• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Bar Exam Toolbox®

Get the tools you need for bar exam success

  • I Failed!
  • Tutoring
  • Courses
    • Writing Help: Essays/PT
    • MBE Help
    • Self-Study Program
    • Options – California
    • Options – UBE
  • Bar Exam 101
  • About
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Login

How to Have a Happy Bar Prep

November 21, 2018 By Jennifer Warren Leave a Comment

How to Have a Happy Bar Prep“That was the worst time of my life!” This is an all too common refrain from lawyers when they think back to the months just prior to the bar exam. While it’s true that studying for the bar exam won’t be the most enjoyable experience you’ve ever had, neither does it need to be a cheerless, monotonous slog. In fact, with the right strategies in place, you can actually be happy (or at least not unhappy!) while preparing for the bar exam.

First, Start with the Right Attitude

Like most experiences in life, how you feel during bar prep will largely be dictated by your attitude towards it. If you go into bar prep anticipating that it will be miserable, boring, and stressful, I guarantee you that it will be miserable, boring, and stressful! If, however, you go into bar prep with the right attitude, you’re much more likely to have a positive experience. This is important because the better your preparation experience, the more likely you are to have positive results!

Of course, having a positive attitude about bar prep is easier said than done. With hours and hours of studying to complete, not to mention the fear of failure looming in the back of your mind, staying optimistic can be a struggle. But it’s a struggle worth fighting, because a positive attitude will bolster your mental, emotional, and physical well-being.

So how do you get yourself into the right mindset to face bar prep? Reframe the experience. Instead of assuming that this will be the worst few months of your life, like some people may have told you, try to get excited by the challenge ahead. Yes, there will be lots of hard work, but hard work can be energizing when you’re doing it in order to achieve something you care about: becoming a lawyer. You’ve spent the last three years of your life in law school so that you would have the opportunity to sit for the bar exam. That opportunity has finally arrived, so instead of looking on the months leading up to the exam with dread, try to generate some excitement that this moment has finally arrived.

Author Norman Vincent Peale said that “You can think, talk and act yourself into dullness or into monotony or into unhappiness. By the same process, you can build up inspiration, excitement and a surging depth of joy.” While I’ll admit that it may not be possible to ever feel “a surging depth of joy” about taking the bar exam, with the right attitude, you can feel inspired and excited about the experience, particularly if you remind yourself that this is the final step on the path to becoming a lawyer.

Next, Build a Support System and Use It

Even with the right attitude, there are going to be moments during bar prep when you feel discouraged, stressed, and burned out. During these moments, being able to turn to a support system can bolster your spirits and quell your fears when you need it most.

A good support system should give you a place to vent your fears and frustrations, offer encouragement, provide assistance with chores or routine household tasks, provide an outlet away from studying when needed, and help you maintain your self-belief throughout the process. One person may do all of these things for you or you may rely on different people to play different roles. It’s also helpful to have someone, such as a bar prep tutor or law school professor, that you can go to for advice about study strategies and substantive legal questions.

Try to identify who will make up your support system before you start studying and discuss your expectations and concerns. And, once you’ve identified your support system, don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it! Having support throughout the process will make bar prep less isolating and burdensome.

Finally, Manage Your Time Well

The biggest key to having a positive bar prep experience is good time management. The ability to spend time with your friends and family, exercise, eat healthy, get a good night’s sleep, do activities you enjoy, and just have some downtime away from studying is absolutely vital to maintaining your well-being during bar prep. And the good news is, you can do all of these things while studiously preparing for the bar exam, but only if you manage your time well and stay focused when you need to work.

There’s no secret to balancing work and life: you need to have a good schedule that accounts for everything you want to accomplish, and you need to work diligently during study periods. If you stay focused, avoid procrastinating, and work consistently throughout bar prep, you will be able to make time to enjoy yourself.

While you may never want to relive the months leading up the bar exam, this also doesn’t have to be a terrible experience. With the right attitude, a strong support system, and strict time management, you can be happy and thoroughly prepared for the exam.

For more helpful advice, check out these articles:

  • Maintaining Good Study Habits Throughout Bar Prep
  • Why Really Wanting to Pass the Bar Exam Isn’t Enough
  • How to Proactively Develop Good Mental Health Habits During Bar Prep

Ready to pass the bar exam? Get the support and accountability you need with personalized one-on-one bar exam tutoring or one of our economical courses and workshops. We're here to help!


 

About Jennifer Warren

Jennifer received her B.A. in Politics cum laude from New York University and her J.D. with highest distinction from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. She has several years of experience in the areas of juvenile law and civil litigation and is the Academic Achievement Coordinator at Oklahoma City University School of Law.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Let us know you are not a spammer! * Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA.

Primary Sidebar

  • Podcast
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

About Us

Want to pass the bar exam? Of course you do! We’re here to help. You’ll find lots of helpful free content at Bar Exam 101, in the Bar Exam Resource Hub, and on the Bar Exam Toolbox podcast. For more hands-on help, take a look at our courses and workshops and bar exam tutoring options. Please get in touch with any questions!

COVID-19 Updates

Please visit the COVID-19 updates page for the latest news on bar exam postponements.

Recent Posts

Podcast Episode 119: Listen and Learn — Anticipatory Repudiation (Contracts)

Welcome back to the Bar Exam Toolbox podcast! Today, in an episode from our "Listen and Learn" series, we're talking about anticipatory repudiation, … [Read More...] about Podcast Episode 119: Listen and Learn — Anticipatory Repudiation (Contracts)

Reading on Screens—Where will you encounter it?

Reading on Screens—Where will you encounter it?

As lawyers and law students, we are living in an increasingly digitized world. From law school to the bar exam to practice, many tasks that were … [Read More...] about Reading on Screens—Where will you encounter it?

Podcast Episode 118: More on Memorization for the Bar Exam

Welcome back to the Bar Exam Toolbox podcast! Today, we're revisiting the best memorization techniques for long-term retention of material. There are … [Read More...] about Podcast Episode 118: More on Memorization for the Bar Exam

I Failed the Bar Exam. Should I Wait Until After the Covid-19 Pandemic to Re-Sit?

Should I Wait Until After the Covid-19 Pandemic to Re-Sit if I failed the Bar Exam?

As 2020 closed and perhaps the most bizarre and uncertain bar exam season comes to an end, we are now faced with the reality of bar exam … [Read More...] about Should I Wait Until After the Covid-19 Pandemic to Re-Sit if I failed the Bar Exam?

Podcast Episode 117: Listen and Learn — Due Process and Equal Protection (Con Law)

Welcome back to the Bar Exam Toolbox podcast! In this week's episode, as part of our "Listen and Learn" series, we're talking about an important area … [Read More...] about Podcast Episode 117: Listen and Learn — Due Process and Equal Protection (Con Law)

Need to Pass the Bar Exam?

Sign up for our free weekly email with useful tips!

Footer

  • Podcast
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • I Failed!
  • Tutoring
  • Courses
  • Bar Exam 101
  • About
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Login
  • Privacy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Refunds
  • Contact

Copyright 2021 Bar Exam Toolbox®™