The most efficient way to outline.

Insider Tip: Most law students outline inefficiently because they keep the same information they read about each topic in ten different places.

Challenge Yourself: Instead of creating different documents to house the information you're learning, try this: create one outline for every main topic that includes your case briefs, lecture notes, reading notes, and any other information you learn about the topic—all in one place.

I’ve uncovered the number one reason law students are inefficient in their studies:

They keep separate running documents for:

• case briefs (in random order)

• lecture notes (by date)

• reading notes (scattered)

• outlines (often without structure or written by someone else with a different learning style)

Then, weeks later, they spend even more time digging through everything to figure out what’s:

• related

• correct

• worth memorizing

• actually understood

• necessary for the final exam

Just thinking about sorting through all of that information causes stress, procrastination, and a growing dislike (or straight-up fear, for some) of studying.

It’s no wonder you feel short on time—always busy, pulling all-nighters, finishing right before class—and still not really understanding what you read.

Having to synthesize disorganized information again—for a second, third, and fourth time—is such a waste of your precious time. But the alternative is worse. If you leave your materials in several different places and simply try to memorize everything from everywhere, your exam answer will mirror that same disorganization.

If this sounds familiar, there’s a simpler way (and it’s exactly how I teach students to build a study system that actually saves time).

The Fix

For every topic in your classes, create one outline that follows the table of contents for the assigned pages. Under each subheading, add:

• case briefs

• lecture notes

• key reading takeaways

• your professor’s slides and videos (as the information relates to the subtopics)

Now you have one document that shows everything you’ve learned about that one topic:

• in one spot

• organized

• clearly labeled

When the topic ends and you move on to the next one—or when the semester wraps—you can:

• turn each topic outline into an attack sheet, pre-write, or topic approach (step 7 of my study system) that mirrors how you will write the "I" and "R" portion of the topic on the exam

• or, if it’s succinct enough, memorize it as is (yes, please!)

Studying becomes lighter and more efficient because the work isn’t duplicated, triplicated, or quadruplicated.

Before class, simply open your topic outline and review the section you’ll cover in that day’s lecture.

Small shift. Big payoff.

Curious what studying would feel like if everything for a topic lived in one place?

Give it a try and let me know how much time you saved this week! I read every response and will do my best to reply.

Sending my best always,

That's all for this week, thanks for being a part of my community!  

Whenever you're ready, there are three ways I help law students get the grades they want:

1.  Take my course, The Law School Operating System™.

2.  Book a 1:1 Coaching Session with me.

3.  Contact me to present a workshop at your school.