My Key Routines and Habits to Survive Law School

The routines and little habits I do to stay on top of things :))

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I just finished my last exam for my law degree a couple of weeks ago, and I felt pretty proud of the progress I have made. It was a pretty overwhelming journey, especially since I faced failures along the way.

But, during my last two years of completing this law degree, I found systems and routines that have helped me stay on track, and make sure that I perform the best I could. These are the things I will be sharing with you in this blog post.

I will share the main routines that have not only helped me stay organized in law school but also the routines that helped me balance my other commitments such as work and personal life things. You will learn of each of these routines in-depth, and I do believe there are some aspects you can implement in your life as well!

Let’s dive in.

ROUTINES

Weekly Reset Routine

The first routine I’ll cover is the Weekly Reset Routine, and this is because this is my lifeline to making sure that my busy week goes well.

My Weekly Reset Routine includes the following steps:

1. Reflection
2. Brain Dump
3. Creating to-do lists
4. Planning & Scheduling
5. Finance check
6. Preparation – meals, outfits.
7. Clean out – digital & physical

The reason why I have a weekly reset routine is because it allows me to review, organize, and plan for the week ahead all in one go. Regardless of how busy my week will be, this routine helps declutter my mind, get everything together, and feel better about the week ahead.

I do this electronically because it allows me to easily make adjustments as needed, especially as things do change throughout the week. Having this routine helps me stay on top of everything, making sure that my actions align with my values and goals, and help me manage my responsibilities more effectively.

Planning is the ultimate best friend when it comes to balancing multiple commitments. If you want to learn more of how to build your weekly reset routine in-depth, the blog post below is a must-read!

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RELATED: The Ultimate Weekly Reset Routine

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Morning & Night Routine

Regardless of how busy my day will be, I always make sure that I have a morning & night routine to bookend my days.

My morning & night routine has changed and evolved over the years. As I’m writing this blog post, this is how each routine looks like:

Morning Routine

1. Pray
2. Drink water
3. Brush teeth & skincare
4. Put eye patches on, then read & journal while they’re on
5. Check my cycle forecast (I use this app called Moody to check it).
6. Pinterest (this is a fun activity I like to do to give my social media fix lol)
7. Quickly review to-do list
8. Make bed
9. Workout
10. Breakfast
11. Shower & Get Ready

Night Routine

1. Shut off
2. Put PJ’s on
3. Quick reflection on the day
4. Remove makeup, do skincare
5. Turn on sleep focus on my phone (aka silence notifications)
6. Prepare for next day
7. 10 minute clean

I’ll admit that sometimes I don’t do all the tasks in the routine. Even if I do a few tasks that help start my day on the right foot (morning routine) and wind down (night routine) it’s sufficient for me. Nonetheless, I need to have something that bookends my day regardless of how busy it is.

Having my morning and night routine bookend my days is more for my mental health, as opposed to helping me balance everything in my life. I feel that throughout the day, so much could go on, especially things beyond your control. I have more of a sense of control when I start and end my day, and it feels great for me.

If you want to know how to build a productive morning routine, I highly suggest reading this blog post, and also this blog post to see the things to avoid in your night routine.

Study Routine

For my study routine, I have broken it down into daily & weekly tasks. I will show you screenshots of the templates that I use and create on Notion! I’ve used Notion for the past few years for literally everything, most especially for studies, so I highly suggest you check it out here.

Daily

1. Assigned Readings – the readings I do are based on when I have classes that day (e.g. if I have the class on Wednesday, then I’ll do the assigned readings on Monday, and the lecture on Tuesday)
2. Lectures – I watch my lectures online as opposed to attending them live, since I have more control over my schedule that way. Like with my readings, they depend on what I have classes.
3. Subject Review & Notes – I do this the day after every class to ensure that I’m on top of my understanding of the content.
4. Work on my assignments – I start working on my assignments at least 3 weeks before they are due. I will go more in-depth into my systems for this.

CHECKLIST: I utilize the checklist below to ensure that I’m on top of my readings, lectures, and subject reviews. So, if I end up missing a week (e.g. because I was sick), I know exactly what I need to catch up on.

