Let's get it started!

I am back at home for the new semester! Yay! I flew down yesterday for an induction today, having expected to be given a certificate. While attendance was not necessary, the overachiever in me was desperate for a win after a long streak without. After high school, where I got a certificate almost every week for something or other, I've really missed certificates!

Of course, due to the sickness of a member of faculty, I was unable to get a certificate today. With the flu doing the rounds, it isn't surprising that he too has succumb to the dreaded flu.

While I would have liked to have spent some more time with my family at home, returning to Brisbane early meant I was able to purchase my course reader and learning guides earlier than I ordinarily would be able to do. Thankfully, it is a textbook-free semester! The grand total for my bound books was a whopping $45! I have had multiple semesters where my total has easily been 10 times that amount! I'm definitely going to be feeling the financial benefits of that!

On the health front, I'm enjoying feeling healthy after giving up sugar. After going to the grocery store I'm noticing it's not exactly easy to be sugar, gluten and dairy free! I generally try to alternate between Rice, Soy and Almond milks, generally based on which ever is cheapest at any point in time. Although I didn't look at the ingredients lists of all the soy milks on the shelf, I couldn't find any that were sugar free! I'm sure that there are some out there and that I'll just have to search harder.

On that note, I'm off to bed. Tomorrow will be filled with beginning some rudimentary readings for this semester.  I'm also planning on doing a fair bit of cooking to build up my frozen meals to make it easier for the semester! Yay!

Good night world!

Sugar High!

With just over a week before the new semester begins, I'm getting impatient. I've been back at 'home' with my parents and will be returning to my 'home away from home' tomorrow. I'm quite keen to do so as I swear I have so many things to do. For a start, I've got to buy a table. That's right... my house does not have a table. We have chairs, and I've been meaning to buy a table for six months, but it just hasn't happened. HEL-LO IKEA!

As the title suggests, I'm on a bit of a sugar high at the moment. As I haven't had any sugar for a few weeks, the small orange and almond cake has my heart racing and I'm practically swinging from the ceiling fan. It's definitely great!

I'm eagerly awaiting the release of more information on my subjects this semester, although I'm pleased to report that I have no textbooks to buy this semester! As all law students will attest, textbooks can cost a (not so small) fortune and I'm looking forward to having an extra $500 in my bank account!

With that all in mind, I'm going off to spend some last minute time with my family! My mother is going to teach me how to roast a chicken!

Here's to keeping food groups!

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm currently off a number of groups of foods, one of them being salicilates. I have been off them for almost 2 weeks and I am about ready to begin testing myself to see if there is a reaction. After being off the different groups of food, I feel really good, although it is difficult to know which types of food are causing my symptoms. I won't go into my symptoms, but just know, I'm feeling great now. For a start, I have a lot of energy, am sleeping well and have lost weight even though I have shunned the gym this week. 


So, with that in mind, I am tonight making a delicious pasta, filled with the foods I have been unable to stomach this week. Hopefully (or not) this will find me filled with lethargy and what not. As someone with italian heritage, I cannot even imagine how I would cook without tomatoes and onions! For me, having a tin of tomatoes and a red onion in my cupboard means that I can make any number of dishes, and I will have to learn to cook again if tomatoes are leaving my life.


At least I have today. Today I feast on salicilates! Tomato and onion on a muffin for breakfast, a snack of avocado and tomato on a rice cracker, a salad for lunch and the Pièce de résistance, my yummy pasta sauce for dinner.


On the law side of things, I have almost constructed my time table. I have classes on Monday (well a class on Monday), Wednesday and Thursday, with Tuesdays filled with my continued work at a legal centre. The team I am in have been working on public nuisance ticketing which I have been surprised to find very interesting.


Of course, my time table is currently incomplete, as I still need to find a fourth subject. I have picked an interesting topic from the International Relations course list, although it clashes with my volunteer work. Thankfully, the subject is also available externally, so I am hoping that I will be able to undertake the class internally, but do the lectures externally. I am yet to email this to my lecturer to see if it will be fine, but I suspect it will be.


I'm also delighting in the fact that I do not need textbooks this semester! Whenever that happens I get pretty excited. As I will now be working primarily from my laptop, I'm pretty excited to get started. I purchased Microsoft Office for Mac last night and, although  I wasn't able to download it immediately, I should have it running in no time!


Get keen for a new semester everybody!

A new direction

Hi! My name is Anna and I'm a law student. I'm also healthy. Yup, that's right... I don't chug back litres of coffee on a day to day basis (though I do enjoy a nicely brewed one occasionally) and yes, I eat crazy things like quinoa, lentils, chickpeas and kale. It's not my fault! I swear! I wish I could be like the other law students, living off coffee and coffee-shop cake, but alas, tis not for me. My body sort-of hates me. I'm unable to eat gluten, dairy and, as of last week, salicilates, coffee, tea, sugar and alcohol. Hopefully I will be getting some of those groups back (especially salicilates), but I'm prepared for the worst.

I've decided that I am going to start to blog more often, adding a little more about my 'healthy' lifestyle. I won't go all 'this is what everyone should do to be healthy' on you, just a bit of refocusing. I've retitled the blog 'Obiter Girl: The Healthy Law Student' to reflect my intended goal. I figure that, while my super strange and healthy lifestyle isn't for everybody, I am more than sure that there are things that will apply to others.

Holiday Blues

I really am quite over the holidays. Holidays for me, like many students, entails working, trying to save money for the next semester. Of course, I work primarily for my parents, so I go from very little family exposure to all family, all day! It really is a little too much!

I'm busily trying to craft the perfect timetable for the next semester and, as I am unable to undertake the legal clinic I desperately wanted to do, have decided I will take the family law elective. My decision to do so has shocked some of my friends and family as I SWORE black and blue that I would definitely not be doing the subject. Well times have changed... I'm now a fourth year student with a history of failing behind me and little experience. While I have a journal article published (oh yeah, that's some news I forgot to relay), I'm not so sure that it is enough to secure me a job. With divorce rates as high as ever, I feel it would be amiss of me to fail to even consider undertaking family law. When I look at law firms, so many of them work in family law that having knowledge of the area would be beneficial.

I remember talking to older law students while in my first year and they told me how sad family law is and how many of them were in tears week by week. I don't think this will be an issue for me, but it has been a reason I have avoided it. Right now, there is one thing that is turning me off the subject - the lecture is at 8am! I haven't had an 8am class since my first year and now that I live off-campus, I'll have to leave at around 7am to make it on time! I may live 15 minutes away, but the traffic early morning is a nightmare!

While I'm definitely over the holidays, I am enjoying my new laptop. I purchased an 11" MacBook Air to replace my 13" MacBook Pro that died during exams. It's great, but I'm also looking forward to the release of an updated iMac from Apple. I worked out that buying an Air as well as an iMac will ultimately cost less and  get me a great set-up. I can't wait to have a desktop!

This also means a significant change for me, going back to taking notes on my computer. I haven't done so for some time, but with a new (and tiny) computer it's not only an option, but the best option. Although the 11" MBA has a low-ish battery life, it should be more than enough for my needs. I've also gotten in the habit of always carrying a charger with me anyway, after having a dodgy laptop battery in my old computer.

Oh and yes, I have put my laptop in an envelope. Haven't you?

On that note, I'm off to spend some time with my family.

Sleep: Is it really that important?

I've never been the type of person that love to sleep all day. As a child I would make pillow forts that were solid enough to hide the light from my torch, allowing me to read late into the night. As I got older, I would wake up during the night and, unable to get back to sleep, would surf the internet. I eventually kicked that habit, instead staying up into the early hours before sleeping. I have continued to find, however, that if I go to bed at what is considered a 'decent' hour I wake up at least once during the night. I've always thought this to be 'abnormal' and assumed I had partial insomnia, but I'm starting to think that this is actually a more natural way of sleeping.

I've always been told that at night we sleep and our ancestors did the same because there was nothing else to do once it was dark. I've done some basic research and found that, while our ancestors did go to bed soon after dark, they did not sleep through the night, rather for around four hours before waking. They would talk and what not for a few hours before sleeping again for some time. From what I have read, the change in sleep patterns is attributed to the industrial revolution and widespread use of electricity. As more people had access to lighting, it no longer became necessary to sleep as soon as night fell and people began to stay up later, resulting in monophasic sleep.

