Don't Turn Your Bar Preparation into Groundhog Day
It’s that time of year when Punxsutawney Phil makes his annual prediction on what is known as Groundhog Day.
As the legend goes, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow on Feb. 2, we can expect six more weeks of winter weather. This morning, Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow, indicating an early spring.
Which is good, right, given this week’s polar vortex which brought wind chills of 30 below in my neck of the woods? Not exactly. Stormfax Weather Almanac’s data shows that Phil's six-week prognostications have been correct about 39 percent of the time.
If one were to flip a coin, one would have a better chance of out-predicting Punxsutawney Phil. And if a bar applicant only answered 39 percent of the MBE questions correctly on the bar exam, then the bar applicant can be sure that another season of bar preparation is in the near future.
With that said, what can bar applicants learn from the movie Groundhog Day, the 1993 comedy starring Bill Murray as a TV weatherman who is caught in a time loop, repeatedly reliving the same day?
After all, for those studying for the February 2019 bar exam, they have been stuck in the same routine for the past several weeks and will likely continue that routine for the next three weeks—Wake up. Study. Complete practice multiple-choice questions and review explanatory answers. Write out practice essays and examine sample responses. More study. Little sleep. Eat (healthy, hopefully). Exercise (maybe). Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Obviously, it’s necessary to put in the time to review the outlines and answer practice questions. But those studying for the bar exam might want to consider varying their study locations. Even if they’ve found the perfect study room at their law school or table at a nearby coffee shop, they should consider changing it up a bit. Instead of locking themselves in the same study room, they should move around and find a different place in the library—or another study room or empty classroom on campus. Instead of getting their daily latte at the coffee shop, they should try studying at a local juice bar.
While It might seem effective to devote a space for study, research shows that changing up study locations can help with retaining information. As one researcher wrote, “What we think is happening is that, when the outside context is varied, the information is enriched, and this slows down forgetting.” The brain apparently makes connections between what it’s studying and the background sensations it has at the time.
