The holiday season is upon us, and with that comes (finally) bearable weather, pumpkin-spice and peppermint treats, and actual breaks from the never-ending onslaught of homework. However, with the 5:00 pm sunsets and successive holidays also comes the anxiety and dread that accompany the end-of-year projects and finals. 

The end of the fall semester can oftentimes feel like a blur, filled with its fair share of stress and exhaustion. It is a struggle to even get up in the morning, let alone complete that pile of assignments… or know what the date is. (Was that presentation due today?) Most students zero in on the looming finals week and neglect everything else, including their mental health. To no one’s surprise, this mindset is extremely damaging and unsustainable. 

Don’t get me wrong, I myself have fallen victim to this “Holi-daze”, unable to focus on anything other than the day in front of me. The only way to release yourself from this purgatory, though, is to correct how you approach it. 

The most important tip, in my opinion, is to have a routine. I know, I know, I can hear you already–”How am I supposed to develop a routine when every day is different? Every day is another project, task, or event?”. Simple.

You create a plan for yourself ahead of time. Write down when you are going to go grocery shopping, when you are going to the library to work on homework, or when you are going to do laundry. Even if you don’t have a planner or calendar, making a mental note of when you are going to do simple chores is a game-changer. When you develop a plan, you are less likely to get overwhelmed with all you have to do or trying to carve out time to do them. Your tasks are less likely to build up this way, and I promise you will feel a lot more prepared for what’s to come with a plan in mind. 

Don’t forget to take care of yourself! Yes, school is important, but so is your well-being. Eat full meals (not ramen), stay hydrated (not caffeine), and take time to relax. However you choose to unwind–whether that be hanging out with friends, working out, taking a break on TikTok, or journaling–make sure to set aside time for yourself! If you focus solely on homework and studying, you will exhaust yourself long before finals week.

That being said, it’s easy to become caught up in these distractions. Those 10-minute study breaks turn into an hour, and then you’ve lost valuable time you could have spent working on that Economics project. The quicker you complete your assignments, the quicker you can finish, and thus the more time you have to relax.

On that note, do not procrastinate! Again, this is easier said than done. I actively procrastinated writing this article, so who am I to tell you what to do? But, either way, if you keep putting off that assignment, you will end up rushing to complete it on top of all the other things you need to do and stress yourself unnecessarily. Instead, get a head start on it or try to complete a bit of each day. That way, it feels way less daunting to complete when the due date finally comes. 

Change your scenery! It’s easy to feel trapped when you spend hours in the same room every day. Take a quick walk, go eat dinner, or study in a different room! Even just a few minutes can help you feel less stuck. 

Make sure to get enough hours of sleep. Now, I know, I know. This is an impossible task even during the normal semester, but we cannot function without the proper amount of sleep. It is much better to get the full 8 hours before an exam instead of staying up all night, half-awake, trying to cram Biology definitions you’ll forget within the next 30 minutes. 

Once we’ve gotten over that final hurdle (literally) and the semester comes to an end, we must face a whole new challenge: the holiday family dinners where we’re forced to sit through our relatives’ political rants for hours on end. Then the long-awaited winter break passes by in a blur, and it begins all over again next semester.