Studying in law school is a task in itself. Aside from worrying about the daily recitations and often-conducted quiz and examinations, every student struggles with the studying part as well. From preparing notes for one subject to reading and memorizing the assigned reading materials for another, most students find it hard to manage their time to become fully productive in their study of law.
Hard as it may be, some law students still manage to come up with a well-detailed plan to maximize their time not only for their studies but for other matters as well. It is not new in law school that one will encounter a handful of working students who juggle both their work and study at the same time.
One may even often ask—how do they do it? Working students in various law schools in the country possess not only the drive to become lawyers in the future but as well as a detailed and structured study schedule they follow to make things work at both ends. Every once in a while, people inquire about how these working students manage to breakdown the hours of the day and fit every task there is. Whether it be at work or in school, working students in law schools always catch up.
In a recently held interview, Ms. Edita Mara Lacsamana shared with us how she plots her schedule to be effective not only in work but also in her study as well.
SUNDAYS
(6:00 a.m to 1:00 p.m)
· For her, every week must start with a mass. She travels to Calumpit Bulacan for her church day. After renewing and channeling in her faith, she would travel back to her home to rest for a while before going back to her life as a working student.
(6:00 p.m.)
· Her day starts at night, prioritizing what she calls as a ‘forecast’ of the upcoming week. As a professional teacher, she first prepares her lessons for Financial Accounting, Reporting, and Cost Accounting. Before she works on her handouts and materials, she studies the lessons she will be teaching for the coming week. She then prepares her presentations.
(10:00 p.m)
· After her allotted time for work, she fixes her home and prepares all the materials needed both for work and for her studies. If she still has the energy to read, she then starts off reviewing for her Monday subjects. At around 1:00 or 2:00 a.m., she sleeps.
MONDAYS
(8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.)
· She wakes up sharp at eight in the morning to start her day. She only allows one hour to fix her bed, take a bath, and eat breakfast. Before she starts studying, she finds her inner peace as well through her prayers.
(9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon)
· Having an early class for the day, she studies for at least three hours before heading to the campus. Before leaving her home, she eats her lunch for a long day ahead.
(12:00 noon to 12:30 p.m)
· She arrives at school and uses the remaining time before class to review what she has learned for the past three hours. She then attends her first review class of the week from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
(3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.)
· An hour before her next class, she studies for two succeeding subjects. Given the time constraint, she focuses on matters which she feels are relevant to the given topics and memorizes some of the important terms.
(4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.)
· She attends two consecutive classes scheduled from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
(10:00 p.m. to 12:00 mn)
· She arrives at home after a fruitful day in school and prepares herself for the day that is about to come. She would first prepare her materials for work and then start studying for Tuesday’s subject at 11:00 p.m. After an hour of reading, she rests.
TUESDAYS
(5:00 a.m. to 6:30 a.m.)
· She wakes up earlier than usual and prepares herself for a day of work and class. After preparing, she then commutes to University of Santo Tomas (UST) to attend her lectures for Accountancy students. She eats her breakfast on her way to the campus.
(7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.)
· Teaching two sections in UST, she does not have any break times in between. The first class she attends is scheduled from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. which is immediately followed by a 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. class.
(1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.)
· After her teaching classes, she immediately proceeds to the faculty room to fix her students’ exam papers and other compliance reports they may have submitted. Although tired and hungry, she tries to go home by 3:00 p.m. to rest a bit and study for her law subjects due that day. After having her late lunch, her 30-minute rest, and her shortened study time, she then proceeds to school for her studies.
(4:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.)
· She has to attend yet again two successive classes, but only this time as a student in law school. After her 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. class and her 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. class, she immediately goes home to eat late dinner and then prepare for her classes the day after right away.
(10:30 p.m. to 12:00 noon)
· She studies for two separate subjects for Wednesdays before sleeping.
WEDNESDAYS
(11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.)
· She comes out of bed late on Wednesday because she doesn't have a work schedule. Within two hours, she fixes her bed, takes a shower, eats her brunch and then studies again for her subjects for the day.
(1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.)
· She studies for more or less three hours for two subjects. Aside from her notes, she manages to read other materials like that of annotations and codals during this period. She then goes to school for her classes.
(4:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.)
· She attends two successive classes scheduled at 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. After this, she proceeds directly to her home and prepares herself for another tiring schedule.
(10:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.)
· She studies in advance for her law school subjects and then takes a rest afterwards.
THURSDAYS
(5:00 a.m. to 6:30 a.m.)
· She wakes up early because she has a scheduled lecture and class back in UST. On her way to the school, she tries to refresh her memory of the lectures she will be giving. She has been teaching the same subject matter for 7 years now.
(7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.)
· During this day, she still does not have any break times. The first class she attends is scheduled from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. which is immediately followed by a 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. class. If opportunity permits, like when some professors extend beyond their periods, she takes a 10-minute nap before proceeding to her next class.
(1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.)
· Having this day as a law school-free day, she finds time in buying some of her necessities before going back home. After reaching her house, she then changes her clothes and rests for an hour or two. At 4:00 p.m., she starts reading the assigned readings for her law school subjects the following day. At around 1:00 a.m., she rests.
FRIDAYS
(11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.)
· She doesn't work on Fridays. She wakes up late and prepares herself for a long day at law school nonetheless.
(1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.)
· She allots her time studying for her scheduled subject for the day and leaves her house right before her class starts
(5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.)
· She attends her Friday class form 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and eats dinner afterwards. After this, she goes home and prepares herself for a tiring Saturday.
(9:00 p.m. to 12 mn)
· She manages her time wisely in studying for three subjects scheduled for Saturday. She then sleeps and rests.
SATURDAYS
(9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.)
· She wakes up and prepares herself for the day.
(10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.)
· Having three straight classes for the day, she only has one hour (12:30 to 1:30) to eat lunch and prepare for the remaining subjects.
(6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.)
· After her classes, she heads back home to arrange her stuff both from work and from studies. After eating dinner, she prepares her handouts for her students in UST and checks their test papers as well.
After her duties as a student of the law and a teacher at one end, she then abides by her duties as a loving daughter to her father. After 9:00 p.m., she goes straight to her parents’ condo and takes care of her father who has been in a coma since 2017. Being the second eldest in the family, she takes care of her father for the rest of the day. It is only until 3:00 a.m. when she will take a rest and wake up at 6:00 a.m. to follow her strict schedule for the week.
The life of a law student is and will always be hard. External circumstances such as work, family matters, or other instances as well may affect one’s way of studying. But for as long as every student sticks to his or her plan, nothing could go wrong. To have a study schedule is one thing, but to follow them step by step is another. How about you—what’s your study schedule?
*Edita Mara Lacsamana is currently a 4th-year student at San Beda University College of Law. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) who teaches at the University of Santo Tomas (UST), Far Eastern University (FEU) Manila, and National University (NU) among others.