- Today we're going to talk about the best buys under $50
to make your life in law school just a little bit better.
This is a companion video to the expensive, nice to have,
but not necessarily necessary purchases in law school.
This are the things that really punch above their weight
you can get pennies on the dollar.
So stick around and learn how you can make
your life in law school just a little bit better.
(fun theme music)
Okay, so the first cheap product that I would recommend
is this humble bookstand.
It weighs only about an ounce.
It folds up.
You can put it in your backpack.
You can carry it around.
You can travel with it almost anywhere.
And the reason is because you can't avoid
reading your case book.
Even if you use our methods and limit the amount
of case book reading you're going to do,
you still going to have to read out of your case book
every once in awhile and that's okay.
But because you're going to be spending so much time
reading out of a huge, heavy case book,
this little foldable bookstand is invaluable.
The way that it works is you just unfold it.
You take your case book.
You slide it in.
And then you extend it out a little bit,
which is hard to do while I'm actually carrying the thing.
But you sort of get the idea
that you can put it on your desk.
Read out of the book while working
on a laptop or iPad or taking notes.
Then you don't have to crane your neck
while looking at the book while it's vertical.
It's at a 45 degree angle and you can take it anywhere.
You can take it to the library.
You can take it into a friend's apartment
when you're studying together.
You can do just about anything.
And for $15 on Amazon, I wouldn't go anywhere
in law school without this thing.
You'll use it for hours.
It's really cheap.
I've seen a bunch of law students on YouTube
talking about this thing.
I used it when I went to law school.
And I recommend anyone who is either going to law school
or in law school get one of these things and save your back.
By the way, you can find links to all of these products
in the description below.
So I recommend getting one of these bookstands.
It will help save your neck.
It will help save your back.
And it will just make reading your case book
just a little bit more pleasant,
which when you're reading these cases,
anything you can do to make your life
a little bit more pleasant is probably worthwhile.
So the next thing I recommend
is getting either a white board and dry erase markers
or some butcher paper.
You need something to help diagram the law itself.
The law is complicated.
And when you get to issues spotting hypothetical,
it sort of flows like a decision tree.
You have the causes of action.
The elements under the causes of action.
The definition of the elements, sub-elements.
And you need to see how that all flows together.
And diagraming, usually on a wall with markers,
really helps to understand how things fit together.
I think everyone is familiar with a dry erase board
or you can even use a chalk board.
But I prefer butcher paper.
Butcher paper is great because you can use any marker
and save on expensive white board dry erase markers.
The best part though is you can save it for later.
One roll can last your entire semester.
You can also just buy a bunch of dry erase markers
and write on the window, a beautiful nine style.
As long as you're willing to look like an insane person
while you are writing on the window with dry erase markers.
Of course, I've done crazier things
to save money in law school.
So I wouldn't blame you.
Okay, the next thing I recommend in law school
are some ear plugs.
Now I think everyone's familiar
with these little form things that you put in your ear.
But ear plugs have a couple of advantages
in law school in particular
that might not be obvious on first glance.
In law school a big problem that almost everyone has
is getting enough sleep.
Ear plugs can really help when your neighbor
decides to hold an impromptu band rehearsal at midnight.
(folk music)
Or if your roommates have a very different
sleep pattern than you,
Or if you just live on a busy street.
Ear plugs, if you use them consistently,
can help you create a consistent sleep pattern.
It isn't interrupted if there happens to be
stuff going on that particular night.
It takes some time to get used to them.
So I would recommend using them
even when there aren't loud noises going on
and times of emergency.
I would just get in the habit of using them.
You can get good sleep every night.
Also, ear plugs can help you create consistency
in your practice test.
Now, we have a number of videos to talk about
how practice tests are one of the most important things
you can do to increase your chances
of getting a better grade in law school.
And just see the link below.
But one of the problem of doing practice tests at home
is that it's very different from taking an exam in class.
When you take a law school exam in class during the finals,
the sound of clacking keyboards is absolutely deafing.
And then there are other people that will be coughing.
They'll be rustling bags.
They'll be getting in their backpacks.
All of these noises and sounds will not be present
when you're taking your practice test.
You'll probably be taking your practice test
at home under ideal conditions.