I grew up in an industrial town, with many of my friend's parents doing shift-work. As a result, I was always aware of alternative sleep patterns, but never anything more sophisticated than sleeping during the day instead of at night.

My first encounter with drastically different sleep patterns was the 28-hour-day:

I loved the sound of it, and it even seemed fairly practical, but I figured it would result in confusion  and disconnect from the real world.

I continued exploring and found polyphasic sleeping. I found a 'popular' form was being awake for four hours and sleeping for 30 minutes, reducing the sleep needed per day and increasing productivity. Not only would this be impractical in so many ways (workplace, uni, socialisation etc) but I am the type of person that takes a lengthy time to fall asleep. If tired enough, I can sleep easily, but I am entirely unwilling to try such a drastic measure.

Biphasic sleep fell into my lap recently and quite unexpectedly. I stopped my research on sleep patterns a year ago and had all-but forgotten my findings. After an afternoon of research, it makes sense. Basically, the idea is that you sleep for three hours (for the super-dedicated), 4.5 hours (for most), or six hours (for others) in the morning. Notice that each number is a derivative of 90 minutes? The average sleep cycle is roughly 90minutes long, though people vary from 60 to 120 minutes. You then get up and go about your day. At some point you have a nap for around 90 minutes (another sleep cycle) and continue your day. The idea is that you can have your cake and eat it too; getting up early does not mean sacrificing late nights! Furthermore, you get more time in your day!

I plan to try 4.5 hours with a 90minute nap as I'm not a huge sleeper. While I'm not starting for a few weeks, my planned sleep pattern will be:
1:00am - 5:30am Sleep
6:00pm - 7:30pm Nap
In an ideal world, my nap would be around 3pm, and most likely will be where my uni classes allow, but reality dictates that it be later on. On two days of the week I will be rushing home from class to nap, hopefully getting it in immediately.

A large part of why I am interested to try this is that many people who have trialled such a sleep pattern have found they are more productive and have more energy. I have heard in the past (though I don't have any references to support this) that it is possible that we get too much sleep. I believe that this is probably very likely, based on the largely sedentary nature of the 21st century. We eat much more than we should for the energy we expend and it only makes sense that we sleep too much as well. It's also cited in many places that sleep is important for learning, so I am interested to see if having a nap in the afternoon helps with the learning process.

While there is plenty of scientific information out there, I think the main reason I am interested in biphasic sleep is that I'm a night owl and love staying up late, but see the practical benefits of being an early riser. I love knowing that few people are still awake and the imagery of writing or reading late into the night. For years as a child I woke up at 3:30am (and then more like 5:30am as I worked out I could stay up 'late') and loved having my day underway early. I love going to the gym in the morning, but don't like waiting until the traffic dies down. While I don't need to be anywhere early, I like to be, but late nights aren't something that I am sure I want to sacrifice.


Unfortunately, many of the people I have found online who have documented their biphasic sleep patterns seem to have reverted to monophasic sleeping after either a short period or an extended period. I know that it probably is not practical in the long term, but I can see the value of it for me at this stage of my life. I will be travelling overseas later in the year and know that I woun't be able to continue sleeping in this way, but during semesters, I see the value. At least I can say that I tried it!

ugh... practice makes perfect?

I know I have been a fairly prolific poster lately but I suppose exams have had me thinking about relevant things more than usual. After a weekend of heavy studying, I took a past exam and had a look at it.

Admittedly, I rely on past exams for practice much less than many of my fellow students. While it does feel good to practice, I hate doing questions when I don't have answers or suggested approaches that I can work with.

Early on in my degree I loved using practice exams and used them extensively in my exam preparation.  When I failed my first subject, I was confused - I had been doing past exams for weeks without any trouble, how could I have failed? I then realised that being able to answer a question  easily does not ensure the answer is correct and, without an answer to check, can just lead to a false sense of security.

You can avoid this by working with other people and comparing answers, but this approach doesn't work for me. I know that I work better at my own pace rather than working with other people, at least the majority of time.

After a few more exams, I realised it was important to do practice questions and ended up finding a series of books that had exam-type questions with answer structures. I've continued to use these when possible to avoid any risk of being blind-sighted in an exam.

If only law exams consisted of more straightforward questions, with clear answers! There is nothing like going into an exam and knowing the way a particular lecturer structures their questions. I'm slowly trying to make sure I work through a few past exam questions for each exam, but they are often so dry and boring that I'd prefer to work on anything else. Until today...

While I had already had a brief look at one of the past exams for the subject I am yet to sit, I only sat down to have a good look at it tonight. It turns out one of the questions is essentially the plot of The Hangover.

Phil, Stu, Alan and Doug are four friends who live in Brisbane... The four have made a booking at Caesar's Palace, a well known hotel in the heart of the Gold Coast. (For clarification, this is not the real Caesar's palace - Caesar never lived here.)...

The question continues, including Alan's purchase of vintage Jaegermeister, Phil's excessive gambling, Alan's grabbing of the wrong satchel and Mr Chow's chips, illegal parking and the theft of a tiger from Mr Tyson's mansion... It is a huge question with so many issues and a recommended time of 80 minutes to work through the question. Of course, it's so hilarious that I can't help but laugh whenever I try to work through the problem. While it is a different examiner this year, I can't help but be slightly worried that something similar will appear on this year's paper and wonder what I will do if this happens!

Going back further, I found a problem eerily similar to Grey's Anatomy, based at 'Brisbane Grace Hospital'. No joke! Ah I love when lecturers engage with pop culture!

Rest in Peace Highway Unicorn

So in typical Obiter Girl fashion, my ailing computer finally succumbed to death in the midst of exams. While I had most of my important documents backed up, there is no substitute for a working computer! As my laptop had been on it's last legs for some time, I had planned to upgrade to a new laptop at this point, although I was hoping it wouldn't be out of necessity. With four and a half years under it's belt, my poor laptop (known affectionately as Highway Unicorn) was well into old age and I had originally hoped that she would live until my eventual graduation. Apparently not.

Of course, in typical Obiter Girl fashion, my laptop died only 6 days after Apple's latest announcement, meaning there were long waiting lists for the gorgeous new Retina Macbook Pros. Of course!

In the end, I came up with a solution that means I will have the portability of a laptop (without having to wait a month or so!) and the power of a desktop! I've acquired an 11" Macbook Air and will be using it while away from home, while using an iMac at home... if I ever get around to getting one! Bonus: It works out cheaper than the new Retina Macbook Pros!

I'm ever so glad to be back in this century! At the same time that my computer was off-limits, my phone was being disobedient and failing to work. Of course. Luckily, I had my iPad so I wasn't entirely cut off from the world, but I was very close

the hand of facebook

Last year I took a few months off Facebook. It wasn't really intentional, at least not at first, but I later realised that avoiding the time-sucking site was amazing. I felt so clear in the head and I seemed to have much more time. In the end, I found existing in without the site was difficult, with many people only using the site as their only way to communicate with others. I gave up and returned to the site, but spend much less time on the site than I have previously.

So when I found myself looking for distractions while trying to study, I decided facebook had to go! Unlike the past, I now have an iPad and that has been my main mode of using the site. My password has been a long string of characters randomly generated online for some time and I haven't made an attempt to memorise the password. Instead I've been breaking the one rule of passwords - I've had it written down.

Unable to remember my password, I knew locking myself out would be relatively easy. I didn't need a friend to change my password and just needed to 'lose' the password. I sent a facebook message to a friend, asking them to hold onto the password and gave it on a piece of paper with a set of instructions to a housemate. I instructed both of them that I would argue that I needed facebook to check an answer with a friend but they were not to give me the password unless I articulated what I needed to ask. Simply stating I needed to check something for Trusts would be insufficient, but if I was to say I needed to ask about exceptions to perpetuity periods I would be able to get the password back. They both laughed, thinking I was going overboard. I just wanted to cover all bases.

