GP|Solo Law Student

Balancing Law School and Your Life

By Claudette Rushing

As law students, we all know how rigorous and demanding law school can be. We have all heard the horror stories of how competitive and difficult it is to get good grades and jobs, and many of us have even read 1L or watched The Paper Chase. These fears and a competitive scholastic environment make it easy for students to get bogged down and overwhelmed. This stress can carry over to other aspects of your life, and, sadly, can even take away from other things that you value and enjoy. With finals approaching, now is an important time to think about our lives outside of school, and to try to balance a successful school life, with a rewarding personal life.

As a part time student, and full time public educator, my days are always packed. Below are a few of the ways that I balance my personal, professional, and academic lives, and still manage to stay sane and healthy!

Make time to be good to yourself…and stick to it! Even if it is only 10 minutes a day, make a time that is for you to do something that you really love, just for fun. It can be a short walk, a long distance call, eating a candy bar, or listening to a song that you enjoy. I always reserve 30 minutes of my lunch period to look up friends on MySpace, and listen to music. This helps me to focus and stay happy the rest of the day.

Make time to exercise.   It has been said time and again, by countless medical experts and professionals. Exercise is important to our physical and psychological wellbeing. Make at least 30 minutes a day to do some kind of physical activity.

Don't neglect the people you love.  Remember the relationships that mean the most to you, and stay in touch. Take a few minutes out of your day to call or write to friends and family.

Remember the reason why you came to law school in the first place. While you are stressing out over Torts class, or writing the perfect details in your legal memo, take a minute to just step back and reflect on what makes you want to be a lawyer. Taking a minute to focus on the "bigger picture" always helps me to keep things in perspective.

Make flash cards of important terms to study in any spare time.  You can easily carry flashcards around with you, and read them in any down time that you may have on the way to work or school, or in waiting rooms. This is a quick and low key way to memorize new material.

Make designated study times and stick to them! Set aside a certain time or day to do each part of your work, and stick to it! Staying in a routine will ensure that study habits remain in place.

Claudette Rushing is a first year student at the University of Maryland School of Law. Claudette is currently interested in Legal Writing, International Law, and Estate Planning and Probate.

Copyright 2008