Interested in a future career as a lawyer? Use The Beginner’s Guide to a Career in Law to get started
Find out about the various legal apprenticeships on offer and browse vacancies with The Law Apprenticeships Guide
Information on qualifying through the Solicitors Qualifying Exam, including preparation courses, study resources, QWE and more
Discover everything you need to know about developing your knowledge of the business world and its impact on the law
The latest news and updates on the actions being taken to improve diversity and inclusion in the legal profession
Discover advice to help you prepare for and ace your vacation scheme, training contract and pupillage applications
Your first-year guide to a career in law – find out how to kickstart your legal career at this early stage
Your non-law guide to a career in law – everything you need to know about converting to law
It’s Christmas time, mistletoe and WHINE (I have exams to prepare for)!
It’s Christmas time, mistletoe and WHINE (I have exams to prepare for)!
Northern Law Student
16/12/2022
Reading time: two minutes
It’s the Christmas holidays and we’re all wondering one thing; how do we revise over Christmas without burning out? When do we say enough is enough and allow ourselves to put the books down and spend times with loved ones?
For me, this Christmas is going to be about scheduling revision properly. As my previous blogs have noted, early morning is when I’m most productive. So, I’ll try to wake up around 7-8am and work until midday. This gives me a solid few hours of revision and a glorious afternoon off to spend walking, eating mince pies and seeing family.
Of course, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year and New Year’s Day are going to be non-working days. I really struggle to take this time off, because I think about how much work I could fit in if I sat at my desk on those days, but that’s not going to benefit me in the long run. Burnout is a well-known issue for students if you work continually and have no rest, then you don’t take advantage of recuperation time that is the holiday. I have two more terms at university to get through this year, so relaxing really is important; acknowledging this and thinking about later productivity is essential.
I think the Christmas holidays should also be a time to reflect. You’ve gone through 12 weeks of hard graft, attended workshops, seminars, lectures; you’ve done preparatory work consistently each week; you’ve had mocks and real exams; you’ve had difficult topics you never thought you’d understand but now do (particularly land law) ? it’s an achievement! Remember how hard law degrees are, you made it.
Going into the new year, for me, is about (surprise surprise) going in with a plan. My exams are in March, so this gives me solid month to put together a good revision routine. Little and often works best for me when it comes to revision. So, each week I’ll create a few factsheets, do a few multiple-choice questions, and go over topics that I didn’t fully understand first time around. By the time the exams roll around, you’ll have a good chunk of revision done. The new year is a perfect time to start this incremental method of revising.
I wish you the best of luck in the new year and hope you have a lovely Christmas.