Of course, my plan relied on one thing - logging out. I logged out on my phone and ipad immediately but, as I've realised now, never actually logged out on my computer. I also never threw out the piece of paper with the password on it and it remains in it's place on my wall. What I find fascinating is that I never tried to go to facebook. I haven't wanted to and I certainly don't miss it. I feel exactly like I did last year when I took my hiatus from the social networking site.

Even though I thought I was unable to get on the site for the majority of the past 3 weeks, I would like to think that my lack of attempts is evidence of my superior self-control. The fact that I attempted to lock myself out of the site is irrelevant in my mind, as I've glanced around the library, looking down on the many people who aren't studying but facebooking instead. Yeah, I know it's hypocritical of me, but I feel so much better than everyone else here. While I have found other ways to waste my time, facebok hasn't even crossed my mind and I've gotten more work done than I usually would.

While it is rather extreme, I definitely recommend you think about getting ride of facebook when you need to get work done! You don't have to change your password to avoid the site as there are many ways to block you from the site for shorter periods of time. The only downside is that you will have too much time to study!

the perils of open book

After a fairly successful semester (or at least I think it has been fairly successful) I'm in the midst of exams. I have now decided that I hate open book exams. Why? There are a number of reasons for this hatred, but they are not because I think they are more difficult.

It is no secret to my friends that I regularly wage psychological warfare... on myself. Yes, I'm one of those people who manages to 'psych' myself out about almost every piece of assessment. Having failed subjects previously has definitely added to my fear of failure as I have lived through it. Open book exams seem great - you can use any source you want to answer the questions. Of course, what if you don't bring something and it turns out to be VITALLY important in the exam? What if you see someone using a particular book which you have but have no idea how they are using it? The topics covered in the book don't seem to be on the exam - what do they know that you don't know?

As a result, I have a tendency to go overboard. For my open exam last night I vigorously prepared. It was for Trusts and I had done fairly well on the assignment, needing roughly 20% to pass the subject. I spent much of the week preparing my notes into an easily digestible form, ending up with a hefty 80 pages. I went all out, even including extracts as I had no intention to print out the giant pieces of legislation that we had covered. I then prepared some answer guides that were around 100 pages, leaving my notes almost irrelevant. Of course, these guides were AMAZING and I'm glad I had them.

In the end, I decided that I would print the legislation. My upcoming Property exam is closed book but we are able to take unanotated legislation in, so I figured I needed a copy of the Property Law Act anyway. I have an amazing (by which I mean cheap) laser printer and figured binding isn't too expensive. I was feeling lazy, so I printed out the Trusts Act, Successions Act and Property Law Act in full - one page per page. I couldn't be bothered to work out how to print back to back (I forget every time I do it!) so my Property Law Act is a hefty 300 pages, plus the binding! Didn't think that through.

I also took my textbook and a Equity & Trusts Questions and Answer book. I had so much stuff I could barely carry it all into the exam and was surprised to see how little some people took with them. I have a tendency to go overboard, but I realised that I had reached a new level. I thought back to other exams where I took legislation and realised I very rarely, if ever, actually looked through them or used the tabs. Other people had a few pages of  notes and others didn't even bother bringing the textbook! Admittedly, knowing the subject had an open book exam meant I didn't attempt to memorise through the semester, but rather focused on understanding, but still... I had so much in terms of notes!

As students entered the room I saw a number who also had the Q&A book with them. I have had very few open book exams, but have made an attempt to bring a Q&A book whenever I have. I have often found them useful, mainly for working out a good structure and approach, but moreso when I am fairly familiar with the content of the book. This time I spent very little time working on questions from the book. Regardless, when I saw the girl in front pull hers out from the start I was worried. I made an attempt to use the book later on in the exam, but I couldn't. I was worried - why was she using it when I couldn't find something it worked for? Luckily, this didn't bother me for too long as I remembered I had the answer guides with me. I worked through the problems I could using the guides where I could. One of the supervisors seemed fascinated by my bound notes and kept looking at them whenever he passed. Of course, law exams are never a straight forward time when question one addresses a discretionary trust, question two addresses a charitable trust and so on.

Although it has quite possibly happened before, I do not recall ever being told that we are unable to use materials during perusal. I had already had an open book exam earlier in the week for medical law and used my notes extensively in perusal for planning my responses... or at least I think  I did! As I said earlier, my attempts in Trusts have been focused on understanding the content and even though I think I have a fairly solid idea of how a trust works, I still like to check where I can. For me this was also the case for Criminal Law, with no exam for the first semester of the subject last year and an open book for the second. I remembered a significant amount on Charitable trusts so tried to use what I knew to plan out one answer, but without my guide I knew I was forgetting valuable information. In hindsight, I should have used the 10 minutes to plan out and begin my answers for the smaller questions. Alas, that was not the case

I'm extremely glad that I'm finished with trusts... at least for a few weeks. I spent so much time working on my notes this week that I have neglected property, to an extent. Even though there are only a few days left, I'm still trying to work through my notes and I'm not sure how much I actually remember. I have been working on my flash cards for a few weeks now so I am fairly certain I have memorized a fair bit about the cases that are relevant, but I still need to remember the contexts! Ahh!

One thing I am glad of is the overlap between property and trusts. While I didn't memorise anything for my trusts exam, I think I can remember the overlapping areas. I think. I hope. I suppose I should probably get back to it!

Good luck to anyone else working through exams right now!

no one likes revision

So it's SWOTVAC or, as my university 'officially' calls it, 'revision week'. All of a sudden the library, where I get the bulk of my work done, has filled and I struggle to get my usual desk.

My usual desk is perfect - it's not one of the tiny work-desks, all lined up and barely enough room to put my laptop and a textbook, but it's not a wide open section of bench that means everyone else can see what I'm doing. It's also close to a powerpoint, meaning I can actually use my laptop which has a life-span of a whopping 45 minutes. I hate being out in the open where everyone else can see what I'm doing, but I also like to be able to see what others are doing. From my desk I can see if the library is emptying, usually a sign that it is time to leave.

While tempted to work hardcore for the stretch of this week, I know it won't happen. I am still recovering from a large essay for one of my subjects, only now submitted, and am absolutely exhausted. While I know it's better for me to work really hard now, leaving me with more time to actually study in the next few weeks, it won't happen. I'll still be working on my summaries as the exam nears. It happens every time and, to be honest, I'm not sure that I mind.

I know I'm better off if I don't have to work hard on a summary in the days leading to an exam, or that the best way to use my time is to work through problems. The thing is that I have taken this approach before. I have studied all day and all night through SWOTVAC, only to get into the exam and not know anything. I've taken the approach of using problems to study, rather than working on a concise summary. These things don't seem to work for me.

Instead, I relax during SWOTVAC. When I told my mum this, she almost had a heart attack! 'Don't tell me things like that' she said, telling me how sick that thought made her. I tried to explain that by 'relax' I don't mean chilling by a pool (or fireplace) sipping margaritas, rather that I work hard, but use some time to relax. I continue to watch TV occasionally and get sleep if I am tired. I basically approach it like any other week, just minus the classes.

The fact of the matter is, I'm going to get stressed in exam period no matter how prepared I am. I get stressed in exams and once thought it was a healthy level of stress that really helped me. Through my time at university, it's become more than that, to the point where I completely blank on exams, unable to remember a single thing. Instead of doing the smart thing when this happens, I've continued, happy to just 'make it up' and hope it's right. Surprisingly (or not), that does not work.

While I've worked out a way to deal with my in-exam stress through pre-exam meditation, I have realised that my exam stress is high when I have been hard-core during SWOTVAC. I'm not 100% sure why as this is a new theory, plus I'm not a psychology student, but I believe that by working way too much and putting so much pressure on working hard before exams I am under too much pressure and, as a result, I need to reduce the pressure. It may not be the best way to do it, but I feel 'relaxing' is the perfect way to do it.

