Procrastinators Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from chronic procrastination.
State Bar Exam - Chatty
I did not make my goal for the State Bar exam. What's important to share is that I have no regrets about withdrawing from it. I feared I would, but I don't at all. I was completely burnt out and this did not give me a fair shot at absorbing the material. I get that now. That said, I have taken a solid week off. I have placed some higher priorities to lower my resentment toward the material: Namely losing the 40 lbs I have put on. Restoring some hobbies and personal interests that apparently mean a great deal to me (all of which were put on the back burner these past couple of years). I am capping the amount of time each evening that I will put toward this goal. I have made a deal with myself that if I stick to this program and my body and mind is responsive to the material then I will sign up for the July bar. But, I'm not going to sign up unless I'm absolutely convinced that my body and brain is up to the tasks and I'm comfortable with the progress that's been made. I don't lack discipline as it turns out. I do have a 44 year old brain. It needs more than an onslaught of law thrown at it in order to be happy. I'm learning to throw it a bone instead of forcing it to sit in a chair and do something that it doesn't want to do. That proved fruitless. It gets back at me by not memorizing what I'm throwing at it. So, the goal is team work via balance. I will let you know how it goes. Beef stew!!
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the feeling that you will
the feeling that you will have when you are done with this, will be a greater celebration that any new years party. you can do this!
you can do it chattydo!
Thinking of you- best of luck with study today and tomorow.
Solidarity, Chatty
Solidarity, Chatty
60 Days til I sit for the Bar
Progress is being made, but I need to be more militant about it. I need to leave the house also. I get distracted when at home. Also, there is a thought process going on in my head as to whether I deserve this or not. I believe this thought process has been there since the beginning, but I'm just beginning to face it and work it. Probably b/c this is the last time I'm taking this exam. It's do it or don't do it, but move on with my life.
im with hooch
im with hooch (see below) you SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DESERVE IT!!!!Keep up the fantastic work. A step at a time! Best of luck with the study todayxxxx
Jalla - Thank you!
Thank you, Jalla! I've already got my materials out! Will update!
Great job!!!
Sending you good study vibes across the water! Have a good dayxx
@ Chattydo
>whether I deserve it or not
I can relate here. But if not us.... who?
I think you deserve it. I am convinced.
Hooch
HOOCH - Thank You!
Thank you!!!! It's shocking how our minds can betray us with horrific thoughts, and then we turn around and believe every word it says.....
Leaving the house
perish. And if that be so, why not now, and where you stand?
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894)
StudentTessa - Library
Thank you. Yes, I have two! I plan to pack stuff the night before and go directly after work. Time is ticking away so fast.
64 days until I sit for the Bar.
Making progress....miscalculated how fast I can get through some of the material. I'm having to relearn some stuff or maybe learn it for the first time. Learning is a slow process. But, I am putting in the time. Comprehension....I can only control the time of that to some degree. Thank you for your support!
I'll be at it for the next 5 hours.
65 days until I sit for the Bar.
I've made progress the last couple of days in terms of stop talking about stuff and just doing it. I need more of it. Today is a big major productivity day. I'm not going to talk about it, think about it, or worry about it. I'm just going to do it.
GO GO GO! you can do it!
GO GO GO! :D you can do it!
Thank You, Thesis!!!!!!
Way to go!!!!!
Well done Chattydo!! Sending you losts of good wishes for a great study day today.
Best of luck!
Thank You, Jalla!
69 Days til I sit for the Bar
Off to a good start this morning. I have opened the package of failed essays from the Cal State Bar. I have printed out the examination questions. I have all materials with me, including flashcards. My goal is to rewrite the framework of each failed essay with my materials next to me. The point is to try and figure out why I failed. It's not like they tell you. There's absolutely nothing - not so much as a checkmark or a pencil mark on these exams. I have zero idea why I failed. I only know that I failed. I guess it's my job to figure out why.
Later the same day.....I have not had a moment to break from work to go to my car and do flashcards. I will attempt to do so by 12:30 p.m. If only for 10 minutes.
69 days until I sit for the Bar.
