Final exam check list for 1Ls

1. Breathe.

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2. Sleep.

Get eight hours of sleep. Skipping on sleep is like not filling an empty gas tank because you are in a hurry.  And unlike the silly driver, AAA can’t help a fried and sick law student.

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3. Eat healthy, skip on caffeine.

You do not have time to battle acne, obesity, and caffeine withdrawal during finals. Plus, the fake-food is just going to drain your wallet and make you feel sluggish anyway.  So go to the grocery store and stock up on your apples, peppers, bananas, nuts, cucumbers, & etc. Just don’t be “loud crunching guy” at the library or we will pelt you with oranges.

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4. Start your outlines.

All of them. Right now. Quick and dirty does the trick: have a header, pour the syllabus in, and now you have a framework. It is often easier to fill something in than to start.  And do not worry about having perfect headings and margins. Your outline does not need to be cute. Just make sure you have a good table of contents (instructions here) and do not worry about the rest. Perfect indentations and bullet points are not on the test. I promise.

And: Unless it’s conlaw, do not worry about the extraneous little details of every case. Focus on concepts, themes, why a court made its decision, and what made that case different from the one before it.

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5. Exercise, relax.

If you hit a wall in studying, take a run or a gym break. Working 4 hours at full-speed is better than half-assing 14 hours in the library.

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6. Actually study when you study.

Studying is not about how long you sit in the library. Do not pretend to study and when you’re actually taking quizzes on facebook. Focus, or at least acknowledge that you aren’t studying.

When you are studying, the most important task is the one right in front of you. Forget about everything else. Do not worry about facebook, your neighbors, the 1,001.3 other things you have to do, or Beyonce, and just focus. Disable your laptop’s wireless card if you have to. We won’t judge. Remember, distraction is the enemy of productivity – so stop being distracted and start being productive.

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7. No posturing.

There’s no elegant way to announce the size of your outline on facebook, so don’t be that girl. No one likes her or thinks she has a particularly rich inner life…

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8. Share.

Unless the curve in your class is set to a 1.5 or something ridiculous like that, do not be afraid to exchange outlines and talk over hypos with your classmates.  There is a difference between giving an outline to someone who has skipped all semester and exchanging your work with someone who is working just as hard as you are.

And finally:

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9. Breathe again.

Every minute you spend being hysterical on facebook or twitter is one less minute you could be doing something other than annoying your peers and looking ridiculous. Hush. Stop panicking. Remember, one is going to die… now get to work.

And remember, your 2L support squad is available on twitter (@dennisjansen @huma_rashid) if you need us. We accept cookies and exotic teas.