Assignment Processes

Step 1 – Assessment Planner

At the start of every semester, I create a table with all my assessments including the due dates. This is so I can have it all in one place, and I can make sure that I’m on track with it. Along with that, I also put a start date for when I will start working on that assessment.

As you see in the photo below, I’ve also got a checkbox that I tick whenever an assignment is completed. This was an absolute lifesaver during my law degree!

Step 2 – Before I start an assessment, I create a checklist

Checklists were my bestie throughout life! Moreover, when I work on my assessments.

For example, if I have an essay, the checklist would look something like:

• Outline assignment – 1 day
• Research – 2 days
• First draft (don’t worry about referencing, formatting, etc, just write) – 5 days
• Second draft – with formatting and referencing – 2 days
• Third draft – final touches – 1 day
• Proofread – 1 day

Classwork Processes

Along with the checklist (that I have shown earlier), I also have a template for each individual class.

As you can see below, for each class, on top of the page, I include all the details that I would need to contact the unit convenor/professor in case I have any questions. Then, if there is an electronic textbook available, I would include a link there (so I don’t have to find it every time). The “My UC” is pretty much the learning pages of the class so I can easily click it, and don’t have to find it each time.

As you can see above, each week has its own page which includes ALL the notes from readings, lectures, and classes. I’ve also included two checkboxes, one for when we’ve completed the week, and one for when I’ve reviewed it (during exam review). I also included a difficulty rating which is helpful for when I review for exams, so I know what topic to focus on first.

Again, I create all these templates on Notion, which has been my organization bestie for the past three years. You can check out the link below to see how you can use it, and sign up to create an account if you’re up for it!

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CHECK OUT NOTION HERE

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Overall Tips & Habits

1 – Figure out what is best for you

The most important part of a good study routine is doing what works best for you. There are multiple study techniques and “hacks” out there, but truthfully, they’re not all going to be suitable for you.

Sometimes, it takes experimenting and trying out different techniques to see which one works best for you. It took me until halfway through my law degree to figure out what works best for me (my Notion planners and checklists, along with my Google Calendar). Once I finally figured it out, it was what I stuck with for the rest of my degree, and my grades reflected that.

2 – Planning is your best friend

Of all the productivity and study tips out there, I found that planning is the most “one size fits all” tip. I know that a “good study week” all falls back to the way I plan and how good I was at it.

Planning was my best friend in all areas of my life. Without it, I wasn’t able to properly allocate enough time to other parts of my life aside from work and study.

3 – Key Habits

1. Scheduling non-negotiable daily and weekly rest – Every day, I schedule time for relaxation and doing whatever I feel like (even if it’s just watching my fave show for an hour or a bit). Every week, I have one day where I don’t do any study/work-related tasks (for me, this day is Saturday).
2. Sticking with my 5 non-negotiable habits – For the past few years, there were always about 3-5 non-negotiable habits that I do no matter what. I found that sticking to these habits helped me stay consistent and on track with myself, and stay accountable. Most of these non-negotiable habits are physical & mental health-related, which is great considering that they must be prioritized in busy periods. Some ideas of non-negotiable habits can be found in this blog post.
3. Planning – through my weekly reset routine, and study planning processes.
4. Creating to-do lists – I create weekly to-do lists for each area of my life (e.g. study, work, physical/mental health, church). Then, I break them down into daily tasks so I can achieve them.
5. Color-coded schedules – Whenever I schedule and plan my week, I prefer to color-code them based on the area of my life. As I use Google Calendar for my scheduling, these are my color codes:

To Wrap Up

Hopefully, you’ve gained some ideas on how to stay on top of things :))

I have multiple free resources to help you be productive, including a mini e-book which you can find in the Free Resources Library here. And again, you can also check out Notion here if you’re looking for a productivity tool.

In the meantime, hope this blog post added some value in some way!

-Lauren 🙂

P.S I suggest you read these blog posts next

• Mental Health Day Checklist: Feel Better With These 7 Things
• These are the popular productivity tips that actually suck
• The Top Habits to Master all your Life Domains

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