I did what was necessary yesterday. I have a plan today. I have an accountability partner, so that is TRULY helpful as it provides a pleasant pressure to keep going forward. I've done my to-do list. Let's see if I pull it off today. I printed out, "The Pomodoro Technique," that everyone is talking about.
Chattydo
70 days until Bar Exam
I have cleared my social calendar. I have my study materials. I am reviewing the contract I made with myself. I am creating a penalty for breach of contract (failure to live up to a minimum standard). This breach is to set up the "immediate consequence" I seem to need. Today, I don't leave work until I have done all of the multiple choice questions that are scheduled for today. Period. When I get home, I am to do the flashcards. Then I will workout. Then I will do 2 essays. That is today's plan.
Support to Chattydo!
I admire your ability to set up immediate consequences for yourself. Sending good thoughts your way!
What is beef stew?
TABULARASA - Thank you!
I will let you know if it works! I think it will!
P.S. When I get flooded with negative thoughts, I immediately start chanting beef stew, beef stew, beef stew, until images of beef stew flood my mind and overpower the negative thoughts. It helps me to get my mind off of negative things. Sort of like a reset button. Try it!
Holy Moly! 71 days to exam!
I wish I had good news to report. I would share the whole darn story, but I don't want to dwell on it. Assume the worse and you have the basic gist of it. Today is a NEW day. I have learned A LOT this week on a personal level. Will implement my findings into my everyday life, which will affect this project.
Chattydo.
Bar Exam Deadline - 77 days to go
Okay....I am making progress, but it is slow. Yesterday, I intentionally focused on the people in my personal life. Today is Monday and therefore, a work day. I am set to do the following:
- Statement/Evidence
- Police Report/Evidence
- Photos/Evidence
- Autopsy Report/Evidence
- Comment made in office/witness available/Evidence
- Comment made in office/witness unavailable/Evidence
- Deposition transcript/witness available
- Deposition transcript/witness unavailable
- 18 multiple choice questions evidence
- 1 x 10 evidence flashcards
- Read Con Law Chapter for 30 minutes.
- 1 x 10 Torts flashcards (pick one section)
- 1 x 10 Crim Law flashcards (pick one section)
- 1 x 10 Crim Pro flashcards (pick one section)
- 1 x 10 Contracts flashcards (pick one section)
- 1 x 10 Real Property flashcards (pick one section)
- 1 x 10 Con Law flashcards (pick one section)
This is all overwhelming, but only scratching the surface of what needs to happen. The thinking is that I need to start small, get a pattern of movement, get my confidence growing and then incrementally do more. That's the goal. Embrace the uncomfortable!!
Keep up the good work!!
Hi Chattydo,
I'm relatively new to PA but I just came across your comments and I just had to write and wish you lots of strength and determination in fighting that devil!! I like to use visualization to picture myself achieving my goal and feel what that's like. That helps me find the motivation to get started or keep up the momentum. To decide that today I'm in charge of my time, not the procrastination devil (I call it a monster).
I really do wish you all the best. You have a clear goal and deadline and the determination to make it!!
Best wishes,
Blue-eyes
Blue Eyes - Thank you!!!
Thank you for the kind words. Every day is a new day.
Bar Exam Deadline - 78 days to go
Okay. Yesterday was tough,but I grabbed the red faced devil with the razar sharp horns and foul breath by the face and kissed him. It was every bit as bad as I thought it was going to be, but with time....it got easier. And today, I've been up 25 minutes and already I have made coffee, done my to do list, and am now in the lady cave with my materials and am set to study for the next 1 hour on multiple choice questions. Then, I am meeting someone and working other things on my list. When I return home, my intention is to come back up to the lady cave, where everything is spread out, and study for the evening. And here's the thing.....that red faced devil is hiding in the corner instead of flaunting his presence by sitting on top of my law materials. What does this mean? Progress has been made regarding my fear of the material. That's a critical start.
I was watching Deepak on tv and he mentioned in passing that it takes 21 days to form a habit. Well, I'd heard that before. What I didn't know is that by day 66, the habit is so ingrained that it is automatic. That I found encouraging. I can DO this!
