This is a great and common question! The answer… is strictly up to you. It is almost impossible to give a direct and generic answer to this question because we all think and study differently. It will depend on 1) the skills and knowledge you have already gained in law school, 2) what form of bar preparation you are using, and 3) your own energy levels.
People ask this question because they want comfort in having an idea of how much time to spend studying, which is perfectly natural. However, instead of focusing on the amount of time you have to spend; instead, focus on what you’re doing (we’ll have a post coming soon on how to make the best use of your study time).
You’ll probably be much more motivated, focused, and effective if your daily schedule says, “Ask 35 criminal law multiple-choice questions and review the answers” instead of “spend two hours studying criminal law.”
I’m sure that at one point or another during law school, we’ve all stared into the dark mist of our casebook for hours on end. Although we technically spent time studying, we accomplished nothing. Or it’s likely that we all read the wrong case assignment and showed up for class, only to finally realize we weren’t prepared. These are examples of spending time but doing nothing or doing something that was not effective.
Having said that, you’re probably still itching for a magic number for how many hours a day you should study. Although I can’t give you a specific figure, I can probably give you some minimum and maximum thresholds to balance between them.
If I were to add up the total time I spent preparing for my bar exam, it would probably average five or six hours per day outside of my four hour barbri lectures. Some days I would spend ten hours. Some days I went zero.
I advise you not to dedicate less than four hours a day on average and no more than eight. Remember, this is an average amount. If you can handle eight-hour days, more power to you. Personally, I didn’t think it was necessary, and I certainly wasn’t a law school genius. Don’t slack off and don’t spend time, but also make sure you don’t burn yourself out by spending too much time.
Remember the quote, “The time it takes is the time you have.” Sometimes more can be done in less time.