Treating uni like a 9-5/10-6

Get to library by 6.30-7am and work until 8pm (50 mins work and 10 mins break every hour)! Then relax for a couple of hours in the evening before bed

Seems a bit wasteful to set an arbitrary amount of time towards studying. Surely it's better to allocate time depending on your current workload and understanding of the material.

Get to library by 6.30-7am and work until 8pm (50 mins work and 10 mins break every hour)! Then relax for a couple of hours in the evening before bed

Crikey I thought I spent a lot of time studying/doing coursework but this is ridiculous. This isn't something to brag about. Working for almost 11 hours per day (13 hours - 130 mins for your 10 min breaks) is completely unnecessary. It implies inefficiency in your work and an inability to actually get the job done rather than taking as much time as you want over it. I treat uni as a full time job (approx. 35-40 hours per week INCLUDING contact hours) and use that time to do all of my reading, rewriting notes, coursework, tutorial/seminar work and revising. I find that this is plenty of time to do all of the above plus EXTRA reading and ensuring that I am going beyond what is discussed in class. 11 hours a day for a week is just excessive.

This.

Working smart with a realistic timetable and routine ought to decrease the risk of a student burning out.

By all means, putting in extra hours closer to deadlines is the norm, but encouraging students to sacrifice every waking hour for 3+ years on a degree just seems daft. It seems like a quick way to grow to resent your subject in the long term.

I did this in the six week run up before exams, mainly because I did the bare minimal across the rest of the year. It became more about volume, rather than the quality of revision, which isn't good.

To keep that up all year, you must be a machine! I'd be gutted not to get a first, if I put in that much effort all year. (I do law too)

This is also true! A girl on my course "studies" every single day. She doesn't take a single day off. She absolutely hates the course now and she still gets 2.2s because she's just putting in time she isn't putting in effort. Staring at your work for 11 hours is nowhere near as valuable as actually studying it for 3 hours. I wish more people would realise this!

Wow! Did she like the course at the beginning?
Poor girl must be disheartening sacrificing all that time for minimal in return


Posted from TSR Mobile

This is the reason why I asked.I'm a massive procrastinator & only work under pressure I.e when exam day is looming.However I really want a first class degree so I'm thinking of trying something new .Also I would nap in my free hours during the day & sacrifice my evenings for study,which drained me because I couldn't see where my days were going.I'm one of those people that needs a structure to follow.
Also I'm planning to volunteer & join a sports society so planning my time well will do me good.


Posted from TSR Mobile

So I'm going to my 2nd year of uni .
In first year I averaged 68% with panic revision & all nighters .You know the cramming you do 1-2 weeks before the exam & you're hoping the topics you skip don't come up.

However this year I know I have to work hard from day 1 .I am motivated because I have a clearer vision of my future & a 1st class degree would be nice

Lately I've been thinking of treating uni like a 9-5 Job.
During breaks in the day rather than going back to my flat & napping I should go to the library .On days I finish in the afternoon,study until 5pm.When I have a day off (which is about 4 times a term) study from 9-5 with breaks of course!.
Basically try & establish a routine where I only go back my flat *at the end of the day* to shower ,eat and watch TV.

Has anyone done this before where they treat uni like a 9-5 job mon-fri?
How did it go?



Posted from TSR Mobile

Crikey I thought I spent a lot of time studying/doing coursework but this is ridiculous. This isn't something to brag about. Working for almost 11 hours per day (13 hours - 130 mins for your 10 min breaks) is completely unnecessary. It implies inefficiency in your work and an inability to actually get the job done rather than taking as much time as you want over it. I treat uni as a full time job (approx. 35-40 hours per week INCLUDING contact hours) and use that time to do all of my reading, rewriting notes, coursework, tutorial/seminar work and revising. I find that this is plenty of time to do all of the above plus EXTRA reading and ensuring that I am going beyond what is discussed in class. 11 hours a day for a week is just excessive.

Reading Law at a top university entails a lot of hours at the library reading if you want to get a top grade. It might be easier to get a first at your university than the other poster's, and I think their effort should be commended (especially if they enjoy the subject and reading ancient judgments in equity law).

What year are you in, @gman10?

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You don't study Law at the university the other poster does. You cannot possibly say what it takes to get a first for that person. Also, it's commendable that you are gaining so much success without ever having a need to consult your academic grades. For Law, it is highly competitive and for barristers in particular a first is a perquisite. Apples and oranges.

It almost sounds to me as if you're jealous of the other person's resolve. If they are happy with it, leave them to it and pipe down. Most certainly don't presume to say they are not as bright as others for having a need to commit themselves to their studies in order to achieve their grades, when you have no basis of understanding their studies. Alright.

It's okay though, I've known enough law students in my time to know that no one even compares to their intelligence and anyone who gets good grades in less time must be doing an easier degree/at an easier university rather than just working more efficiently.

Reading Law at a top university entails a lot of hours at the library reading if you want to get a top grade. It might be easier to get a first at your university than the other poster's, and I think their effort should be commended (especially if they enjoy the subject and reading ancient judgments in equity law).

What year are you in, @gman10?

Getting a first in my degree takes a lot of reading and analysis too, but again, you should be reading SMART, not necessarily for longer. No one should be commended for regularly spending 11 hours/day doing uni work. Someone with a first class degree and no transferable skills is unlikely to actually get a job. Employers look for personality, skills, experience AND education, not just education alone. I'm on track for a first at my uni and have already had a graduate job offer from one of the top firms in my field (with 2 years left until I graduate), but they've never even asked to see my grades. They were first drawn in by the initiative I took to contact them for experience and then I formed a relationship with them from there. Getting good grades is great, but grades alone won't get you a job. Gaining experience and contacts will, and you sure as hell aren't going to be doing either of those things cooped up in a library for your entire university life.

I don't mean to be rude, but no one should need to spend that long studying in order to get first class grades. 35-40 hours a week is plenty of time to get first class grades, still fit in a part time job, social life, down time and working out.

I am going into my final year! And you are correct in saying a lot of the work is actually reading endless amounts of content to put the theory into context. It is also a major plus that I love what I do and none of it is a drag




Firstly, doing law modules and doing a law degree are completely different. I have friends who did law modules, but don't actually do a law degree, and did not do half the work I did on my equivalent modules. Secondly, you mentioned that you would rather be well rounded with extra-curriculars and work experience then spend all your days working. Every holiday since I was 16 has been spent at a part time job and I have racked up hundreds of placements at law firms, chambers, and businesses. Furthermore, I have mooted at the international finals of the largest mooting competition in the world, I played academy rugby at school, and set up a business that funded my university studies. Just because I work long and hard doesn't mean I dont have fun, nor does it mean I have nothing extra to offer to employers.

And trust me I wouldn't sit in the library all day just staring at my work. I have motivations and goals to achieve, and I know procrastination or simply being idle would not help me. So, please don't question my work ethic.