10 Tips to Survive Work and Law School

You must be crazy to be in law school and work all at the same time. But yes, I did it for two years, stopped, then again, now in my final years (hopefully), and boy it is crazy -- suicidal even. The first few months are difficult but soon you will get the hang of it.

It has its own perks, yes, but everyday is a total adrenaline-pumping and stress-juice producing ride. I love the earning part of it. That means I don't have to ask for dole outs from generous benefactors (kinda) but I admit, it eats me up little by little. I have to trade money for sleep, time, sanity and beauty!

Contrary to popular belief a full time law student doesn't always have the upper hand when it comes to study time, so hurray for us working law students! When one has the luxury of time, there is a tendency to be complacent, right? I even have time to do this blog, plus 5 more others, still have time to do freelance work online, roam and be fabulous all at the same time. :)

So how do you survive being in-between two equally-demanding responsibilities of work and law study?

1.  A Cool Boss
First, you must have a really cool, understanding and supportive boss. One who allows you to leave work in time for you not to be late for your class. It is hard when there is a deadline or meeting you need to attend and you need to rush off to class without missing a beat. I'm glad I can say I'm one of the lucky few.

2. Understanding Boyfriend, Girlfriend, or Spouse
Oh I almost forgot, you are also a living human capable of having a relationship. Well, your loved one must be understanding enough to take 2nd priority, period. Law school is demanding enough, but add work, oh well, you do the math, because a day consist only of 24 hours.

3. Manageable Law Professors
You are lucky if your law professor is not so nit-picky when it comes to lates and absences, otherwise, it's another reason to add to your woes.

4. Your Own Transportation (a.k.a. car)
There are days when you would simply want to teleport from the office to your classroom in order to save time and energy. A car would be good to make that last minute dash from the office to law school or vice-versa, on rush hour. Having your own mode of transport is also great when you need to catch that much-needed 10-minute power nap. But hey, don't sleep and drive, or drive and sleep -- both two dangerous combo that could cause you limb and life.

5. Location, location, matters
Choose a school that is accessible from your work, or workplace which is accessible to school, whenever possible. I traded schools solely on this consideration. It would be great if all three (school, work and home) are close to each other for you to save on commute time.

6. Get a good task scheduler app
If you are like some people, a task scheduler to help you manage your little time might help. In my case, I have all this Android apps which supposedly help me budget my time - which I don't have much really. If you are not so techy, then your good ol' notepad will do. Just jot down what you need to accomplish on a weekly and daily basis. Make sure you stick to those tasks somehow ( I don't most of the time!). My list would often go like this...

Day 1
                   -  9pm-11 pm, Digest case for (subject), edit/proofread, 
                                           then post to blog (haha!)
                   - 11pm-12 mn, Do house stuff
                   - 12mn -3 or 4am, Sleep (on my study chair most of the time).
                   - 4am-5am, Read codal for 30mins, then attempt to read 
                                      corresponding book
                   - 5am - 7:30 am, Prepare for work, do house stuff, etc
                   - 7:30am - 8:30am, Commute time, Mad rush
                   -  9am-5pm, W-O-R-K
                   - 5pm-5:30 pm, Commute time
                   - 6pm-9pm, LAW SCHOOL

Oh well, you get what I mean.

7. Schedule your leaves at work nicely
It is good to reserve your work leaves for exam periods in law school. It helps to maintain your sanity during those gruelling days when you have to review for that exam.

8. Limit and manage your social network time
Facebook and other social media are great time-stealers. It is easy to forget time when you are sharing stories and photos or chatting with your friends online, but really, you don't have to update everyday (unless your a social media practitioner). On most days, I would allot 10 minutes per visit, and more than that, I would already feel guilty.

9. Get a massage every payday
Yeah, why not! It is one of those guilt-free pleasures that you can allow yourself to indulge in. After all, you deserve to destress you body. Get a massage twice every month, or more.

10. Eat heartily.
Those sleepless nights can definitely take a toll on your body but its always good to counterbalance this health-adverse activity (law school, I mean) with the consumption of good and healthy food. It's alright to gain some healthy weight when you are in law school. If you are working and studying law, dieting should be the least of your worries, staying up 20 hours a day will m=be more than enough exercise for you, believe me.

All in all, pursuing a law degree and working for another master (your employer) is not for the weak. I bade you to have a strong heart, mind, and body to withstand all the challenges. Your success in both largely depends on how bad you want to be a lawyer, so there! Goodluck!