Lawsagna

What I learned in my first week of the raw food diet

It's been about a week and a half now since I started my 30-day raw food program.  I view it as a learning experience.  Instead of focusing on limitations, temptations and frustrations, I choose to think of this experience in terms of explorations, discoveries and learning opportunities.  I believe that the mindset is really important when it comes to any kind of change, and sometimes, being able to adjust your perspective on things can do wonders for you.  I want to share some of my observations so far in the hope that it may help you maintain the positive attitude when you want to adopt a new behavior.  Here are a few things I learned:

Creativity.  When I started the program, the little voice of self-doubt tried to plant some limiting concepts in my head.  For example, I feared that avoiding cooked foods meant my choices were very limited.  It took some critical thinking to get rid of this notion.  I looked at my regular diet and realized that the bulk of it consisted of the same cooked foods, such as rice, pasta, fish, chicken, turkey, etc. in various combinations.  There was no reason I couldn’t combine raw foods in the same way creating varied menus.  I decided to focus on creativity when it came to menu planning.  I learned to make tasty green smoothies that combined fruit and vegetables for optimum taste and nutrition.  The celery, cucumber and romaine lettuce mix tasting like mango and bananas is easier to enjoy, and I don't have to eat salads every day.

Discovery. For each food item I had to give up, I decided to come up with a new item that I could try.   My additions include persimmons, papaya, agave nectar, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, and the list will continue to grow.  My trips to the grocery store are like mini-explorations now that I hunt for vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds that I have not tried for a while (or at all).

Balance between planning and flexibility. I need to plan for the upcoming weeks so that I have enough food around to keep me on the program.  At the same time, I realized I liked it better when I didn't have each day's menu planned.  I now go day by day and eat what my body wants at the moment.  I listen to my body more and learn to recognize its messages.

Re-assessment. When you do the same thing the same way over and over again, you don't feel the need to stop and ask if what you do still makes sense or whether there is a better approach.  A change forces you to take a second look at your habits and routines.  My raw food program made me realize that I unnecessarily overcooked many fruits and vegetables, depleting them of their nutrients.  For example, from now on, when I need to cook broccoli, I will boil water, take it off the heat, and then add the broccoli.  There is no need to boil it even for a few minutes.  Hot water will break it down a bit, but it will still be full of flavor, and crunch, and all those things that are good for you.  Also, now when I cook my baby's oatmeal, I add frozen blueberries after I take it off the heat.  They will thaw and cool the oatmeal faster.  Simple things like these, I would not have noticed without my raw diet. 

The benefit of firm boundaries.  I still have cupcakes and cookies in the house as the rest of my household is not ready for the raw diet yet.  However, making a firm decision not to eat them took away the doubts, hesitations, and all of that back-and-forth dialogue and guilt trip that I would have otherwise had in my head:  "I really shouldn't eat…or maybe, just one...I hate my sweet tooth…will it help if I eat just one…was it that good?"  Firm boundaries stop unproductive thoughts.

Support.  Identifying and using your sources of support is very important.  Internet and Web 2.0 offer great opportunities in this regard.  I visited raw food blogs and websites for tips and recipes, watched motivational interviews on YouTube, wrote about my experiment publicly – all of which strengthened my commitment.  It is good to have those resources lined up before the going gets tougher.

We can all learn from our challenges.  Take time to think about what you are learning and how it can help you in the future.  What did you learn from your challenges?

Smart Dinner

Here’s a suggestion from "The Dinner Choice That Thwarts Alzheimer’s" at RealAge:

Recipe for a sharp mind: chop some mango, jalapeno, and cilantro; toss together with lime juice, salt, and pepper; then spoon generously over grilled fish.

The combo of fatty acids from the fish and antioxidants from the fresh fruit helps protect the brain from dementia.

Other brain foods:  nuts, fish (especially wild salmon, whitefish, tilapia, catfish, flounder, mahi mahi),  soybeans, tomato juice and spaghetti sauce, olive oil, nut oils, fish oils, flaxseed, avocados, real chocolate (at least 70% cocoa).  Read the full article for the explanation of the benefits and recommended amounts.

Tip Bit #30: Know when to keep the lid on

Certain dishes need to be cooked covered, others – uncovered.  For example, water comes to a boil faster if you keep the pot covered   The lid prevents the heat from escaping, and you get the condensation effect so the steam returns back to the pot as water.  But if you want the flavors of a dish to intensify, you let it simmer without a lid so that extra liquid could evaporate.   How does it relate to the study of law?  Learning has two similar phases. 

