Most “how long should I study?” advice fails because it ignores the only variable that matters: how many real hours a week you actually have. Here are the three schedules that cover almost every candidate — pick the one that matches your life, not your aspirations.
Schedule 1: The Full-Time Six (one exam, ~6 weeks)
For candidates between jobs, on summer break, or with saved study leave. Twenty-five to thirty hours a week is plenty — more than that and you are confusing presence with studying.
| Week | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1–2 | Full read of the materials, in order. Set up tabs; start or customize your index. |
| 3 | Second pass on weak sections. Practice exam #1 (diagnostic — expect to feel slow). |
| 4 | Practice exams #2 and #3 with full reviews. Fix every index gap you find. |
| 5 | Practice exam #4. Drill twenty random lookups daily until each lands under a minute. |
| 6 | Final simulation early in the week. Check LSO Connects for material updates. Light review, logistics, sleep. |
Schedule 2: The Working Twelve (one exam, ~12 weeks)
For candidates with a job — the schedule I passed both exams on. Thirteen scheduled hours a week: two hours Monday to Thursday evenings, five hours Saturday, two hours Sunday review, Friday off. The Friday off is not optional; burnout fails more candidates than the material does.
| Weeks | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1–5 | Weeknight reading through the full materials; Saturday blocks for index work and tabs. |
| 6 | Practice exam #1 on Saturday (diagnostic). Sunday: slow review. |
| 7–9 | Targeted re-reads of weak sections on weeknights; practice exams #2 and #3 on Saturdays. |
| 10–11 | Practice exam #4; commute-time audio review; drill lookups to under a minute. |
| 12 | Use study-leave days here if articling. Final simulation, updates check, logistics, rest. |
Schedule 3: The Retake Rescue (3 weeks, targeted)
For candidates rewriting after a fail. You have already read everything — rereading is the trap. Your LSO performance breakdown tells you exactly which sections failed you, and your time-per-question tells you the rest.
| Week | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 | Rebuild or replace your index (this is where most fails live). Deep-review your two weakest sections only. |
| 2 | Practice exams #1 and #2, timed, on paper. Review each slowly against the materials. |
| 3 | Practice exam #3. Updates check on LSO Connects. Logistics and sleep — you already know the law. |
The rules that apply to all three
- Practice exams are scheduled, not aspirational. If a practice exam is not on the calendar with a date, it will not happen.
- Review days are half the value. Every wrong answer gets found in the materials and, if the lookup failed, the index gets fixed.
- The final week gets lighter, not heavier. Cramming in the last 72 hours measurably hurts performance. Taper like an athlete.
- Paper for the last two simulations. The exam is on paper; train on paper.
If building the calendar itself feels like a chore, a few prep platforms now generate one for you — PassTheBar.ca’s study scheduler, for instance, turns your start date, exam date, and daily page target into a day-by-day checklist. Whatever you use, the plan only works if it lives somewhere you will actually see it every day.