Feeling stuck in your bar prep? Have the materials, but can’t bring yourself to start? Time slipping away, and you find yourself frozen?
I’ve got tips that will help you overcome this freeze response and get you back on track. It will help you pass the bar exam using emotional and mindset tools that support your best bar prep season ever.
Why You're Procrastinating and How to Fix It
1. Lack of a Clear Plan
You know you need to study. You even have the materials. Yet, without a clear plan, your brain struggles to jump in. This is why commercial bar prep courses provide daily task lists – it helps your brain to focus and start working. If you’re finding it hard to stick to your tasks, you might be one of the four personality types that need to see the big picture.
For instance, the wisdom personality type enjoys understanding the nuances of the law and wants to know the ‘why’ behind everything. While this can be a strength, it can also be a stumbling block because you might get bogged down in too much detail.
Solution: Focus on Small Chunks
Create an exact study schedule that breaks down your tasks day by day. Lay out a personalized bar prep plan before you start studying. Then, forget the big picture and focus on what you need to do each day. This approach will help you stay encouraged and avoid feeling overwhelmed.
Take a free quiz to identify your study personality type here
2. Negative Self-Talk
Another reason for procrastination is harsh self-criticism. You might beat yourself up for forgetting something, getting a practice question wrong, or not being able to explain why you got an answer right. This negative self-talk creates a mental barrier that makes you dread studying.
Solution: Change Your Self-Talk
Start speaking to yourself more lovingly. Celebrate every small achievement. Finish your practice questions before checking the answers to avoid immediate self-criticism. This way, you maintain your momentum and can reward yourself for completing tasks, building a positive association with your study sessions.
3. Fear of Success
Finally, procrastination can stem from self-sabotage due to a fear of success. You might have unconscious fears about what passing the bar exam will mean for your life. These fears can hold you back from putting in the necessary effort to study.
Solution: Address Your Fears
Download my free manual to bust bar exam blocks and work through the exercises to uncover unconscious fears. Awareness is the first step to overcoming these blocks. Once you identify what’s holding you back, you can develop strategies to address these fears and move forward with your studies.
Recap and Next Steps
We’ve covered three main reasons why you might be procrastinating on bar prep:
Lack of a clear plan
Negative self-talk
Fear of success
Each of these has a solution that can help you overcome your procrastination and get back on track with your studies. If you want more in-depth help, consider booking a consultation with me. We can dive deeper into your specific challenges and create a personalized plan to help you pass the bar exam.
Let’s turn your bar prep season into a success story starting with a personally tailored bar study plan. .