The beginning phase, when you learn something for the first time, resembles cooking with a lid on.  You try to get as much information as possible about the subject matter.  You don’t let anything escape you.  You may not know yet what’s important to remember and what you can let go of.  You keep circulating information through your brain to find the most natural links and connections.  This is a stage when you want to ask  lots of questions, create hypothetical “what-if” scenarios and see where they take you.   

When the second phase comes, you take the lid off.  You know enough to figure out what you need to keep and what you can let evaporate from your memory.  Just like the flavors blend together and intensify, your knowledge becomes more concrete and integrated.  You see the big picture, but you can also identify the individual ingredients.  You reduce all that you have learned to its essence.      

How do you know when to move from the first phase to the second?  When you keep coming across the same information over and over again even if you try to find something new.  It’s just like the condensation loop:  the water comes back into the pot.  It’s a good sign that you have covered it all (no pun intended).  By the way, these two phases also apply to research. 

Best diet before a test

The best diet is a balanced diet that gives you the vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein, and carbohydrates that your body needs to function properly.  Having said that, you may want to tweak you diet a bit right before the test.  Here's how:

• On the day of your test, you may want to eat a protein-rich diet. Your body breaks down protein into amino acids.   Tyrosine is one of these amino acids used by the brain to produce neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine, which are associated with alertness and mental agility.  Good options for your breakfast before the test would be eggs, low-fat yogurt, cottage cheese, nuts.  Add some fruit or berries (many seem to like eating bananas before the test).   
• When you eat only carbohydrates, your brain uses another amino acid – tryptophan – to produce serotonin, which helps you relax.  Carbs can be a good thing the day before your test to help you fight the jitters and get some rest.
• Because our body breaks down protein and carbs differently, you may want to avoid certain combinations of food to keep your energy level up.  Don’t eat proteins and starch together.  A white bread cheese sandwich is not good either. 
• Consider taking a multivitamin every day.  Omega-3s and B vitamins help brain functioning.  You need iron and calcium in your body to be able to cope with the effects of stress.  Antioxidants keep your brain and body clean.  Selenium may help you feel clearheaded, confident and energetic.
• Make sure you stay hydrated as you prepare for your test.  Water and tea are good options, sugary sodas and caffeine are not. 
• Don’t eat a heavy lunch on the day of the test, it will make you sleepy.  Consider a salad with chicken, shrimp or salmon.   
• As a final precaution, stick to what you know as your test day approaches.  Don’t experiment with new foods and supplements because you don’t know how they may affect you.  Eat safe.   
• Here’s your shopping list:
  Almonds
  Avocados
  Bananas
  Beef (lean)
  Blueberries
  Broccoli
  Brown rice
  Brussels sprouts
  Cantaloupe
  Chicken
  Cottage cheese
  Eggs
  Garlic
  Kale
  Legumes
  Oatmeal
  Oranges
  Peanut butter
  Peas
  Salmon
  Soybeans
  Spinach
  Strawberries
  Sweet potatoes
  Tuna
  Whole grains
  Yogurt
• And things to leave at the store:
  Alcohol
  Corn syrup
  Refined sugar
  Sodas
  White flour

What do you like to eat before the test?

Tip bit #28: Look for a story

You can find stories everywhere if you care to look.  Why should you care to look for stories?  Stories are a great sense-making tool.  Stories are like a good meal.  They have just the right ingredients to whip up a meaning.  What did you have for dinner yesterday?  Whatever it was, you probably wouldn’t want to eat the ingredients that went into your meal separately.  How about a spoon of sugar, a 1/2 cup of water, followed by some flour on a slice of a tomato?  I don’t think so.   But when you mix them up in the right order and add some labor and love, the result is something fabulous and perfectly edible (let’s hope) that gives you both nourishment and pleasure. 

Similarly, you don’t want to consume unrelated pieces of information.  Stories add coherence and substance, and as you know by now, we learn through linking and association, so stories are good for learning.  They make you guess what’s to come, and our brains like to solve problems.  Good stories, just like good food, speak to various senses:  they make us see, hear and smell things in a good, healthy way, and we remember things better when all of our senses are engaged.  Finally, stories make us emotional, and when we get joyful, sad or mad about something, it stands out in our memory.  So, look for stories around you because they help us make sense of the world. 