My plan for this week:

• property law study --> make sure to work on flash cards now, even though it is last exam. Try to put some focus on this subject
• trusts law --> just try understanding. don't worry about how good the notes are now, just understand it. Will put more of a focus on the notes after medical law exam
• medical law --> notes needed. already familiar with most of the content and have all the knowledge from closed book mid-semester, so just look over some things in textbook this week. Start notes towards end of the week
• visit grandparents (friday maybe?)
• dinner with cousins (next sunday)
• go to gym a few times --> take ipad and drill flashcards on treadmill
• cooking - dad will be in town so won't need dinner a few nights this week. Must try to work out what to cook with the accidental veal purchase. Also try making chocolate banana oatmeal
• play guitar and start working on lyrics for friend's birthday parody

I'm almost positive that my plan for the week is significantly different to the plans of others. I've tried not to share it with too many people as they probably think I'm crazy for doing so little study. While it's still quite a bit and I still will have little time 'free', I'm making time for relaxing activities (gym, guitar, grandparents, dinner with family etc) and putting importance on those things. If I put the focus and importance on the non-study related things, hopefully I won't succumb to the stress of exams. Hopefully

Things I've done in the library

My approach to pre-exam study is fairly different to many people. I'm going to write about that later on, but I put more pressure on myself before 'SWOTVAC' and try to spend the last few weeks before exams working really hard so I can 'relax' before exams. Of course, relax is a subjective term so it will hardly be a beach holiday. Anyway, with exams a few weeks away, I've been working really hard in the library. As such, I have realised that I am practically living in the library and there are numerous things I have done in the library that I usually would only do at home:

I have done a full face of makeup for a family dinner:
We were meant to be having dinner at 6pm, so I left the library at 3:30 so I could go home, have a shower and get ready. While driving home I got a message saying dinner was being changed to 7 so I had a shower and got changed and headed back to the library. I actually got a heap of work done that night!

I painted my nails:
I love painting my nails black but my desk at home is snow white. While I'm fairly neat with my nail-painting, I felt safer doing them at uni. No spills and I got work done at the same time!

I have done a workout
Much like drilling concepts on the treadmill, I did pushups while reciting case law. I must admit that it was rather early in the day as I woke up at 5:30am and couldn't get back to sleep, otherwise I wouldn't be doing something to draw so much attention to myself!

I have eaten breakfast, lunch and dinner
I head into the library at night a few times a week at around 6-6:30pm. I don't stay too late, but I get as much work done as I can during that time. I have found if I sit down and eat my dinner at home I'm too full and don't feel like driving into uni. While I usually go, I don't leave for a while and get hardly any work done. Instead, I make my dinner as usual, putting it in a plastic container instead of on a plate and take it with me. I do the same with breakfast some days because it gets me out of the door faster!

Read a novel in a foreign language:
I made an effort to do this reading in study breaks and managed to read the whole thing in the library

Curled my hair
Before leaving home I put my hair in old-fashioned pin curls and wrapped it in a scarf. As I worked, my hair curled.

Planned my menu for the week, including pricing my groceries:
I ended up doing this while looking for something to avoid studying! It worked! This took forever, but was definitely worth it!

Developed unhealthy imaginary relationships with fictional characters, namely Donald Draper and Ezra Fitz
Not sure whether to be proud or ashamed of this!

Anyone else done crazy things in the library?

Law on the silver screen

So following on from my post about my favourite law-centric TV shows, I thought I'd post about my favourite movies that take place in the courtroom.

1. Legally Blonde
You may laugh, but Legally Blonde is a legal classic. I was 10 when the original was released and can't quite remember if I was able to see it in the theatre. I definitely saw the sequel with some friends at the movies. I loved Legally Blonde. Elle was everything a young girl wanted to be... she was a Barbie doll! As the story progressed we learn that Elle is also intelligent and it shatters the perception that pretty girly-girls are dumb. In addition, it encourages us to have a healthy interest in things outside of the law; Elle would not have been successful in court if she didn't have the interest in hair and beauty.

2. To Kill a Mockingbird
Yes, no list of legal movies would be complete without this classic. I couldn't tell you exactly when I first read the book,  but I believe I was 9 or 10. I loved it and seeing the movie made me love the story even more. In high school we studied the book (and movie) and I loved it a whole lot more. While I understood that book as a child, I had a better grasp of the finer points. I'm sure every law student has seen the movie and been inspired by the courtroom scene. While it wasn't the reason I chose to study law, the movie certainly inspires me and Atticus is the type of lawyer I want to be, if I can't be Elle Woods!

3. The Castle
I'm not sure whether this movie was released outside of Australia, but it is most definitely a classic. A man's home is his castle, and the Kerrigan family wanted to protect their castle. Not only is it a great Australian film, there are many references to fundamental Australian constitutional law cases throughout the movie as the family fought to save their home. In my first year when we had to watch some sort of movie or TV show that centered on the law, I picked The Castle. I didn't really pick up on many of the references, but on watching it last year I realised how it would have been a great study tool for constitutional law!

4. Kramer vs Kramer
I have a list of movies that I have always wanted to see, most of them 'classics'. Kramer vs Kramer is one of these. For those who haven't seen the film, the film shows the course of a couple's divorce and the impact on those in their lives, particularly their young son. The custody battle is central and actually inspired me to consider taking the family law elective which I had previously maintained I would never take. It is a great movie and extremely heartwarming.

5. Miracle on 34th Street
I was 5 years old when Mara Wilson starred in Matilda, the movie based on Roald Dahl's book. I loved it and I saw myself in her. We had a similar haircut and she was young, just like me. Her remake of the Natalie Wood classic was released two years earlier than Matilda, but I hadn't seen it until afterwards. It was undoubtedly the first time I had ever seen the law in a movie or TV show and was heartwarming. While the movie hints that Santa is a construct of modern society (something with which I disagree... he still leaves me presents under the tree), as a young child I did not see this and rather just enjoyed the idea that a young girl got to hang out with Santa Claus! In more recent years I saw the original and loved it so much. Definitely a legal classic!

Quest for Distraction!

When I was in High School, I had a theory that if I were to watch, or even just listen to a movie or tv show, while doing an assignment I would avoid other forms of distraction. My theory was that doing so allowed a part of my brain to be distracted, but only minimally, allowing the rest of my brain to focus on my actual task.

Yeah, I worked out a way to justify watching episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Gilmore Girls. I knew deep down that it wasn't realistic but I liked the justification. The thing is, as I've gotten older, this habit has not subsided, but become more of an issue.

It was, at one point, almost impossible for me to study without something on in the background. In a way, my theory from high school rings true - if I have a TV show playing in the background, I'm not surfing the web instead of studying and I probably do get more work done. Most of the time I don't actually watch the show, rather listen in the background much like music, but I'm sure it's not the best way to study.

I like the background noise and find music much too distracting. As a music nerd from a prior life, back when I wanted to be a conductor and study music, the classical music people insist is perfect for studying distracts me. I often find myself  tapping my feet, singing along or conducting. - not a great way to study either, especially in the library. My much loved punk-rock music doesn't work either as it is best listened to loudly and that never works well in earphones. Pop is too distracting and leads to thoughts of gossip and has me going straight to google to find out all about Carly Rae Jepson or whoever the latest diva is. Indie music is a little distracting too and often leads to google. There was a time where I could study to Jack Johnson, but that is now almost impossible, with the music forever associated with trying to sleep in fits of insomnia.

As I think about why music doesn't work for me, I wonder if watching a movie or TV show for background noise is such a bad thing?

After doing a little research, my suspected fears were confirmed - you shouldn't do anything but focus on study. While studying in front of the TV or while listening to music isn't a new thing, the computer is terrible for the ease of engaging in non-study related activities. However, studies have drawn a distinction between passive multi-tasking, like listening to music (or movies) and active multi-tasking, like surfing the web and facebook. Not surprisingly, active multi-tasking is worse for you.

From the LA Times, I learnt:

"What it might suggest is that if you learn these things while you're distracted, then your ability to generalize that knowledge might not be as good," said Russell Poldrack, an associate professor of psychology. "Even if you can learn under multi-tasking, it can change how you learn."

Poldrack also said that "The bottom line is that active distractions involved in multi-tasking are going to reduce one's ability to learn."

