We’ve made it through the first two weeks! I think that deserves a pat on the back because things move fast around here. Orientation seems like a distant memory and we are in the thick of it now (already!).

Last week was a tad hectic. There was a moment when I turned to a classmate and muttered “And I thought the first week was busy…” My new friend looked at me and kindly said, “I think you’ll be even busier next week.”

Touché.

So what do I mean when I say things are a bit hectic these days? Well, I’ve been spending lots of time on the things you’d expect: reading and prepping for classes. But there is certainly a lot more than that going on. At the start of UBC Law, you may very well find yourself blown away by all the extracurricular opportunities you are presented with. For example, there are a number of programs that allow you to dive right into legal aid work (in your very first month of law school!). To name just a few, there’s CoRe, Pro Bono Students of Canada, and the Law Students Legal Advice Program. On top of these, there are sports teams to join, the Law Review to edit, the Centre for Feminist Legal Studies to be a part of, moots to compete in, and many (MANY) meet and greets to attend.

Plus, let’s not forget the four long days of classes each week. All of this adds up! With this in mind, allow me to pass on a few preliminary lessons I’ve learned about time management thus far:

1)   You can’t do it all, and you’re not expected to (thankfully).

2)   It can seem a bit overwhelming. Before you even get a good sense of what law school is going require from you, you’re given the chance to sign up for a thousand different things that all sound good.

3)   Take a deep breath and pick a few things that you’re interested in, and go for it! According to all the upper year students I’ve talked to, you won’t regret it.

4)   Having Mondays off is a godsend.

5)   At the end of an especially long day, there is no shame in eating dinner from 7-11.