Monday 21 July 2008

Will do better next time

I don't know about anyone else, but I've always been a bit of a last minute person. School projects done on the last night, tutorial reading done on the tube or trying to blagg it in class. Prepping for a moot half an hour before each round, promising myself that next round I would do more prep. Even when I got to the final round, when there wasn't a next time.

Anyway, try as I might I simply haven't been able to get rid of this awful habit of not getting anything done until the 59th minute of the 11th hour. Which is why I ended up writing an essay for submission to Barbri for marking on the subway....

There was some logic to this. I thought, rather than spend the full 90 minutes (it was an MPT which is all about 'lawyer skills', not substantive law) I'll do it without looking at the handout and see what I can produce 'naturally', i.e. what I would be able to do if all else fails in the exam. It arrived in the post yesterday - I passed! I found this rather hilarious.

Unfortunately the MPT is only worth 10% - still that's 5% I can count on in the exam. Not sure I can say the same about property at the moment...I'm drowning in vested contingent interests and remaindermen :S Whoever they are.

Next time I take the Bar I really will work harder....!

3 comments:

Minx said...

And theres me thinking that I was the undisputed QUEEN of procrastination!! Apparently my crown has passed to another!!
Seriously, though, isnt it FUN when stuff all sort of falls together without TRYING terribly hard?!?! :)

Android said...

Well, the fact that by doing last-minute prep for the moot you still got to the final round would mean that you're doing something right!

I prefer to prepare everything in advance, but I realise that I will not be able to do this in real life very often, especially at the Bar... Unless I get to practice Chancery!

Congrats on passing your MPT! Just think what you could achieve with some prep in advance! :)

I am confident that you will do really well in your exams :)

Mel said...

Thanks android! Although I should point out it was just an essay for marking, like a mock, rather than counting towards anything. I'd like to think I wouldn't be that cavalier if it really mattered...well!

I both live for and hate last minute stuff. I think as I get older I get less of the 'thriving on the buzz' and more of the 'paralysing panic!'