However, Poldrack and others have been unable to determine whether listening to something like music is such a bad thing, particularly if it is functioning as white noise to drown out other distractions.
 

Apologies

Oh readers, I've done it again! I've neglected you. I'm sorry for my absence of late and I know that my failure to keep you updated has obviously had you wrought with worry. Well have no fear, I am back! I haven't been away from the blogosphere entirely. While failing to update my loyal readers, I have been writing for Survive Law.

While I promise I will soon write for you, I will leave you today with an article I recently wrote for Survive Law: Things First Years Say. Enjoy

How soon is too soon to get started on assessment?

If you are a law student, I wouldn't be surprised if your approach to assessment is dissimilar from mine: I have a tendency to get super-motivated and start an assignment the second I receive a topic. That motivation lasts about an hour, often less, as I realise the topic is boring/difficult/easy/stupid. At some point (often a week or so before it is due, although sometimes in the days before) I become super motivated yet again. This all ends up with me handing in an assignment that I am totally sick of and, a week later, would not be able to tell a person the topic.

We all know it isn't the best way to go about getting a lousy few marks down before our big exams, but we all do it anyway. We all wonder if it was the adrenaline, Red Bull, coffee or lollies that kept us going and vow to ourselves that it will not happen again as we drift off to sleep, still standing in front of the submission box. Other students behind us growing impatient, we promptly forget the promise we made to ourselves and carry on, destined to forever forget to start the next assignment early.

When I start an assignment, or even studying for that matter, early enough, I have a tendency to assume it is too early and 'no one could possibly be starting now'. WRONG! Someone else always will have started before you and law school is WAR. Well, not really, but you get the idea! Do you really want to be the last person to start? Even factoring the stress of starting an assignment with so little time remaining, neglecting to start in a timely fashion means you run the risk of losing valuable resources, if you are like me and like using library books.

So starting early is a given, right? But what do you do when you are in a situation like I am now, with 3 assignments and 1 exam in a short period of time? Someone told me in high school that when you get an exam timetable you should always plan to start studying for the last exam first.  It sounds counter-intuitive, but it makes plenty of sense. I'm planning on taking this idea and using it for my assignments. While I won't completely finish the one due last now, I plan to have a great draft done in the next week or so which will enable me to spend the time I need to spend on my other pieces of assessment.

What is your take? Do you start super early or are you like me, a perpetual procrastinator?

Here we go again....

So the moment I have been dreading has finally come. Life got hectic! 


After a super busy week of uni and trying to catch up on readings (a result of my decision to do my readings after classes... still fine tuning the system) I decided to take a look at the assigned topics for assessment. Did I mention I was so busy I didn't notice essay topics for one of my subjects were released for almost a week? On top of that I almost forgot about my external subject yet again. It seems my rather strict study schedule is not strict enough... or maybe too strict.

ALL I DO IS READ!

AHH law school! I seriously think all I ever do is read! Read this, read that!

I generally have a fairly strict rule about finishing the assigned readings before a class. I tend to feel that if I do not do the readings first I will not do them. Of course, this works negatively because if I haven't done the readings I have previously felt that the class would not be of any benefit. Obviously this isn't a good way to go! In my first year I varied between reading before and after and I felt that before worked better for me.

 I've changed this policy this year, at least for my Medical law subject. While the lecturer may have a general plan as to where he will finish each lecture each week, the course is divided into seven general topics. It has taken two weeks thus far to complete the first topic and I almost gave myself a heart attack looking at the learning guide and seeing how much reading was expected for that first week. Needless to say I was unable to complete the hundreds of pages and was relieved to see that we only completed a third or so of the topic. I then decided it was probably more beneficial to do the readings after the class so I would know how far to go.

This week I extended the reading after lectures idea to all classes. It wasn't intentional as I had family commitments over the weekend that prevented me from doing all preparation over the weekend. I learnt that a real benefit of reading after you have been to class is that anything a lecturer emphasises is going to be something you pay more attention to. If you are reading prior to class you just have to assume everything is important. Sometimes a lecturer disagrees with the text they have assigned on important points and taking the text as gospel is useless. Of course, lecturers sometimes go the other way and don't emphasis parts of the textbook but expect you have paid attention to them in your readings when it comes to the final exam.

So what did I learn? I learnt that it is definitely the way to go for subject where how much content will be covered is not known, like my medical law subject. It is also a good way to go when the lecturer may have a different perspective to the text. Reading, or at least perusing the text, is better for more difficult subjects. For me, Trusts is more difficult and very heavy. It isn't helped that the class does not finish until 8pm and I have a busy day. When it gets to my trusts lecture, I'm exhausted, both physically and mentally so I struggle to actually absorb the information if it is 100% new. For this subject, I really have to be familiar with the content before I get to class.

What is your approach? Do you do your readings before or after class? Do you vary your approach based on the subject itself? I'm interested to see what others do!

Law on the Small Screen!

I love pop culture. If I had my way, I'd spend a ridiculous amount of time watching TV shows and movies. In one of my first law courses we actually spent a week studying the perception of law in pop culture. In class we watched Legally Blonde and we were required to watch a movie or TV show with a legal perspective for the tutorial. I jumped straight into the homework, watching the Legally Blonde sequel and numerous movies.

For tort law we also had a great deal of pop-culture injected. We, on occasion, watched excerpts from movies such as Scream and Home Alone and were required to list the torts that were on the screen.

Perhaps it was this lecturer-approved exposure early on in my degree that made me truly appreciate a good legal drama or sitcom in conjunction with my studies. Perhaps it was my long-lived love of pop culture and the characteristic was bound to emerge anyway. Whatever it was, I love a good legal tv show. I love the movies too, but I love that I can have a poor attention-span and still have an idea of what happened in a TV show!

So here goes, my favourite legal-themed tv shows, in no particular order:

Buried Alive

Oh readers, I am so sorry for my absence of late. I have been buried in work already. It also doesn't help that I haven't been using my laptop much, sticking to my iPad for much needed Internet time. Nw that I am responsible for my Internet, plus the difficulty in findin reception for my wireless Internet... It is hardly worth the effort. So far I am enjoying the content of my subjects. There are, of course, boring aspects, particularly in my Trusts subject. At least I am not alone in my boredom as I am quite aware that most other students are suffering. In fact, the class size was much smaller in the second lecture this week, although this may have been due to the rain.I am loving medical law and my study group appears to be quite promising! On top of my studies, I was offered a research position in a program that partners my law school with a community legal centre and am tasked with putting together a report. It is very exciting and a fantastic opportunity. I am very much looking forward to getting right into the meat of the topic. I am also getting into competitions this year. I have already organised a team for mooting and possibly a partner for negotiation, which I have been rather excited about. It will be a great deal of work, particularly as I already am feeling the pressure, but I am looking forward to a great semester.

Reality

I think I'm finally starting to realise that I'm in my fourth year of study. As I'm doing a dual degree, I'm essentially a third year law student.

At the start of my lecture today the course co-ordinator was outlining what he expects of us. He stated a few times that as the subject is a level 3 law course much more is expected than in previous courses. He outlined what is required for a mere pass and I was in absolute shock.

I have no doubt that there is a great deal more work that I could have done in the past, and that sometimes my assessment isn't as good as it could have been, but it seems like it's a rather large jump.

Perhaps the expectations aren't as high as the lecturer suggested. The jump between first year and second year was minimal and it seems unlikely to me that there would be too much of a difference in the grading schemes.

The Law Society at my University releases a 'guide' of sorts each year that compiles student feedback on subjects and includes a breakdown of the results. I usually forget to look at it until the end of the semester when I find valuable advice that would have been helpful 6 weeks earlier. I've had  a good look at both core subjects I am taking this semester and from what I can tell the marking last year was relatively lenient. I'm generally an optimist, so I'd like to think that the lecturer was just trying to encourage us to perform as well as we can.

Whether or not the lecturer was speaking truth, I'm stepping up my act. I doubt that I'll read every case, but I'm going to read as many as I can. I'm going to have a concise summary of my readings, lectures and tutorials completed each week.

I'm also probably going to complain about the unrealistic expectation I have of myself.

