A Day in the Life of a Law Student: Balancing Studies and Personal Life

Introduction

Most law students agree that a successful work-life balance is the key to success in their careers. However, balancing the schoolwork of law school and the various other aspects of life can take time and effort. Thus, law students must find a suitable routine best suits them (Ahlbrand, 2023). It is significant for law students to maintain a proper balance between their personal life and academics; if not, they are likely to suffer from burnout.
This article discusses a day in the life of Ashley Spears, a law student at East California University pursuing a full-time LLB program. Throughout her day, she tries to balance her personal life and her studies in a well-managed way. A balance between personal life and academics is essential for the proper functioning of academics. Law students prioritise their academics over their personal choices, which can deteriorate their academic performance. This happens because their mental health adheres to successful academic purposes.

Morning Routine of Ashley Spears

• She wakes up at 6:00 am, checks her email and packs her backpack with the laptop and notebooks.
• At 6:15 goes to morning work to get the day started
• At 6:45, she takes her shower, and after that, she has her breakfast.
• At 7:45, she starts commuting and finishes off her duty readings, if any, on the train, as the ride is 45 minutes.
• At 8:30 am, she gets her coffee and heads towards the library to do the briefings and readings.
• At 10:35 am, she takes her first class on civil procedure conducted by Professor Jonathan.
• At 12:00 pm, she takes her lunch breaks, where she most enjoys being with her friends.
• At 1:00 pm, she attends her last class of the day, criminal law, conducted by Professor Van Hughes.
• At 6:30 pm, she returns to the library again, where she tries to go through more books and remain as productive as possible rather than staying outdoors. How long she stays, there depends on the amount of homework assigned to her.
• At 8:00 pm, she gets back home and takes her dinner
• At 9:00, she reviews her notes and takes preparation for the next day.
• At 10:00, she gets ready for bed, and before going to sleep, she spends time watching some series on Netflix.

Ways to achieve work-life balance as a law student

• Setting priorities and focusing on the most significant tasks: Being a law student, it is important to manage time (Dinovitzer and Garth, 2007). This can be done by making a list of the tasks a student requires to complete. This includes meeting professors, writing papers and studying for exams. It is essential to focus on one task at a time.
• Breaking schedules: Law students must break schedules because they are often caught in the grind of exams, classes and extracurricular activities. To avoid burnout and stay healthy, it is necessary to take breaks between strict academic schedules. However, it is necessary to stick to the schedule while taking breaks.
• Practising how to read the law: The capacity to comprehend and read legal materials is regarded. Most of the time, law school involves reading case laws and statutes.
• Keeping relationships with friends: Maintaining a resilient relationship with friends during their tenure in law school keeps law students sane. Taking the time for a balanced schedule and focusing on the relationship enables a law student to stay healthy and happy.
• Comparing the study habit of law students with their peers: Extreme competitiveness prevails in the law school environment. In such a condition, it is easier to fall into the trap of negative thinking, which temps a student to think that he needs to study more than his peers to succeed (Bergin and Pakenham, 2015). Nevertheless, this cannot be regarded as true. This is because everyone has a different type of learning style, and so one student can’t copy the learning behaviour of another.
• Taking out time for leisure: Pursuing a law degree can leave students overwhelmed, and thus it is necessary to take out time for well-being, which in turn helps promote health.
• Thus, A law student shall get enough sleep, exercise, and eat healthy snacks. Besides, bearing the pressure of academics shall be balanced with taking yoga or meditation classes. Contributing some time to developing physical and mental health helps a law student succeed in the long run.
• Indulging in fun things: Pursuing a career as a law student not only helps in growing together but also helps in personal development. Thus taking out some time for fun is an integral aspect of the law school experience. By participating in activities outside of academics, law students learn more about themselves and the society around them. This helps in relieving burnout, helps in the formation of new friendships and a much need e respite from schoolwork.

Class Schedule and study time of a law student

The class schedule and the study time of law vary from one university to the other and from one student to another student. Overall, law students spend 30-40 hours a week studying. Although this may appear a lot, one of the best rules is that a law student must spend at least two hours every day studying. There is a saying that quality over quantity matters. Regardless of the exact number of hours contributed by a law student for studying, they have to make sure that the study is being done wisely and in an organised way. At a particular time, the extra duration of an hour contributed to studying is regarded as less important than the quality of studying. The daily study schedule of a law student is broken down into two broad categories: law school obligations and actual studying. When the two components are combined, the study at a law school gets transformed into a full-time job that is 40 hours per week.
One of the integral aspects of law school study is preparing for the classes. It is necessary to go through the cases discreetly. The cases are reviewed thoroughly, and accordingly, the outlines are reviewed. If – 60 minutes are spent in law school, a student can keep track of the studying. In addition, if the outlines are reviewed regularly, it helps to retain information in the best possible manner. During the initial stages of the semester, students practice fewer mock exams as compared to what is done in the final semester. Thus, the best way to prepare for the final exam is to indulge in mock practices during the initial phases of the first semester. This helps form an idea about what questions will come on the day of exams.

Stress Management of law students

One of the resilient predictors of well-being is social support, so a law student shall get along with his friends. This increases the positive emotions in the body and acts as a stress reliever. To eliminate the stressors, it is necessary to set goals and priorities. It is essential to chalk out what must be done now and later on. A diet rich in nutrients is regarded as well enough as it always helps in stress relief. Refraining from substance use is a must, as it affects health negatively. Meditation and deep breathing act as an excellent ways to relieve stress. Meditation helps increase the content of grey matter in the brain and helps in improving immune functioning. It helps in gaining control over attention and decreases distractibility. Meditation helps a law student concentrate on his personal and academic life
by decreasing stress-releasing hormones.

Conclusion

In consider that life in the life of a law student is very hectic, and thus it is necessary to strike a balance between personal life and academics. However, if it is not done, the law student will suffer from burnout, affecting their academic career. To maintain a balanced life, focussing on a career is a must. Besides this, it is necessary to get social with family and friends, eat healthily, exercise daily and practice regularly. All this acts as a stress reliever and helps in boosting academic performance. This is evident from a day in the life of Ashley Spears. She balances her personal and private life very well, for which she has been able to focus on academics very well. Also, she barely suffers from burnout because of the balance she maintained.

References

• Ahlbrand, A.A., 2023. Build a Career That Aligns With Your Passions. 27 AALL Spectrum 1 (2023).
• Dinovitzer, R. and Garth, B.G., 2007. Lawyer satisfaction in the process of structuring legal careers. Law & Society Review, 41(1), pp.1-50.
• Bergin, A. and Pakenham, K., 2015. Law student stress: Relationships between academic demands, social isolation, career pressure, study/life imbalance and adjustment outcomes in law students. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 22(3), pp.388-406.

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Author Bio: Mark Edmonds is a dedicated professional at Academic Assignments, a renowned provider of top-notch assignment writing services. With a passion for assisting students, Mark offers high-quality law assignment help. With years of experience and expertise in the field, he understands law students’ challenges and strives to guide them towards academic success. Through his exceptional writing skills and profound knowledge of legal studies, Mark aims to empower students to balance their studies and personal lives, ensuring they achieve their educational goals.