Law School Academic Support Blog

Editor: Goldie Pritchard
Michigan State University

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

1L of a Blog Series: Mastering Time Management

Welcome to law school! This is a biweekly series with tips and tricks for success in law school. Although it’s billed toward new law students, I hope that every member of the law school community can find something helpful here.

It’s a few weeks into the semester, but you may already find yourself overwhelmed. After all, you have new subjects to read for, new writing assignments to draft, and it’s about the time you start creating your outlines. There’s a lot to do each semester, and it usually gets worse as you advance in your law school career. That’s why it’s important to figure out your time management strategies now, before you fall behind. Here are a few ideas to help you stay on top of your commitments:

  1. Keep Track of Deadlines

Part of the key to time management is understanding what needs to be done and when it needs to be finished by. Your semester is likely full of deadlines, which are all outlined in your syllabi. However, having to flip between multiple syllabi can mean accidentally overlooking an important due date.

To keep track of all of those important dates, try using a large calendar to track your assignment deadlines and exams. You can even throw significant non-law-school commitments on there. It is most helpful if you have a calendar that shows the entire semester so you can visualize how your workload and commitments will change over time. This allows you to plan ahead and be proactive with your time management.

  1. Make Prioritized To Do Lists

Making a to do list at the beginning of each week helps ensure you don’t overlook anything. At the start of each week, create a running list of tasks you have to accomplish. This should include your class readings, outlining, legal writing deadlines, meetings, laundry…basically everything you need to do that week!

However, it shouldn’t just be an unorganized list. Instead, assign tasks priorities. Ask yourself whether things are time sensitive or if they can be saved for later. If things are time-sensitive, like a reading for class, note when you have to complete it by. Organizing your to do list by priority can help guide you through the week. By putting everything you have to accomplish in one place, you can track your progress. Additionally, if you have unexpected free time (rare, I know!) you can reference your list for the best task to start next.

Leftover items at the end of the week? Move any uncompleted tasks over to next week’s list and reprioritize them to keep all of your tasks organized.

  1. Time Block

I’ve mentioned time blocking in a few blogs in this series, so it’s probably no surprise that I’m pitching it now. Time blocking is a technique where you specifically block out your weekly commitments on your calendar. Think: “I’ll read for my Tuesday property lecture on Sunday from 4-7pm.” That level of specificity. Your prioritized to do list can help inform when you block time to complete different tasks.

Time blocking has a lot of benefits. It helps you visualize how your weekly tasks will fit into your available time and where you have time leftover. I find time blocking to be helpful when I feel overwhelmed with the number of tasks I have to accomplish, which is a regular feeling in law school. Using time blocking can help you make sure you have enough time to accomplish everything that needs to get done each week. It’s most effective when you plan out each week in advance so you can account for all of your obligations.

The trickiest part of time blocking is sticking to the time frames you blocked out. It is worthless to say you’ll do your property reading from 4-7pm on Sunday if 4pm rolls around and you don’t get started. Using alarms and digital calendars can help keep you accountable for your time blocks. Also, if you have a task you’re dreading, try putting it first thing in the morning, when you are well-rested and your self-discipline is at its peak.

  1. Eliminate Distractions

I’m sure you’ve heard this one before but try to eliminate distractions. A lot of students tell me they studied for eight hours and just can’t make any progress on the material. But, after some digging, it turns out they studied for fifteen minutes and scrolled through social media feeds for the other seven hours and forty-five minutes.

Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggerations, but you get the idea! You’re not going to be able to manage your time well if you’re constantly distracted. There’s potentially a time for social media in your schedule, but only if you’re disciplined and put the phone away when it’s not the right time. There are a lot of different approaches to limiting distractions, such as putting your distractors out of sight or using programs to limit app usage during certain hours, so try a few and pick which one works best.

And, if you don’t think you fall prey to distractions, but you don’t know where your day goes, try tracking your time. Every 10-15 minutes, record what you’re doing. Be honest! By doing this, you can get a good idea of how your time is actually being spent.

Time is a valuable commodity in law school, so managing your time is a skill that will help keep your never-ending (newly prioritized!) to do list under control. If you get really good at it, who knows? You might even find some spare time to do something fun!

(Dayna Smith)

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/academic_support/2025/01/1l-of-a-blog-series-mastering-time-management.html

Advice, Study Tips - General | Permalink

Comments

Post a comment