With midterms now over and the weather getting dreary, it is easy to put off school in favor of more relaxing activities. However, keep in mind that finals are closer than you think, and time is going to fly. To avoid huge stress during Thanksgiving break and right before finals, start planning now. Besides, most students want to go home for Thanksgiving, and no one likes to do homework when you’re surrounded by friends and family you haven’t seen in a while.  However, do try to set aside some time each day for review and preparation.

If you have big presentations the last week or two of classes, start planning them now. Be sure you choose your topic well in advance, start looking for resources, and draft your outline. A few weeks between now and Thanksgiving will give you a lot of options without having to spend much time  during any one sitting. Then, as the presentation gets closer, you can focus on creating your visuals and practicing what you will say.

If you have big projects coming up, chunk them into smaller pieces and give yourself deadlines to meet. Make yourself finish the research you need within the next few weeks, then work on the paper, then the visuals, etc. This will lessen the stress and allow more time near the end of the semester to focus on those big tests during finals week.

If you are facing a large test during finals week, start working now. After all, there isn’t a lot of time to prepare for them after Thanksgiving break. Be sure you are reading all your material carefully and taking good notes. Create outlines of the chapters and take detailed in-class notes during lectures. Make flashcards for any vocabulary terms you have, and practice writing and critical thinking with all the major concepts in the course. Take a few minutes to review these notes each day. Each week, spend one large study session (45 minutes- 1 hour) making sure you still understand everything. If you start this now, you will feel much more prepared when finals week comes.