Being a law student is hard. It is hard on a normal day. Once you are past your first year though, the doors to compete to be on an advocacy team and law articles or journals open. But how do you balance being a law student and then adding on even more academically? While it is hard to find time to devote not only to your academics, but then add more activities to your plate, it is hard to remember the most important part of your day, you. 

As a 3L, I remember being told in Orientation to make time for you and what you enjoy. I thought to myself, “and how in the world am I going to do that?” While it took some time in my first year to find what worked for me, it only got harder for me in my 2L year. My first year, I made sure that I kept at least one day a week to not touch anything law school related. Sure, this made my Sundays heavy, but giving myself one day made all the difference in succeeding academically and personally. Without taking one day a week to take a step away from the hardest thing I have ever done, I don’t think it would have been possible to make it through my first year. 

After the first year, I wanted to compete to join a law journal and Moot Court. I joined Resolved and Moot Court. However, I did not realize how much crazier my life could get after 1L year. With Resolved, 2L’s wrote on their first semester. Moot Court implemented a new required course for brief writing and oral argument. On top of my courses, these activities became a lot for me. I realized that I still needed to make time for me, or I would not succeed again. 

During the stress of law school, I researched the damages high stress, or cortisol, can have on oneself. With extended periods of high cortisol levels, this can lead to anxiety, weight gain, and even heart and lung issues. The Role of Cortisol in the Body, Health Direct, https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/the-role-of-cortisol-in-the-body. (last visited Oct. 19, 2023). After learning this, it did not make me want to stop doing everything I had dedicated myself to, but instead, to find ways to prioritize myself. I currently keep one day a week for no law school activities. I also make sure I go to the gym every day or at least move my body intentionally. This not only was something that I enjoyed, but made me feel good and something everyone can try.

I utilize time in between my classes by making sure I am updating outlines, notes, readings to make daily time for myself outside of law school. I do everything I can at the physical school so that when I go to my house, I do not bring in the stress of my day by having to do more work in my space. 

The most helpful thing that anyone can do, including those that have added advocacy teams and legal writing to their workloads, is prioritize yourself and find activities that make the weeks go by fast, but with ease. Do what makes you happy, less stressed out, and will get your mind off law school and then be able to refocus when needed. Without those tools, law school and other academic activities are only going to get harder, and it will be hard on your academic life and your personal life. While you may be in law school, it is not your whole being and identity for three years, you can still be happy and be yourself to become a fantastic student (and lawyer!) while you are here. 

Interested to read more about time management? Check out these books available at our law library:

• 50 Lessons for Lawyers: Earn More, Stress Less, Be Awesome, call number KF297 .B47 2016
• Time and Workplace Management for Lawyers, call number KF315 .J37 2013
• Time Management for Attorneys: a Lawyer’s Guide to Decreasing Stress, Eliminating Interruptions and Getting Home on Time, call number K129 .P69 2008
• Time Management from the Inside Out: the Foolproof System for Taking Control of Your Schedule—and Your Life, call number HD69 .T54 M66 2004

Diana Lewis

Juris Doctor Candidate, 2024
Sol Blatt, Jr. Law Library Research Fellow
Resolved Law Journal Member
Moot Court Advocacy Board Member
Charleston School of Law