When I entered law school. I had the same questions that plague most 1L evening division students: How on earth am I going to do this? I have a full-time job, 2 kids, and an hour commute to Widener Law. Is this even realistically possible for me? Now entering my second year in the evening division, I can confidently say the answer is yes. I believe one key to success is finding the time for YOU.

Law school is challenging. The reading is sometimes voluminous, intense, and difficult. Since most of my reading and studying happens on the weekend, I’ve had to implement some strategies to maximize the effectiveness of the time I have. One of the first things I chose to do was make Friday a “no school day.” My daughter and I made Friday night our “date night” and we often go out to eat or watch a movie and chat about the events of the week (she’s 12 so there’s no shortage of conversation!) If she would happen to fall asleep early on Friday, I’d crack open the books, otherwise, reading and studying starts on Saturday morning. I learned early on that some of these readings are dense and you need to give yourself time to digest and understand the material. I would read a case or two, and then get up and switch laundry over, or make something to eat, or take 10 minutes to just decompress. Then, I’d start the next case. Take the time in between cases to do your normal chores don’t allow these tasks to distract you from your studies.

Lastly, there were times that I really, REALLY wanted to do something and it was scheduled for the weekend. For example, concerts, Phillies games, and Ravens games sometimes fall on a Saturday or Sunday. You have to prioritize what is most important to you and, in my case, I did choose to go to some of these events (not all of course) even though it took away from study time on the weekends. It may have meant a later night studying (my usual time was about 10am-10pm with multiple breaks in between), sacrificing the date night, or it may have meant taking a day off of work to catch up. Law school life is a balancing act but, if you learn how to balance effectively, it can be the most rewarding experience of your life! Make the time to do little things that you enjoy, whether it be a hike, a concert, or a drive to get ice cream. The key to it all is moderation.

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