I saw a fine example of storytelling yesterday thanks to Legal Andrew who pointed out this 2-minute viral video.  Check it out.

Tip bit # 24: The Crock Pot Learning

The crock pot is a fine invention.  I don’t use it for many things, but boy, do I like the beef stew prepared in the crock pot.  You chop up the veggies and meat, add broth and tomatoes, and then the crock pot magic happens, and 8 hours later, or better yet, overnight, you have a delicious  dish full of flavors with meat melting in your mouth. 

Why am I talking about the crock pot today?  Because just like you have to trust the crock pot to do its magic, there are times when you have to trust the learning process to get you where you need to be.  A preparation for the bar exam is a case in point.  You do your best listening to the lectures, reading, taking notes, reviewing, practicing, and trust that the magic is going to work and you will pass.  At any given moment, there is a huge amount of information thrown at you.  You don’t want to control every little detail because it’s not possible.  What you want to do is to start doing practice questions right away and keep doing it.  You won’t feel as if you know the law enough, but that’s OK.  You have to trust the process.  Practice teaches your brain to recognize patterns that are tested on the bar exam.  Pattern recognition is central to your success, and you can’t learn it just by reading and memorizing.  If you have to choose between practicing and reading the long outline, practice and review the answers.  And when you feel overwhelmed and insecure of your knowledge, remind yourself to trust the process to do its magic, no matter how slow your progress may seem, it’s just like the crock pot.       

The Dog Days of Summer: Advice for Summer Associates

With the approach of the summer, many of you are heading to your first legal internships.  Do you remember the first time you looked at the blue ocean glistening in the sun?  You are thrilled and mesmerized by its power and magnitude.  It’s alluring on a sunny day and frightening when the skies turn dark.  The waters are treacherous if you don’t know how to swim, and what you don’t see can hurt you, but swimming in the ocean is exhilarating.  Are you ready to swim with the big fish?  Here’s is your survival kit.

Law Career Blog describes "Do’s and Don’t’s for Summer Associates" and tells you "What NOT to do as a Summer Associate."

Kathleen J. Wu  offers her insights in the article "Rules Summer Associates Should Live By":

“Even if the firm isn't ladling work on your plate, try to find some way to get something substantive out of your time at the office. Everybody knows that law school teaches you next to nothing about the everyday reality of being a lawyer. We learned the law in school, not lawyering. So spend your summer watching lawyers.”

Read “Summer Associates, Settling In” at Law.com for more advice on schmoozing and boozing, as well as deal-making and partaking.

Finally, here's  “Law Blog News You Can Use:  An Associate Etiquette Lesson” with the focus on table manners.

Tip Bit #12: Three easy ways to recharge yourself

One thing I am learning to do as I work is to recognize the point when I begin feeling fatigued and take a quick step to recharge.   If you spend long hours studying or working, watch for the following signs:

• You begin yawning.
• It becomes hard to concentrate.
• You space out for a few seconds.
• You rub your eyes.
• You body feels stiff.

Aren’t you getting tired just after reading these symptoms?  When you start feeling this way, try the following easy steps to break the cycle of fatigue. 

1. Take 10 deep breaths.  We are all guilty of shallow breathing.  When you are hunched over a book or the keyboard, you can’t fully expand the lungs.  Also, when people feel stressed, they tend to take short, rapid breaths.  When you feel tired, take deep, relaxing breaths to bring more oxygen to your body.  Are you feeling better already?
2. Now it is time to stretch.  I like the Yoga Triangle Pose because it gives a good stretch to my whole body and releases the tension from the lower back.  Because it is a standing posture, I don’t even need a mat.  You can find the instructions and tutorial animation at the ABC-of-Yoga website.  As with any stretch, go slow and stop if you feel any pain.  The website describes many other poses, so you can choose the ones that you are comfortable with.  The tiredness starts to melt away.
3. Finally, drink a glass of iced water with lemon.  Thirst causes fatigue.  The cold water wakes me up (and burns a few calories, as a bonus).   The fresh smell of lemon is invigorating.

These little interventions are easy to do and don’t take much time.  If you can’t take a nap or get to the gym, they can be your next best thing and a healthy alternative to reaching for more coffee and a cookie (I am writing this for myself and I should tape this to my coffee-maker).  What do you think?  Do you have any tips for a quick energy boost?  Please share them with the rest of us! 

