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Resumes, Papers, Reading, Fun, Family...what to do

By Tyler Larsen

First I would like to say thank you to Tyler for letting me join with him in this endeavor. It is worth while to put these kinds of ideas and perspectives out there. I think it will be interesting and fun.

This post is a follow up to something Tyler said about using a schedule. I agree that there are lots and lots and lots of things to get done in law school. And each one of them is important. Dont forget about you though. By this I mean you need to remember why you are going to law school. If you forget to update your resume, or call family once in a while, you will find yourself in quite a situation. That is where the schedule comes in. I keep a dry-erase calendar on my wall. On the calendar itself, I put important deadlines (i.e. scholarships, assignments due, upcoming exams etc. etc.) and on the side there is a blank portion. There I keep a split list. One is titled Short Term and the other is called Mid-Term.

I update the short term column regularly. It has things like what bills are coming due, shopping list items, and reminders to call specific people in my family (I usually keep them on a rotating schedule others I talk to online, so calls arent always necessary). Typically I update this column either saturday or sunday when Im getting up and having coffee. I erase what I have done already and update what needs to be changed.

The mid-term column is a bit different. I put things on there like update resume, check for internships, research cover letters, figure out who to have as references, redo my 5 year plan. Things that generally dont have a due date, but need to get done are here. This is important since it should help to keep some focus on the not so close future. Trust me on this, as law students, you will sometimes lose focus on anything that isnt written in your 20 page reading assignment. I will usually check this column at least once a week as I have time. I try to squeeze out at least a little time each month to focus on at least one of the items.

I would have a long term column, but honestly, that isnt much of an option. There are enough headaches dealing with the short term and mid-term. Plus I think the only thing I could put on there right now would be to graduate.

Over all, I have to agree with Tyler. Use a schedule of some sort. Find something that works for you and keeps you apprised of all the happenings in your life. And dont forget, assignments and readings are not the only thing you should think about. Summer comes fast, graduation comes fast, and preparing for those are just as important as preparing for finals.

Cheers.

Full post as published by Law School Survivor on November 05, 2007 (boomark / email).