Toddler.
Full-time law firm job.
Studying for the bar exam.
Any two out of the three would be plenty, but all three at the same time is... challenging.
Work has been heating up, which would otherwise be good except that I'm getting way behind on my studying. Two different partners have talked about pulling me in on big projects -- I had to tell one of them that I wouldn't be around in the time frame that she needs me, and I need to talk to the other one to make sure he knows I'll be out for half of July. Where was all this work a month or two ago when I was sitting around wishing for something to do?
I'm two days behind on the Barbri lectures and about a week and a half behind on the assignments. Every spare moment I have -- at least, when I have the mental capacity to process -- I'm studying. I pop in the headphones to listen to the lectures as soon as I step out the door in the morning and while I'm waiting for the elevator on my way out of work. Last night after K woke me up at 3 a.m., I stayed up and studied until 4:30. I've done the 3 a.m. studying multiple times, in fact -- I can't get back to sleep like I used to. Too much going on.
On the bright side, it's good to be billing some hours and I'm still enjoying the bar studying. I think I'd be miserable trapped in a room for 4 hours every day, but walking along listening to somebody talk about wills on the iPod is fine with me -- it's like listening to an audiobook. And in a way I think it's good to have work to distract me from studying. (But if you have a choice, part-time is definitely the way to go.)
Once July 31st rolls around, I'll have so much time I won't know what to do with myself. I can renew my efforts to learn to play piano. I can read BOOKS again. We can finally watch the entire season of Lost that we have stored up on our TiVo!
Meanwhile, I'll cram in as much as I can. I'm taking a few weeks off before the bar exam and I'll try to catch up then. But for now I am much busier than I would like.
(P.S. - Please don't tell me, "Don't worry, you'll do fine." Did I say I was worried? No. I just said I was taking the bar exam. And if you want to tell me your personal bar story, I'm happy to hear it, but leave out the "All I did was X, Y, and Z, and I passed, so you'll pass too!" This is not helpful.)
>>>"All I did was X, Y, and Z, and I passed, so you'll pass too!" This is not helpful.
ReplyDeleteAGREE!!!!
Good luck!
Yikes, that does sound like a handful! Good thing for you I have not taken the bar yet so I have no super unhelpful tips to give! But I'm just working full time and caring for a pre-toddler and I feel like my time is swallowed up in some crazy time warp.
ReplyDeleteyou have me intrigued though on the audio-bar prep program. that sounds like a great idea!
I was in your shoes last year - working full-time, bar studying, baby. You are much more prepared at this point than I was. I had a hard time doing all three. But once I stopped working - about a week and a half before the test - i found it was amazing how much studying I could do in a day.
ReplyDeleteThe downside to working and taking the bar exam at the same time? Having your boss call you at lunch the first day of the exam with some questions about a filing due that day...
I really didn't start "studying" until after the 4th of July if that makes you feel any better. The bar sucks and will drive you crazy, but thankfully, it's about passing - not making a top grade or beating a curve. I had to keep reminding myself of that as the test approached.
ReplyDeleteI really am impressed you have so many balls up in the air at one time - I didn't have to work, didn't have a kid, and I was a mass of stress. But, in retrospect, I think most people grossly overprepare for the bar, in any case - I know I did. It is very hard to go from aiming for As to aiming for a D-. :)
ReplyDeleteMost of my bar study afternoons (no iPod option for me) after classes were spent reading in my garden. I'd read, then garden a bit, then go back to reading. I owe my overgrown monstrosity of a garden now to the July 05 exam!
I can't believe you're studying so early in the morning... the thought has crossed my mind to just study instead of lying awake in bed after the baby wakes me up...but I succumb to laziness and just stay there.
ReplyDeleteI am in serious awe of all that you're juggling right now, both because I'm sure you'll pass (not to be unhelpful) and because you're surviving right now!
You are Superwoman!! Seriously..it makes me tired just reading about what you're doing. I will never again complain about my schedule...
ReplyDeleteWhew, just hearing about all that exhausts me! I love the iPod though, I think I would die if I had to sit in the law school (without air conditioning) and listen to these blowhards. We've still got a month.
ReplyDelete