The leftovers guide to productivity

As I was cleaning out my refrigerator yesterday, I couldn’t help but wonder about the similarities in the ways we deal with the leftovers and the ways we approach our projects.  What do you do with your leftovers?

• Do you finish them even though the food may have lost its initial appeal?
• Do you re-work them into something new and delicious?
• Do you put them into the fridge and forget about them until a rather peculiar smell reminds you to check on your biological experiment?
• Do you throw out the leftovers right away because you know that you won’t be eating them again?

Now, it’s time to see how you handle your projects.

1. Do you always finish what you have started even if you are not as excited about the project as you were at the beginning?   If so, you certainly have the self-discipline and good planning skills.  And you probably accomplish a lot.  As long as you choose your projects wisely and don’t compromise on your taste, you are in good shape.  One thing for you to remember is that some projects, just like the leftovers, have an expiration date:  if a project goes bad, don’t be afraid to toss it. 
2. Are you one of those lucky people who know how to breathe life into an old project?  You know where to look for inspiration to keep your projects alive and exciting.  You are flexible and you are not afraid to make changes as you go.  The only word of caution for you is not to lose the essence of your projects.  There is only so much you can do with the leftovers.  Sometimes, it is better to start from scratch.   
3. Do you tend to start projects and then put them “on hold” when something better or more important comes along?  Do you have a long to-do list that keeps running through your mind?  Then, your head is probably full of mental “leftovers.”  Schedule regular times to clear you head by deciding what to toss, what to work on right away, and what to “freeze” till sometime in the future.  Planning and prioritizing will save your energy and make you more productive.
4. Do you have trouble completing your projects?  Maybe, you have many interests and you are very enthusiastic to try out new things, but you get bored easily.   As a result, you struggle to stay focused.  Try “freezing” some of you "leftover" projects for future use and re-working the others.  Find sources of motivation to stick with the project at hand.  Circulate several projects so that you can easily switch from one to another when you get frustrated.  Revisit your inventory of "frozen leftovers" periodically to see when it is a good time to thaw them.  While variety is good, you don’t want to be wasteful. 

Smart bites

Today I am serving up a few brainy diet suggestions along with a story of how you can turn a dinner plate into a memory peg. 

For an appetizer, choose among The 29 Healthiest Foods on the Planet, as recommended by Belly Bites (via Lifehack).  How about some crab cakes for vitamin B12 and zinc to boost your immunity?  Or steamed artichokes with zesty lemon juice on top to give you a nice dose of antioxidants?  Plus, the smell of a lemon will invigorate you.

For the main course, fish curry looks good, according to Eat Smart by Christen Brownlee in Science News Online.  The foods you eat affect not only your body, but your brain as well.  You probably already know that fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for your brain.  What you may not know is that curcumin  -  a component of the curry spice turmeric -  may reduce the amount of beta-amyloid, a protein that can aggregate into waxy deposits that have been associated with Alzheimer's symptoms.

You can finish your dinner with a choice of Top 10 Foods for a Good Night’s Sleep, suggested by Yahoo! Food.  Sleep allows us to consolidate our memories so that we can learn new things.  Did you know that March 5 – 11 is 2007 National Sleep Awareness Week?  To catch some Z’s, drizzle a little honey in your warm milk or treat yourself to one of the low-fat lullaby muffins, made with whole-wheat flour and bananas (the Yahoo! Food article has the recipe). 

But before you doze off, check out the Waffle House grill cook cheat sheet via information aesthetics.  It illustrates the way in which a cook marks the orders.  For example, a tub of jelly placed upside down at the 6 o'clock position on a dinner plate indicates scrambled eggs and a wheat toast.  It made me wonder if a dinner plate could be used to memorize, let’s say, the filing deadlines for pleadings in the civil procedure rules.  One minute of a clock can represent one day so to remember the deadlines, you would need to visualize the positions of the clock hands.  Then, you can come up with foods for different stages of the process, and you are ready to arrange your “action-plate.”  Is it too much work for what it’s worth?  I don’t know.  Sleep on it. 

