Here are some tips to help you manage your every day life called “executive functioning”
Before starting list the things bugging me that are keeping me from concentrating properly:
- 120 pages of reading and assignments to complete before tomorrow.
Executive Functioning
Executive Functioning has three main principles
- Working Memory
- The ability to gather information from your surroundings and recall it for later use.
- Flexible Thinking
- The ability to problem solve and adapt.
- Inhibitory Control
- How you manage difficult situations.
In other words, executive functioning is how you handle life.
Ethics
The following are rules that we should follow through law school and our practice.
- Competence
- Make sure you prepare, calendar, and plan effectively.
- Communication
- Talking effectively with the client and opposing counsel.
- Diligence
- Happens when you file things off schedule, don’t show up for court, etc.
- Candor Toward the Tribunal
- After not being diligent, and asked before a court about it, lying to the court about why things happened.
How to Calendar for Optimal Executive Functioning
There was a ton of detail here but there are some important things to note.
First, you should focus on scheduling in your “unmovable mountains.” These are things that are set in stone and you don’t move them for anything. Of course you have your classes and stuff, but there are also immovable mountains that are personal. You should always have some personal and social time scheduled. Plan exercise time, when you wake up, and include buffer times for travel. Additionally, you should differentiate between regular study (preparing for classes) and focused study (completing your readings).
For focused study, you should dedicate one session solely to one class. Once that time is filled, you can move to another class. You will be much more efficient spending two hours on 1 subject than two hours on 3. This is because you have to give your mind time to transition from one topic to another. But if you focus on only one subject at a time, you find is focused on only that one subject.
Below is an example of my current calendar. Things will probably, most definitely be moved around, but this is how it is for now. Note, I currently have the focus study at the end of the day scheduled from 6-8
