LSAT Diary: Studying While Working Full-Time

This installment of LSAT Diaries comes from Justin, a 25-year-old who's studying for the LSAT while holding a full-time job and attending college full-time. He's a pretty busy guy.

In this LSAT Diary, he talks about balancing it all as he starts off his prep.

If you want to be in LSAT Diaries, please email me at LSATUnplugged@gmail.com. (You can be in LSAT Diaries whether you've taken the exam already or not.)

Please leave Justin some encouragement below in the comments!

Justin's LSAT Diary:

When you are growing up, everyone tells you to dream big. Dreaming big was always something I was capable of and now at the age of 25, I find myself shooting big again. I am looking to conquer the June 2011 LSAT.

You always hear, “the LSAT is a learnable test” and “the LSAT can be taught.” It certainly gets you excited and makes you eager to hit the books to learn as much as you can. Once you start reading and gaining small insights into the mind of the beast, you get excited and want more! Preparation ends up being a delicate balance of time and time management.

For me, I have gone a non-traditional route to this point. While only being 25, I have nearly 6 years of professional work experience. I enrolled in college right after high school, but at the time it wasn’t a good fit for me. Sadly, my grades reflected that. I opted to gain some work experience in the mean time with an eye on returning to finish my degree when the time was right.

That time came recently. Ironically, the thought of a career in law came along with it.
So here I am, writing a diary, studying for the LSAT, working full-time, and attending school full-time. Having to juggle multiple balls in the air makes it tough, but it's not impossible. I was ecstatic to come across the LSAT Blog and what Steve has put together here. Once I found the site, I decided to purchase the 5-month day-by- day LSAT study plan. This plan gives me a chance to plan my week ahead of time, which is perfect for me.

In week 1 of the plan, I am tackling basic linear games, which I have had some moderate success with. It seems that each time you have a little success; the LSAT finds a way to throw a crazy game at you. I thought these games were supposed to be basic linear games?

One element that I have added to my study plan is to create a binder with the questions that I answered incorrectly in the eyes of the test-makers. (But I must say, I think my answers are great.) In this binder, I place the questions I answer incorrectly and write a description as to what the right answer is and why my answer is incorrect. I plan to review the binder at the conclusion of each week. In my review of the binder, I am hoping to discover any trends in my answers. I hope this will pay off in a few months when I begin to tackle Logical Reasoning.

I am always open to suggestions and comments. I hope that this diary will serve as motivation for those who are looking to strike a life balance when studying for the LSAT. In hoping to provide some motivation, I would like to share a link to a video clip that should serve to motivate and inspire all of us during our LSAT prep.

Until next time, may your prep be effective and may you learn something from your mistakes!

Photo by offshore