Tip Bit #6: lessons out of the blue

You can find learning opportunities in most unexpected places.   Yesterday, I found one on a bag of wild blueberries that I bought at a grocery store.  The bag had a nice graph of total antioxidant capacity for various berries from the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry.  Oddly enough, I welcomed this opportunity to learn about berries and their antioxidant qualities even though it was a marketing technique on the part of the company:  wild blueberries have the highest antioxidant capacity after all.  But the point of tip bit #6 is not to read the messages on bags and boxes although you may learn something about warranties this way.  Rather, the point is to look for learning opportunities outside your usual learning environment.  Don’t pack your “legal hat” into the backpack with your books and notes.  Wear it in the real world.  We learn best when we can connect the material to real life situations we encounter.  I am more likely to remember the chart if I see it on the bag of blueberries that I like than if I study it in a textbook. Look for contexts where the concepts you are studying become relevant and test your knowledge.   You can also learn out of the blue.

Healthy bites

Did you know that your brain uses 20 to 25 percent of the total energy  you consume?  The better nourishment you provide for you brain, the better it works for you. But do you want to waste your mental power on planning healthy meals in the midst of studying for exams? Probably not, that’s why I’ve decided to share with you one of my favorite quick brain-friendly snacks – my hot pita sandwich. 

Preheat the over to 350F.  Place a whole-wheat pita on a baking sheet, you don’t need to cut or open the pita.  Put a few slices of the red bell pepper on top, spice it up with salt and pepper.  Next, add some deli turkey and top it off with a slice of mozzarella cheese.  Put the sandwich in the oven until the cheese melts and turns golden brown in spots.  Enjoy!  If you don’t eat meat, a nice substitute combination would be a plum tomato, fresh basil leaves, and mozzarella cheese.  And have a cup of green tea instead of a sugar- or aspartame-laden soda.  It contains caffeine, so it will give you an energy boost.  In addition, the polyphenols and tannins found in green tea have been shown to improve the brain function. 

I also have a dessert for your memory.  Do you remember which interests can be potentially affected by the Rule Against Perpetuities?

The following interests may violate the Rule Against Perpetuities:

1) vested remainders subject to open;

2) contingent remainders;

3) executory interests.

You can remember them by the mnemonic: 

RAP STOPS CORE EXECS.

RAP = Rule Against Perpetuities

STOP = Vested Remained Subject To OPen

CORE = COntingent REmainder

EXECs = EXECutory interests.

Balancing studying with the turkey dinner

As many law students are heading home for their Thanksgiving Break, the Law School Academic Support Blog is Talking Turkey about the Thanksgiving Break.  According to their advice, you need to do some planning to use this time effectively and balance your travel, family expectations, studying priorities and good times. 

Speaking of the Thanksgiving dinner, did you know that an attorney invented cranberry sauce? I sure didn't till I read Thanksgiving Special:  the Lawyer Who Invented Cranberry Sauce by JD Bliss.  I personally like cranberry jelly made from fresh cranberries and dried apricots with a little bit of orange zest.  Also, here is a link to my all-time favorite cranberry pumpkin bread, it's very easy to make.   

Are you a shark or a dolphin?

Energy seems to be a big word these days everywhere from global offices to local kitchens. I’ve recently read the article Learning to Manage Your Energy at Entrepreneur.com that tackles the problem of time, or lack thereof, from the personal energy perspective.  The article offers a test to identify your energy profile:  you can be a shark, a dolphin, a whale, or a jellyfish. It also asks some important questions:

• Are you surviving or thriving?
• How to get from the surviving to thriving mode?

It appears that one way to increase you energy level is to eliminate the activities in your daily routine that drain you without giving you much in return.  If you don’t like the outcomes, you have to change what you are doing.  Legal Andrew has some tips for you in Increase Productivity by Doing Something Different.  Are you a fan of to-do lists? Learn to love not-to-do lists as they help to conserve your energy for bigger and more important things in your life.  Productivity Goal offers some suggestions on the issue in What Have You Committed Not To Do?  Here is advice from Kelly Forrister of the David Allen Company.    

My little dirty energy secret?  I have to have a good cup of coffee in the morning, so I am off to check out 12 Best Cups of Coffee of 2006 by Fast Company. I already feel energized. 

Memorize this

It’s that time of the year when students start paying more attention to outlining.  Are there any tips for creating a more effective outline?  One tip is to use mnemonics to synthesize the material.  Mnemonics help the long-term memory by linking and organizing the information in a compact and efficient way.  They work even better if they are fun or bizarre.  To boost the effect, create a vivid image to go with the word.  As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, well, maybe not a thousand, but 1.5 words at least, according to Cognitive Daily. 

Here is an example from Property, Rights of Founders Against the Owners of Land.  Let's say you need to remember the following rule.   

