Finals week also known as the week where we lose our hair due to the stress, where we avoid sleeping to reach that “A” and where we reach the pivotal moment in our academic lives that questions if we really want to stay in college anymore. However, all that stress really does to us is form wrinkles and anxiety, so here are some tips on how to not stress during finals, even when you do feel like the world is crashing.

1. Compartmentalize.

What freaks everyone out initially is the amount of work weighing him or her down. Rather than viewing the week as a giant jumble of papers and tests, take it one day at a time, and only concern yourself with the first thing, and then move on from there. Whichever comes first and is most tedious, get it out of the way to begin with, so that the rest of the week is just checking things off the list.

2. Make a List.

Lists are very easy yet effective tools for survival during finals. At the beginning of the week, write down each test and paper and any kind of work that needs to be done, and each day cross what you did off of it. Not only do you see your progress, but also it brings so much satisfaction to cross something you have been dreading off of your to-do list.

3. Daily Agendas

Along with the to-do list, set aside times in the day that you will devote to each subject or work that needs to be done. There are only so many hours in the day, and only so many days in finals week, it is important to set aside the correct amount of time for studying, and of course an amount of time for breaks for relaxation.

4. Relax

While this may be the hardest to do because this week is notorious for upsetting people’s GPAs, I think it is important to remember that this is one week. And there is so much more to life than our GPA, and there are much greater things in store beyond college that will still happen no matter what. This doesn’t mean not to try or anything, because it is clear that finals are important, but let’s not let finals be the end of the world, because it definitely is not. After this one week of what does seem close to torture, we can go home, binge watch every television show we want, and eat a lot of ice cream. So, good luck to everyone and remember that this is only one week, and we can do it, and we can do it without the stress that only creates wrinkles.