Today, my mantra is to embrace the uncomfortable and kiss all the frogs and devils that come across my path.
Holy Moly! 79 days to exam!
I got my State Bar confirmation. I am to sit for the Bar on Feb. 26th. The check has cleared the bank, flash cards and other materials in hand. OH, what else? A boat load of fear. So, TODAY is the day that I have designated as my relaunch. Embrace the Uncomfortable! Kiss that Frog!
I set up a Google Calendar/Task List (instead of reordering new Daytimer). I've set up my to-do lists by using a series of bursts. Today, the following is scheduled:
10 x 6 Evidence
10 x 6 Con Law
60 x 1 Evidence Essay
60 x 1 Con Law Essay
20 x 1 Multiple Choice Crim Law
20 x 1 Multiple Choice Torts20 x 1 Multiple Choice Contracts (ks)
20 x 1 Mulitple Choice Property
10 x 1 Flashcards Evidence
10 x 1 Flashcards Con Law10 x 1 Flashcards Crim Law
10 x 1 Flashcards Crim Pro10 x 1 Flashcards Torts
10 x 1 Flashcards Contracts
10 x 1 Flashcards Real Prop
10 x 1 Flashcards Prof Rsp.
10 x 1 Flashcards Community Property
10 x 1 Flashcards Wills
10 x 1 Flashcards Trusts
10 x 1 Flashcards Civil Procedure
10 x 1 Flashcards Biz Associations
10 x 1 Flashcards Remedies
Ambitious, unbelievably uncomfortable, but I shall take another's advice and KISS THAT FROG!
Beef Stew! Beef Stew! Beef Stew!
Only 82 days left til State Bar Exam.
EMBRACE THE UNCOMFORTABLE AND KISS THE FROG.
I'M STRUGGLING BADLY. BUT, I AM APPROACHING MY DAY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF EMBRACING THE UNCOMFORTABLE. I DID SOME UNCOMFORTABLE THINGS LAST NIGHT. I DID SOME UNCOMFORTABLE THINGS TODAY.
FLASH CARDS ARE INCREDIBLY UNCOMFORTABLE AND DESPERATELY NEED TO BE MASTERED IF I'M TO PREVAIL IN THIS GOAL. I INTEND TO CAPITALIZE ON THE MOMENTUM I HAVE BUILT IN THE LAST 24 HOURS AND EMBRACE MY DISCOMFORT ABOUT THIS UNCOMFORTABLE TASK AND GO FORTH.
I SHALL REPORT THIS EVENING BEFORE I GO TO BED.
Sending encouragement!
Congratulations on embracing the uncomfortable!
I just read that you are a mother and wife as well as your paid work - no wonder you are flat out. Being a mother takes a lot of energy too.
I really admire your persistence with this goal and wish you every strength in reaching it.
FINDINGAWAY - THANK YOU!!!!
Thank You!!! I'm 44, married, 1 teenager who is taking his driver's license test in a couple of weeks. Every time he gets in the car, I white knuckle it and age another 10 years! It's amazing I have any brain cells left at all
10 days down, 85 days to go for State Bar Exam.
Ten days have passed and it feels like I've made little progress. I would like to smile, be gregarious, and pretend otherwise but I can't lie like that. Especially on this site, which I consider to be akin to group therapy. The question becomes what is keeping me from adhering to the schedule? I've been paying very close attention and conflicting priorities seems to be playing a role. For example, I worked late almost all week with deadlines that are beyond my control. I felt that I had to bring home "the big messy box" that was assigned to me and a file that requires an Answer (which I needed to train myself on how to do) if I didn't want to be fired. The threat of being fired wasn't in the air or anything like that, but my other deadlines pushed these projects on the backburner this past week and now there is no time if the firm is to be timely. So, since I was assigned the box, the pressure is mine and the blame if we don't meet deadline. These tasks are new and therefore, time consuming for me. I couldn't be sure that if I did them on Monday that I would actually make the deadline and meet my billable hours. I suspect that if I can just get current by the end of tomorrow night, then my job will turn into a normal 9 to 5 position. What does this have to do with my study for the bar? I'm glad you asked. The work days have sucked my energy up and I get home late. When I walk in the house, I go into mother/wife mode. Probably in that order. For whatever reason, I can't turn that off. I have obligations there and I don't shirk them. Then this weekend, I haven't felt like my time is my own. My solution?