Which is fine, but you don't want to get used to
taking practice tests under absolutely ideal conditions.
If you go into the final with ear plugs though,
you reduce some of that sound and is more similar
to the way you practice tests at home.
And as sort of plamonian response,
you can associate ear plugs with going into test mode.
The second that you put ear plugs into your ears,
your mind will think, okay, this is test time.
Now it's time to pull out all the stops.
And you'll be in the mental state necessary
to crush the exam.
The next cheap thing that I would recommend in law school
is a physical calendar.
Not a digital calendar like in Outlook or Gmail,
but an actual paper, physical calendar.
These things are invaluable.
There is not enough time in your semester
as it first appears.
What starts out as eight to 10 weeks,
it seems like an eternity,
but that will go by so fast.
And you need to be able to see where you are in time.
How much time is left so you can make sure
you finish your outline.
You can make sure you start doing practice tests
as early as possible.
And that you are ready by the time that finals come around.
And a physical calendar helps you
see in a glance where you are.
Are you falling behind and chances are, yes.
And the sooner you realize that you simply don't have time
to do these insane, multi-page,
rainbow style of case briefs the better.
You need to genesis that as soon as possible
because there just isn't enough time in a semester
to do all of that unnecessary work.
And a physical calendar will show you
where you are in time and help you plan everything out.
Better to do it sooner rather than later.
Getting a physical calendar will save so much time
and anguish and really help you plan out your semester.
Okay, so, the last relatively inexpensive product
that I would recommend for law school is an alarm.
I know that sounds crazy, but get a separate alarm.
Do not use your phone.
Do not let your cellphone reside anywhere near your bed.
Now, I keep my cellphone outside my bedroom.
It used to be that I would get work emails
all throughout the night.
And in a plamonian response, I would pick up the cellphone,
interrupt my sleep and look at the email.
But the truth is whether you're in law practice
or if you're in law school,
the emails that come in at two o'clock in the morning,
are just not that important.
They can wait until the next day.
So what I recommend and this is a little bit
on the pricey side but you can get cheaper options,
is a sunrise alarm.
These things are great.
Unlike a traditional alarm
that just has a blaring sound to wake you up,
this displays light gradually coming on
like a dimmer, a reverse dimmer to convince your body
that it's sunrise and that you should get up gradually
as the sun rises.
And this works even when it's pitch black outside.
There's sounds that go along with it.
This is a much less jarring way to wake yourself up.
And I am so much more rested when I wake up
with a sunrise alarm as compared to a blaring sound.
And I got a better night sleep
because I separated my cellphone from the alarm function.
There is a great video on YouTube of Simon Sinek
where he talks about the dumbest thing
that the millennial generations does, myself included.
It used to be was using their cellphones as an alarm
and being too cheap to buy a separate physical alarm.
I whole heartily agree with him.
Just get some other clock radio
if you want to go the cheap route,
or if you want to spent a little bit more money,
you can get any number of $30 to $100 sunrise alarms.
They all seem to work pretty well.
A separate alarm will allow you to get more sleep.
It will wake you up more gradually.
You'll be in a better mood.
You'll be more alert for your law school classes
throughout the day.
Studies show that a lack of sleep prevents the ability
to memorize, internalize information and remember.
So just an hour of sleep more per night alone
could put you above your classmates in law school.
So law school is all about creating a competitive advantage
as compared to your classmates.
These little things, whether it's a foldable bookstand
so you save your neck from neck pain,
and allow yourself to study a little bit longer
every day in the library or a separate physical alarm
to get more sleep at night and to wake up more alert.
These things may not be huge advantages in of themselves,
but they compound over time and allow you to study
a little bit longer, be more alert
and just be a better law student all around.
And when you're graded on a curve,
as you are in law school,
these little things add up
and allow you to get an advantage over your classmates.
And that's what Legal Eagle is all about.
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You can download our full guide to law school down below.
Stick around until next time when we give you even more tips
on how to crush law school here at Legal Eagle.
(fun theme music)
The next,
email get an actual,
you know, I should.
You can even put it down on a desk to,
to put, no, screw that, alright.
It helps you create a consistent,
on a busy sleep.
Or the.