The claim of the owner of the land on which the property was found can generally prevail over the claim of a finder of the lost property:

• if the property is classified as "mislaid";
• if the finder was a trespasser on the land when finding the property;
• if the finder was an invitee and the land was not generally open to the public;
• if the finder is an employee and an agent of the landowner.

To remember this, use 
THE LAW OF MISLAID TIE
LA = Landowner
W = Wins
Mislaid   = Mislaid property
T = Trespasser
I = Invitee (and the land is generally not open to the public)
E = Employee

Here is a hypo: 
Bob is taking a walk in the Botanical Gardens when he finds a box of lollipops.  Under common law, can Bob’s claim to the lollipops prevail against the claim of the owner of the Botanical Gardens?
Answer: Yes.  The finder’s claim to the found property can prevail against the owner of the land where the property was found if the land was open to the public.

To remember this, use
LOLLIPOP
LO = Landowner
L = Loses
I = If
POP = Place Open to the Public

Check back for more mnemonics from Lawsagna!

Here is a good reason to look forward to a big holiday meal.  It turns out that eating mashed potatoes can boost your memory.  However, don’t go crazy on the diet drinks: “the artificial sweetener aspartame may actually go to your head,” according to Psychology Today.

BBC Radio 4 broadcast programs on memory last summer, to listen to them or read tips and articles go to their Memory Home page.

Puzzle your brain

Scientists believe that solving crossword puzzles promotes mental fitness and helps the body to cope with stress and fight illnesses.  This mental activity increases the number of brain neuromodulators, preventing memory deterioration.  But what about making crossword puzzles for the subject matter you study?  Creating crossword puzzles helps to memorize the material by presenting it in both visual and verbal formats. Here is an example from the first-year course of Property.  Do you remember rights and duties of cotenants?  Specifically, what items are subject to accounting between cotenants?  Here is a crossword puzzle that links those elements Download crossword_puzzle.doc (Word), Download Answers_RightsOfCotenants (Word) 

You can use a crossword to connect related items that you need to remember together.  It is a good way to brush up on the legal terminology, and it is a fun activity for a study group.  Best of all, with a variety of free crossword puzzle making software available, it is really easy, just search for a “crossword maker.”  All you need is to come up with the words and their clues, and the software will generate a crossword puzzle for you. 

I have some real food for thought for you in my virtual kitchen.  Foods rich in antioxidants, like pomegranates, grape juice, avocados, and blueberries help to protect the brain from free-radical damage.  B vitamins found in lean meat, fish, legumes, dairy products, grains and green, leafy vegetables are important to brain function as they help to control inflammation. Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, leafy greens, walnuts and flaxseed can help to improve communication between brain cells.

“Agassiz does recommend authors to eat fish, because the phosphorus in it makes brains... But I cannot help you to a decision about the amount you need to eat. Perhaps a couple of whales would be enough.”
Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) (1835-1910)

The power of associations: a case for a chocolate fondue

The connection between cooking and learning law is not obvious, I admit.  The reason I decided to link those two activities in one blog is that I like to cook and I like to learn and I believe in creating new associations between seemingly unrelated things.  Forgive me, those of you who don’t cook, but at least you eat, right? 

New combinations of ideas can be powerful … and delicious like strawberries dipped in the chocolate fondue.  The skill of building associations may come handy at a test when you read a fact pattern that does not seem to fit anywhere and in legal practice later, when you need to come up with a creative argument.  This is similar to an issue-spotting exercise.  I challenge you to try it.  Pick something you like to do when you don’t study, or something you are good at, and translate your experiences from that activity into studying law.  You may encounter some surprising insights.   

If you want to learn more about the power of random concept combinations, read The Medici Effect: Breakthrough Insights at the Intersection of Ideas, Concepts, and Cultures by Frans Johansson. 

Here is a chocolate fondue recipe for dessert:

12 ounces semisweet chocolate broken into small pieces

1/2 cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons Coffee Liqueur or any other favorite liqueur

Heat cream in a pot and pour over* the chocolate.  Add the liqueur.  Transfer the mixture into the fondue pot over lowest possible flame.  Arrange the dipping goodies, such as bananas, apples, cherries, pineapple, or the aforementioned strawberries around the fondue pot.  Spear, dip, swirl and savor!

* Is “pour over” a legal term?  It can be, as in “pour over will”:

A will that leaves estate assets to a trust established before the will-maker's death. A pour over will is a protection which is intended to guarantee that any assets which were not included in the trust become assets of the trust upon the party's death.