Well, I'm working a wrongful death/survival action claim this weekend, which has death photos, a surveillance video, a recorded statement, a police report, a death certificate, a manslaughter conviction, an insurance policy declaration page, a rumored wife, a girlfriend with two kids, a financially dependent parent, and not sure what else? What does that sound like? That sounds like evidence. That sounds like a crime. And since he died without a a will, we also have an intestacy problem. And since he is married, we have a community property problem that will overlap with wills. And since we have a wrongful death....what is that? That's a tort. And since we have a survival action. What is that? That too is a tort. So today, I woke up with the great idea of multi-tasking by making this file a lab. I'm going to study this file using my bar study materials at the same time that I work it and hopefully figure it out. Then I'm going to do the same thing with "The big messy box." Maybe if I get in the habit of this, the bar study materials won't be so intimidating to me and I will get enough real-life practice with the skills that it will sink in better. I also plan to flip through evidence cards, constitutional cards, criminal cars today. Working on memory.
Maintaining my energy continues to be a problem. I have started my walking again, which is essential. When I went out walking last night (in the rain), I was surprised by what thoughts floated to mind. I have a lot of bat-shit-crazy-mid-life-crisis emotional thoughts floating beneath the surface that are likely distracting me in general. Probably distracting me a great deal more than I realized, actually. I guess I'm nothing if not passionate!!!! I've been going to bed at 10 on most nights. I went to Costco and bought pre-made meals (homemade meals that I can't make cheaper if I did it myself) for work nights where I have low energy. I also brought fresh fruits and veggies to give me energy in the day.
Really, all I can do is take each day as it comes and give it another go. Tomorrow may be totally different. But, I can DO THIS plan TODAY. And that's all that matters.
@ Chattydo
I am so impressed with the amount you get done. You are a mom, a wife, working full time and you are studying on top of that. I wish you well with all your tasks.
I think your strategy sounds great. Learning thro doing is always good for fixing things in the brain cells.
Beef Stew!
Hooch
HOOCH - Thank You!
Thank You!!
Beef Stew! Beef Stew! Beef Stew! This week was more productive than most at work b/c I am focused on two things: 1) Embrace the uncomfortable (and kiss that frog!) 2) Not allowing myself to think of yesterday or tomorrow. Today is all I have.
That said, I have not made the progress I need for this goal. Today I'm going to change that by applying the Kiss the frog TODAY principle. I have a rather detailed plan of action per subject. Will let you know how it goes.
I believe you have an accursed project, my friend, so hope to see ya in the chatroom!!!!
90 Days until I sit for the Bar.
Five days have passed and I'm definitely struggling. To focus on the positive, there has been some progress - just not enough (by my standards....probably anyone's!). At issue was the fact that on Sunday, the day that was supposed to be a huge production day in terms of law work, my noodle wasn't cooperating. Or, as Hercule Poirot would say,"the little gray cells weren't engaged." But, I did persevere and make SOME progress. Hopefully more than I give myself credit for. I've noticed many of us in PA don't give ourselves enough credit for the progress we do make. I am in a different place than when I started 5 days ago. I am further along the path. I am understanding evidence more. I am going to work it this evening as I am working during the day. Then I am going to read up on constitutional law. Do criminal law flashcards. Do evidence flashcards. Work on next stage of evidence essay (to really focus on the skill). And memorize, memorize, memorize.
Memorize. I am going to visualize myself doing each of these tasks during my day and figure out which aspects of each task is freaking me out. Instinctively it feels like my memory. It's a crapload of work to memorize. It really is.
Til tonight!
And as always......remind myself to always remember and never forget: Beef stew, beef stew, beef stew.
I can relate
Chattydo,
Haing taken the bar decades ago, I can still related keenly to what you are going through. Just keep up the good efforts.