TEA-LOVING!

So regular readers may remember that I have just moved into a house off-campus. It is a rather big adjustment, what with cooking and cleaning, not to mention adjusting to the idea of a commute to classes. As you can imagine, it's quite a bit to get used to. Of course a new house brings new habits!

I've written previously about my love of coffee but I've recently begun to appreciate the value of a nice cup of tea. I had never drunk tea until a few months ago when I was told green tea would have some great health benefits. I promptly went to one of those chain stores that sell looseleaf tea and infusers and bought a few varieties.

I didn't really enjoy the tea too much and figured it was just something I would have to adjust to over time. While travelling I was served peppermint tea as an alternative to the amazing smelling hot chocolate others had. I drank it and found I rather liked it.

With a return to studies, I assumed that I would also return to my coffee drinking habits although I am unable to find my coffee plunger. I did however find my stash of herbal teas that I grabbed one night while I lived on campus planning to try them eventually. On a stormy night last week I was cool and decided a tea would be lovely. There is a first for everything!

So here I am, loving tea. I'm sure as the assessment begins to pile up I will find my coffee plunger and coffee will once again reign supreme.

Day One

The first day of school has not come too soon. As per usual, the summer break dragged on much too long and I have been anxious to get back into my study routine. Well day one is here and my books sit beside me on the lounge.

Of course, I'm watching the coverage of the Australian Labor Party leadership spill. As a student of international relations and, to an extent, political science, I have a real interest in the goings-on of the political scene. The last leadership spill was around 18-months ago and not nearly as drawn out. I heard of it while preparing to go to sleep and was unable to sit in wait to see the results with an exam first thing the next day.

So I sit and wait for confirmation that nothing changes so I can get stuck into my day. As I said the other night, I have already completed my work for the first week in one subject, with only the light reading for my three law subjects remaining. My stack of textbooks scaring me, I'm almost hoping I find a reason to do something other than study.

Surely starting one day later can't cause too much harm.... right?

So close, yet so far

I write this post as I am part way through listening to a lecture for a class. 'A lecture? But it is Saturday night!' you say, 'Not to mention that the semester has not yet begun.'

Well of course, it is Saturday and classes do not begin until Monday!

This semester I am taking an external subject for my International Relations major. The course is run out of my university, but has students from other parts of Australia and all around the world taking part. I'm quite excited about it as it allows me to be quite flexible. While I still have to wait for each lecture to be recorded and uploaded, the lecturer plans to upload his lectures on Fridays and Saturdays. Rather than tutorials, we have a weekly blog entry which we write based on the assigned readings. My hope with the subject is that I can take the time now, before my law courses destroy any hope of a healthy study-life balance, that I can get right into my readings for the next few weeks. If I am able to be ahead of the game early on in this course, I feel like I will be able to work well in my other courses.

While we aren't required to write an entry for the first week, I obviously have a bit of an interest in blogging so I have been reading up on the marking criteria.  Our blog shouldn't take a personal or opinionated stance on any theory and must be scholarly. We also have to stick to around 300 words! I have no idea how I am going to be able to stick to such a low word limit! We are able to post multiple entries, though only our first contributes to our grades, so I can't see that posting multiple entries will be vastly beneficial, other than creating a good study tool later on.

With students all around the world, a conventional exam is not a possibility. In it's place we have a take-home exam. It is a 2000-word essay which we have 72 hours to complete. Based on the information I have seen thus far, we may get some guidance beforehand as to the topic. While I don't like to admit it, I am like most other students so 72 hours to write a huge essay shouldn't be too bad. I'm a little unsure of how I will tackle the time frame at this stage as the 'exam' takes place over days that I have classes! Do I focus on getting the essay done and ignore my other classes or do I continue on as a normal law student! The decisions!!!

Although I technically have not begun my time as an external student (for one subject at least), I'm almost positive that it is going to be a great experience! I'm not the biggest fan of our tutorials, something which I will write about in the coming weeks, for numerous reasons. One of the reasons is more to do with my bad luck and lack of skills in choosing the great tutorials. I have a tendency to end up with tutorials scheduled hours away from any other classes and I make the effort to get to university and the class is a huge let down, although not so huge as it only goes for an hour. The blog that my external class has allows me to actively participate, by both having my opinion and engaging with others, without being such an inconvenience.

Okay, maybe I don't mean inconvenience, but the flexibility is great! If I have an essay due on Wednesday, I can do my blog entry on Thursday night or Friday Morning. If I have nothing on the following Monday, I can partake then. The blog is going to allow me to be in control of my learning, at least part of it.

If you are a regular reader you probably wouldn't be too shocked to read that I am already looking for more external courses that I can take. Yes, semester has yet to start but I just know it is going to be a good one.

I haven't jinxed myself at all, have I?

Organising for the new semester

So I write today as I am faced with a dilemma. I could continue my unpacking (no thanks!) or I could organise my materials for the new semester. I've decided to go with organising my class materials.

I use a Livescribe Echo Pen (which I plan to write about soon), so my lecture notes need to be taken in special notebooks. I like to take notes from textbooks and cases on looseleaf paper so I use 2-ring binders to keep everything organised and together.

Now in the past I've used dividers to organise my work in different sections for readings, cases, slides and other print-outs (for courses where they are provided) and other materials. Now I'm starting to think that it isn't necessarily the best way to go about the organisation process. I've now decided (after having bought enough dividers for all four subjects) that the ideal way to organise would be based on topic, generally a section for each week of the course. A major benefit of this method will be the ease for open book exams. While I generally make a summary of all my notes whether or not an exam is open book, I still like to bring all my materials in with me.

Ah the organisational possibilities of a totally new desk and year!

How do you organise your notes? Do you have a particular method?

Adventures in IKEA

Yes, I went to the fantastical evil store that is IKEA. Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE IKEA! Absolutely! It's just that every time I go there I end up buying so much more than I need! As I write I am sitting on a mattress in my room (because I do not yet have a bed) and staring at a partially assembled desk and a ridiculous pile of wooden pieces that apparently make some drawers.

While it is impossible to go to IKEA without buying much more than you wanted to, my impulse purchases were relatively few. Lamps (and so many spare lightbulbs), a mirror and a frame are the only extras I snagged, although it must be said that I am currently planning yet another trip

A few hours later...
I've now finished putting together the drawers, which form the base of my desk on one side, also now assembled. FINALLY! While I have my desk, I'm sitting on the floor with my computer. I'm sure the desk is perfectly solid, something my mother affirmed, but I know my skills and I don't really trust myself.

Having my desk set up is great as it means I can finally get started! I picked up my textbooks yesterday and have basically moved in. Of course, nothing is actually unpacked yet but already my room is infinitely larger than any room I've had in the entirety of my life! That's my next task... right after I finish watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer.....

Back-to-School

As I'm sure regular readers will attest, I'm a bit of a stationery-freak! Now as a law student, I have a great need for stationery all through the year, but there is nothing like the beginning of a new year to stock up. At last I know I'm not alone in my back to uni routine loving!

The thing is, I'm about to move into my own place. Well, not MY OWN place, but I'm moving in with some friends after living on campus for a few years! That means right now I am frantically trying to pack to prepare for my 7 hour drive early in the morning. While I left most of my uni supplies with family and friends, I still have quite a bit to pack! As you can imagine, it doesn't leave much time for stationery lust!

Next week is O-Week at my university, so in between buying a desk (and bed, and couch et al) I'm going to try and cram in scoring freebies and perhaps cracking open what is sure to be a giant pile of textbooks (which I also have to acquire). I also want to have a massive trip to my local Officeworks and Kikki.K. While I have a HEAP of stationery already (including so many coloured manilla folders) there is nothing like starting a year afresh!

Over the past few years I've been stuck using whatever desk set-up that has been supplied at my college so I'm glad to be able to have total control over my workspace! Realistically, I probably have almost as little control as before but it certainly feels much different to be in total command!

So be prepared readers for what I'm sure will be a week filled with posts of my desk and stationery gains!

The Plan!

