Studying for the bar exam is not easy when it’s the only thing you have to do, let alone if you have to study while balancing other responsibilities. ‘Balance’ might not be the best word because that implies things are equal. Bar prep is time consuming and exhausting and can easily take over our lives. Actual study time might be 40-50 hours a week but if we aren’t careful, it will seep into every waking moment and convince us that we don’t have time for anything else.
Equal balance in life isn’t really possible but setting boundaries is. Studying is important and so is rest but you have to set boundaries in order to achieve both. It’s called self-care. Most people think self-care is treating yourself- binging something on Netflix, hours on Tik-Tok, etc. But self-care is not escaping from reality, it is actually taking care of yourself. Sit down at your desk and get your work done. Turn off notifications on your phone and put it out of reach. Finished your work? Don’t automatically reach for your phone. Take a short walk or do a load of laundry. Go to sleep (not to bed) before midnight and get out of bed (not wake up, get up) by 8am. Put the clean laundry away, make your to-do list and then do it. Bar prep is not an excuse to let everything else go but we also can’t avoid doing the hard thing by claiming it’s self-care. That’s where the balance is- setting up boundaries and then doing your best.
As 2021 draws to a close, now is the perfect time to identify what your best-self looks like and what you need to do to make that happen. You will encounter some stress and some days will be better than others. That’s ok. If you have established clear boundaries you can and will re-balance.
-KSK
Bar Exam Wizard 
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