Mindset/Psychology Archives | Page 7 of 13

May 6, 2023May 6, 2023 - 3 Comments

The 3 Things You Need When Starting Bar Prep (Live Stream Replay)

“What should I know when I’m starting bar prep?”

I did a live stream with Jennifer Duclair to talk about how to take the guesswork out of bar preparation and get a better sense of direction as you start studying for your next bar exam.

It was fun! Japes and nuggets of insights were dropped, and I’m pleased with how this turned out. (Maybe I’ll do another one next year…)

Here’s me throwing Kaplan under the bus:

What to do with your schedule when starting bar prep

Here’s the recording (go to 8:12 where I talk about the study schedule shown above), along with timestamps so you can jump to the parts you’re most interested in:

January 20, 2023March 7, 2025 - 1 Comment

Don’t obsess over the “best” bar exam supplement. Be the BEST STUDENT instead.

Bar exam takers have passed using Barbri.

They’ve passed using Themis.

They’ve even passed using Kaplan Bar Review… And this is despite all the shit I talk about Kaplan because they’re like Olive Garden trying to be everything which ends up being bland and giving you diarrhea. Just look at how many fucking tests they prep for LOL

June 9, 2022July 3, 2025 - No Comments

What to Do in the Weeks Leading up to the Bar Exam

Not really sure what’s working in the weeks leading up to the bar exam? Or what you should be doing?

If you’re taking a bar review course like Barbri, Themis, or Kaplan, then first make sure that you’ve been using it correctly (and that it hasn’t been using you to fill up its completion meter). Sometimes they don’t make clear what you should be doing to be prepared by the end of it all, other than the endless lectures and review sessions they make you sit through.

It’s like you aren’t feeling as confident or ready as you feel you should be after all that time spent. Studying for the bar exam can be a grueling process, so it’s important to have strategies in place to help you stay focused and motivated — and most important — make progress.

What should you be doing to make sure you’re really preparing enough for the big day? Here’s a framework to help you in the weeks leading up to the test:

May 16, 2022February 9, 2024 - 1 Comment

How do Magicsheets and Approsheets fit into your other bar exam study materials?

There are a LOT of study supplements, resources, and outlines for bar prep. As time passes, more and more get added to your potential repertoire.

Sometimes, the sheer overwhelm causes bar takers to load up on all sorts of materials, attend every workshop, DM everyone offering something — spreading themselves so thin that they end up not using any of it!

The materials collect digital dust, and bar takers end up restarting at square one, exhausted. But “the great aim of education is not knowledge but action.” (Herbert Spencer)

I, too, offer study materials for the California Bar Exam and the Uniform Bar Exam. Here’s my answer to questions about them, including HOW to use them. This will be useful whether or not you use my material.

April 26, 2022April 23, 2026 - 3 Comments

How Hard Is the Bar Exam? Why Is the Bar Exam So Hard?

No doubt, the bar exam challenges even the toughest and baddest law students. It requires a great deal of preparation if you want to improve your chances of passing.

Is the bar exam that difficult? What makes it so hard? How hard is the bar exam really?

It’s not just the overwhelming academic aspect of it. There are several aspects that make the bar exam an ordeal (as some call it, a hazing ritual or a rite of passage).

Why Is the Bar Exam So Hard? How Hard Is the Bar Exam?

These five aspects of what makes the bar exam difficult to pass are often overlooked:

Financial (the true cost of the bar exam)
Mental
Emotional
Physical
Psychological

Let’s go over these in detail one by one so you can prepare for them.