKE A BREAK. You can’t run a sprint for a full marathon. Pace yourself. Have dinner with a friend. Watch a movie. Find a day to sleep in. Get good sleep daily. Recharging your battery is both enjoyable and makes you set up for success. A win-win.

5. FOCUS ON WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL. It’s easy to stress about what didn’t work. The bad cold call. The teacher who assigns too much reading. The person who sits next to you. The exam question you fear.

There is a lot you can’t control. That is ok. Focus on the things you can!

6. CHECK IN WITH SOMEONE ELSE. Everyone is different. Some thrive in community. Others need time alone. But if possible find time to connect with another human. A classmate. A friend. A cousin. Studying is important but being too “in your head” can make you lose perspective.

7. LEARN FROM THE PAST. The biggest change between last semester and this one is you’ve done this before. Don’t lose the perspective of that experience. Read your old exams. Figure out what worked and what didn’t. Lean in to what worked. Cut out what didn’t. Experience is power.

8. WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER. You don’t get bonus points for how the pain of studying. Figure out what works for you not someone else! What tasks will help you on exam day? STOP DOING BUSY WORK. Ask “will this prepare me for this exam”—if no, stop it. If yes, make time for it.

9. REMEMBER WHY YOU CAME. It is easy to lose sight of why you are here. Or maybe you have doubts of what you’ll become. That is ok! The law is SO much bigger than you knew.

Remembering the "why" helps. Put a post it on your computer that answers the Q: why did I come here?

10. REMEMBER YOU BELONG. You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t belong. I mean it. Seriously. You are not an imposter. You weren’t let in “by accident.”

Not everyone around you is as confident as they look. Doubt is ok but confidence is important too. You belong and you can succeed!