So as I've suggested previously, I'm going to put together my plan for this semester and post it here so I'm accountable. While you and I may not be acutally hanging out on a regular basis physically, I'd like to think that you'll be stopping by for chats every now and then! Whether or not you do, and whether or not anyone reads, here is my plan for Semester 1, 2012.

From readings, to classes and even exercise! It's all in here! Yes, that's right folks, I'm planning to plan every inch of my life from here on in. This is my letter to myself, here for you all to read so I'm accountable.

Promising yourself for motivation

As I write this I am sitting on my bed refreshing Ticketek and waiting for 9am. Yes, I'm buying tickets for a concert that I desperately want to go to. The problem is this: it is during exams.

Fortunately it is in the second week, so there is still a chance I can go. This was my dilemma a few years ago. I had bought two tickets to go to the last ever show of a certain band (ahem-Powderfinger-ahem) and ended up having to sell. I had used that concert as something I was working towards. I knew exams were going to be awful and I knew I was going to want to die but I had the concert.

Hopefully I can go to this concert I'm buying for today. What is slightly frustrating is I am buying pre-sale and I know that more shows will be released. Do I just wait for those and hope they will be later in the week not earlier? Do I buy tickets and sell them if the other concert fits better! The dilemma!

But seriously, promising yourself is a great way to stay motivated over a long period of time. As you may have read in earlier posts, I recently returned from a trip to the United States. I used that trip as motivation through my exams last semester. While it worked great, it probably wasn't the greatest source of motivation as once I finished exams I still had three months to wait!

On a smaller scale I've done this too. If I'm working in a library during the day I'll bribe myself to work hard and say if I work solidly for an hour I can buy myself a coffee. Of course, I quite often move the goalposts when it's about working hard, but I think it does the job!

The more I think about it the more I realise I do this, not just while studying but in everyday life! Even when I have to go into work on holidays I make myself mental promises: It's okay! All I have to do is finish tonight and I can relax in front of the TV. At the shops: If I'm good and get all healthy food, I shall reward myself with marshmallows (yeah I know it's hypocritical!).

So yes, I think I shall buy myself a ticket. It may be in the second week of exams (on a week day too) and I may not be able to go but I'd rather buy a ticket and miss a show than to be free of exams and miss out all together. Plus exam timetables aren't out for another few months, so there is still plenty of time for the show to be motivation!

How about you? Do you ever promise or even bribe yourself to stay motivated? Does it work for you?

Study Groups? Effective or distracting?

NBC's cult hit Community features an odd-ball study group

Confession: I've always wanted to be a part of a study group.

While I lived on campus I briefly studied with fellow law students on a weekly basis, but my interest waned. I decided that studying with other people didn't help me to actually learn. Now, as I enter my third year of studies, I am pretty sure that I'd actually learn better.

Why the change in heart? I've finally worked out some of the benefits of working as a group.

• You can divide up the readings and make less work for yourself. Readings are a drag.  Any law student who tells you they do all the assigned readings each week is lying to you. Okay, maybe a few of them are telling the truth, but the fact remains that most law students don't manage to get all the readings done. If you're part of a study group you can split the readings  and make your own life much easier.
• You have others to bounce ideas off. Ever been confused about a concept but been too nervous to bring it up in a tutorial? There are so many occasions where I know I would feel more comfortable with legal principles if I had been able to bounce ideas off some others in an informal setting. Yes, you can talk about it all after class with some friends but I know I'd prefer to forget entirely about class the second I leave that room!
• No longer will you be unsure if your answers are wrong! While every study group has different objectives, answering tutorial questions and past exams can be a great way to boost your confidence. If you work with another to answer any set questions, not only will you feel more comfortable when it comes to answering in class but you will be able to sit back and relax in class, without having to try and jot down answers!
• If you miss a class you have contacts who will willingly help you out! Have you ever missed a class and been unsure what you should do? Yes, you probably have a few friends in the class but they might not be so willing to hand over their notes. A study group, however, is based on working together and sharing your knowledge. While you might not get an automatic yes, chances are someone from a study group will lend a hand.

Now that I know there are numerous benefits to working with other people I've decided I must work with others in the coming semester! I'm sure I will soon be wondering why I had not come to the conclusion sooner.

Do you have any experience in study groups? Do they work for you?

I failed! Now what? Part 4 - Making changes and sticking with them

This is Part 3 in my 4 Part series on what you should do if you fail in law school.


For those of you who missed the first part in this series I recommend you click the link and have a look.  Then you should check out the second part. Then, if you're not bored of me by then, check out the third part.

1. Identify the problem: Did you slack off and have no idea of the content? Did you have a medical issue going on through the semester? Did you try and learn in a way that just didn't suit you?
2. Work out your game plan: You can't just try to conquer the next semester the exact same way. You will need to make some changes. What are they going to be?
3. Make the changes (and be realistic about it): If you don't try to be realistic in your plan, passing will be anything but simple.

So my focus today is on actually making the changes (and trying to stick to them).

As I said in the third part, it can be easy to stick with a change when you don't have the pressure of 15 cases to read and 3 essays but the hard part is staying on track in the week where you have 4 pieces of assessment due in 3 days and haven't slept for 38 hours (not that you should ever do this! It is bad for your health). 


So how do you make sure you are sticking with these new and wonderful changes in your life? The thing that has worked best for me has been making sure I have some time each week where I sit down and go over everything that needs to be done. I read Getting Things Done last year and in a way my weekly time came from that. If I sit down every Sunday night and make a list of what I need to do, go over my calendar for the week and evaluate how I have been going, organisation-wise I can be sure that I am sticking to making a change in my life.


Another way to ensure you are sticking to any changes is to make yourself accountable. You can do this by asking a room-mate or family member to remind you to write down assignments or even just to ask you every now and then how your change is going. If you really want to make yourself accountable, why not start a blog? If you have a blog already, mention the changes you want to make to yourself. If you don't want to do that, just make a new one. Even if no one is reading it, you have still put your proposed changes out there for everyone, but mainly you, to see. 


Although it's probably a little immature, I've even considered starting a sticker chart for myself! 


If you find, after a few weeks, that you've done well at implementing your latest change why not pick another? Just remember to keep it realistic.


If you slip-up and start to revert to your old habits, don't worry! It's natural! You just have to get back on the horse of change and keep on going to the finish line. Don't wait until SWOTVAC/STUVAC/Study Week until you make huge changes because it's generally too late!  That first piece of assessment and first exam after failing will be tough, so you have to make sure you are super prepared! I'm talking starting the assignment the day you get it, not the day before it is due! 


So you failed a subject. It's not the end of the world and if you use the experience to make some positive changes to your study techniques and personal habits you will become a better person! Good luck in the coming semester!

Class selection

I thought I'd take a little break from my series on what you should do if you fail a subject to write about class selection, seeing as my university started Law Sign-on this morning (Mine is tonight).

In high school it was so easy. You'd make a list of all the subjects you wanted to do and the teachers would slave away and try to design a timetable that allowed most people to do all the subjects that they wanted to. The hardest choice you had was whether to do music or business!

I failed! Now what? Part 3

This is Part 3 in my 4 Part series on what you should do if you fail in law school.


For those of you who missed the first part in this series I recommend you click the link and have a look.  Then you should check out the second part.

1. Identify the problem: Did you slack off and have no idea of the content? Did you have a medical issue going on through the semester? Did you try and learn in a way that just didn't suit you?
2. Work out your game plan: You can't just try to conquer the next semester the exact same way. You will need to make some changes. What are they going to be?
3. Make the changes (and be realistic about it): If you don't try to be realistic in your plan, passing will be anything but simple.

So my focus today is on working out the game plan.

Okay so if you followed Part 2 you should have either a list or a basic idea of what you need/want to improve upon. Now in a perfect world you would be able to make all the changes at once and stick to them forever. In a perfect world you probably wouldn't have any changes to make either. So unless you're totally amazing (which you very well could be) you will probably have to choose one or two things to  to work on for now and come back to the rest another time. This may be next semester or even in a few weeks.


Okay so take out your list, or think about your list of things that you want to change. Pick one or two of them, depending on what they are. If you are wanting to work on time management, you're never going to succeed if you also plan to spend more time summarising your lecture notes on a weekly basis, to get involved in extra-curricular activities and to read every single word of assigned reading. 


