10 Minutes to 15 Percent Less Stress

I just heard about an interesting study of stressed-out employees.

Researchers asked them to something very simple: Spend ten minutes at the end of the day to write down three things that went well.

When the employees did this, they reported their stress levels (as well as physical complaints) declined by about 15%.

As the researchers put it:

“Results suggest both naturally occurring positive work events and a positive reflection intervention are associated with reduced stress and improved health ….”

This study, in my opinion, clearly shows the power of your mindset and outlook on your life.

So, why not apply this simple ten-minute procedure to bar exam study (if not to your life in general)?

At the end of each day of your bar prep, take a few minutes and write down three things that went well. Even if you feel like you had a bad day studying, at least three things must have gone well.

Maybe you did really well on a particular area of practice questions?
Maybe you finally memorized the elements of a particular tort?
Maybe you spotted all the issues in a practice essay?

And, if you truly cannot find three things about bar exam study that went well, find things in your non-bar-prep life that went well and write those down.