Also, if you can manage to take a few weeks off before the bar, I found it helpful to establish a (temporary) routine of 3 hours of study in the morning and 3 more in the afternoon, at the same starting and ending time as the bar exam itself. This way, my biological clock was in synch with the bar exam when I am ready to take it.
Hamlet
Good luck to you chattydo
Good luck to you chattydo and nice to meet you! we're all in this journey together, hope we can be a comfort and support for each other. you can do this!
PhD Mom - Thank you!!
It is very motivational to have so many people rooting for one another!
I'm very glad that I shared my project. It's only helped me.
Good for you, Chattydo
Go for it. You are doing all the right things.
Hamlet
Thank you, Hamlet!
Thank you, Hamlet! Thank you!
Best of luck!
Best of luck with your exam preperation chattydo! - you sound like you have a great plan of action. Wishing you great study vibes and all the very best.
Jalla - Thank you!
I do have a plan....now if I can only STICK to the plan and not HATE myself when for whatever reason, I deviate from the plan....then it will be okay.
I am really inspired by everyone in PA, the support that we give each other, and the tools/insight available to help us do what we want or need to do. Thank you for your support! It motivates me!!!
Rah, Rah, Rah!
YOU CAN DOO EET! My friends from work used to go around saying that all the time for grins (expletive substituted) & giggles. I'm gonna have to rent Water Boy & rewatch that. Unless, that particular turn of phrase is not from that movie? Anyway, now I'm going to know of a lawyer in California should I ever need one (you never know). Can I get the Procrastinators Anonymous discount? :D Go, go, go!
If not now, when?
spazz- you're absolutely right!!!
Very nice of you!!! There is ABSOLUTELY a discount!!!!!
Chattydo
Good luck Chattydo,
Beef stew will see you through
the Bar and other problems too!
Hooch
HOOCH - Thank You!
I really appreciate your support. Truly.
I am glad you like that
I am glad you like that little ditty. I thought you could sing it thro the corridors of chambers (I have an extremely hazy idea of what the bar is, as you see) adding a few Tiddly Poms as desired.
H
Hooch - You're funny!
It's a three-day exam for my law license (which WHEN I finally do get it, will authorize me to practice law in California).
@Chattydo
A THREE DAY exam, that is quite something. Like the old Chinese Civil Service exam, 3 days locked in a room to "write down everything you know". But step by step, microburst by microburst you can make it!
v Best,
Hooch
Thank you! Actually, it
Thank you! Actually, it feels a bit more like you're in a James Bond movie. You go to a high rise in downtown Los Angeles, park in an underground parking garage, and hope there isn't a Russian spy with a full set of torture tools patiently waiting for you. It's a high security environment, multiple forms of id required to even get in the building, then fingerprinting, and then you are locked in a room with a proctor, where you are forced to sit at table, alone, with this non-speaking person watching your every move. There is a loud kitchen timer ticking in the background. I kid you not. This goes on for 8 hours - 6 hour exam where you do 3 essays in 3 hours, then lunch, and then you do a performance exam (where they give you approximately 50 pages of very dry reading, in which you need to figure out what exactly the problem(s) is/are, which statute(s) out of 20 given that will actually apply to the problem, then write out a 5 page document), all in 3 hours. When you actually exit the exam, everyone around you appears to be drugged or shell shocked. Some people, usually 1 or 2 are crying. Most look like they've just been told their mother died - very serious, very upset, staring straight ahead. There's always a small group of wackos that are laughing, animated, and generally jovial. But, they are in the minority. Then the second day is 200 multiple choice questions. They give you 3 hours per 100 questions. Usually not enough time as each question tends to have a long fact pattern and 3 of the 4 possible answers are each technically correct. The trick, I'm told, is to figure out which of those 3 is "more" correct than the others. You need to do this in 87 seconds. Then you return on the third day and repeat EXACTLY the first day - 3 essays, 1 performance exam. Except, when you leave everyone looks very different. We look like felons leaving the local prison: relieved.
Chattydo!
P.S. Beef Stew! Beef Stew! Beef Stew!