If you're going to pick something like time management, you could take that on as a whole or break it up. Personally, time management is an ongoing area of trouble for me. I always have and always will have to work on it so rather than just trying to improve, I pick an area to work on. I've worked on developing study plans and sticking to them, worked on scheduling my work and so on. This means each semester I am improving in my time management without neglecting to work on other areas. IF I were to only try and improve my time management I would never get to work on anything else!


I think time management is likely to be high on many law students lists, in some form or another. Although classes don't start for weeks, have a go at making up a rough daily schedule. Take your diary or calendar and mark in dates your assessment is due, as well as any classes that have already been set. If you have your Course Profiles (or whatever it is that your school calls the outline for each course), go through and look at the assessment page. While you may not have your assessment topics yet, break down each piece of assessment. If you do this for each subject and, depending on how nerdy you are feeling, put them up on your wall you will have a good idea of where you are heading.


The idea is to know exactly how you want this next semester to go. I once read somewhere that basketball teams run certain plays over and over again until they can do them automatically without thinking. These aren't the plays they use all the time, but when push comes to shove and they are exhausted, they can do them automatically. You need to be as prepared as possible now so when your work starts to pile up you will automatically know what to do. 

Return for Part 4 where I will be talking about making (and sticking) with the changes.

I failed! Now What? Part 2

This is Part 2 in my 4 Part series on what you should do if you fail in law school.


For those of you who missed the first part in this series I recommend you click the link and have a look. To summarise, the best thing to do immediately is to talk to the examiner and have a look at your exam or the piece of assessment that led you astray. While this is useful, my focus is on what to do in the following semester. I broke this into a number of steps.

1. Identify the problem: Did you slack off and have no idea of the content? Did you have a medical issue going on through the semester? Did you try and learn in a way that just didn't suit you?
2. Work out your game plan: You can't just try to conquer the next semester the exact same way. You will need to make some changes. What are they going to be?
3. Make the changes (and be realistic about it): If you don't try to be realistic in your plan, passing will be anything but simple.

So my focus today is on identifying the problem.

If you failed a subject, like it or not, something went wrong. You may have procrastinated a little too much and spent much too long on Facebook. You may have completely missed the point of a major essay and was unable to recover later on. Maybe you just had a hell of a semester. The fact is, whether there were unavoidable factors (such as poor health or a messy breakup) or whether you spent too much time watching Buffy reruns, there is a good chance that you could have done better if you had been prepared or had different study techniques.

Personally, I've always thought that I can be very effective. I have, however, often been told that my study habits are hardly time efficient. Each semester I try to reflect on how I worked the semester before and how I can improve my study habits. I have done this all semesters, whether I have done poorly the semester before or not. Certain things (ahem time management ahem) crop up nearly every time I look over how I could improve. I also often find I could start working earlier and be more organised.

Nobody is perfect and I am sure that you all have an idea of what things you can work on improving. Whether you failed a subject or not, you need to sit down (or stand - it's really up to you) and reflect on your habits and work out a few areas you need to improve on. Be honest with yourself and you may be surprised.

Return for Part 3 where I will be talking about forming your semester game plan.

I failed! Now what? Part 1

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been wanting to write something about what happens if you fail a class (or two) in law school. It's an experience that I have had the displeasure of having (more than once) and one that I hope to never have again. It's a little disconcerting to check your grades and discover that you didn't really ace that contract law exam. Failing is horrible. You feel sick in the stomach and a feeling of dread every time you get results from there on in. Sometimes however, failing isn't all that bad. I've failed. I'm not proud of it, but it's a part of my academic history and I think it has helped me to become the law student that I am today.

When I failed my first subject (yes that is right folks, I've failed more than one), I told a few people, but I didn't really mention it to any of my law friends. I was dreadfully ashamed of it. The thing is, keeping it to yourself isn't necessarily the way to go. Don't get me wrong, I hardly go around uni wearing a t-shirt that says "I failed! How about you?" on it, but I no longer hide my past.

So what should you do? If you've talked to other people about it, they may have suggested contacting your lecturer and making a time to speak with them, particularly to review any assessment. I definitely recommend doing this, although I did not do this myself. I had the intention, at least with my first subject, but was embarrassed. If you, like me, are too ashamed to do this, at least try to look over the  answer guide if it is made available to you. It is not the same as looking at your actual exam script and seeing what you wrote although it is fairly good. You will usually be able to get a general idea of whether you were way off in your answer or if you were on the right track.

While it is most definitely the first step you should take, my focus of this series is more what to do after that, in the semesters that follow. The steps are:

1. Identify the problem: Did you slack off and have no idea of the content? Did you have a medical issue going on through the semester? Did you try and learn in a way that just didn't suit you?
2. Work out your game plan: You can't just try to conquer the next semester the exact same way. You will need to make some changes. What are they going to be?
3. Make the changes (and be realistic about it): If you don't try to be realistic in your plan, passing will be anything but simple.

I will cover each of these in the coming week in this four part series.

Check out the rest of the series:
Part 2 walks you through identifying what went wrong
Part 3 helps you to work out how you will move forward

Dear Readers

Dear Readers,


Sorry I haven't been in touch lately. I could blame my studies (but we all know it is summer break and there isn't any studying going on), a busy social life (but I'm a law student) or any multitude of things but I'll just be honest: it is difficult to write about being a law student when there is no studying going on. That's right, I've spent the break lounging on a chair by the pool... or at least I have in my mind!


So what have I been up to since my last exam in November? I just returned from a two-week trip to the United States with my family so much of my break has been monopolised by preparing and unwinding from the trip.


Other than my trip, I've tried to do much more reading than I have been able to do throughout the year. At the end of my 2nd year of study, so at the end of 2010, I began reading Les Misérables. My aim was to finally finish the epic tome, but unfortunately this has not happened. You see, for my January birthday in 2011 I received my amazing Kindle! I love it so very much. Unfortunately, I found that the translation of Les Mis that I was reading was some modern fancy-schmancy version (The Julie Rose one if you're wondering). Now this version didn't seem to be available on my kindle and, being halfway through (okay, maybe more like a quarter of the way through) I didn't want to change to a different translation. Les Mis was relegated to the bookshelf and I haven't managed to continue with it.


A book I did finally manage to read was A Private Life by the one and only Michael Kirby. I thoroughly enjoyed this read. In fact, there was one particular day during the time I was reading it that I had tickets to see Elton John in Brisbane. When I left the Brisbane Entertainment Centre I, like all dutiful Gen Y-er went straight onto Facebook and found that Civil Unions had been passed in Queensland. I felt that this was slightly poetic and will always remember what was going on for me the day that Civil Unions were passed. 


While I haven't exactly posted anything for some time, I have a number of posts I've been trying to write. The main about what your plan should be if you happen to fail a subject. I'll be honest! I've been working on that since December so be prepared!


Of course, it would be amiss of me to write to you without mentioning something fabulous! When I logged on and noticed the huge traffic spike I was a little confused until I found Survive Law's list of Australia's Best Law Student Blogs! Yes dear readers, I made the list! Even further, I love what they said about my blog:

Law school can be a tad scary, but it’s always nice to know that you’re not the only one trying to navigate it. We love Obiter Girl’s musings about obsessive planning, procrastination, coffee, the virtues of flash cards, beautiful stationery, law essay competitions and all the other things that make our law student world go round.

While I'm so very excited about this I'm also a little annoyed at myself for not having updating so regularly over the past few months! Hopefully someone reading this found my blog through Survive Law (one of my go-to sites for most things) and will stick around for the joys of a new school year! Hi there! And yes, that was aimed at you! No, not you! The one behind you with the brown hair!


So thank you to Survive Law and the wonderful people of the blawg-o-sphere! I must also congratulate all the others who made the list! I must say that I already read quite a few and have now added some more great reads to my feed!


Anyway, this letter has been long enough and the postman, or rather my pillow, is waiting.


Lots of Love,


Obiter Girl


PS. I promise to write more often in the future!