We all know that feeling. Midterms are coming, you have three papers to write, you got four hours of sleep last night, and you just failed your quiz in the only class you still had 100% in. Your teachers are all expecting you to spend thirty hours studying just for their class, and on top of that you might have sports, musical or theatrical obligations, extracurriculars, church, work, and maybe- if you can squeeze it in- eating a meal that doesn't involve buying junk food from the campus store.

I know for me, personally, all of this can be overwhelming. It leads right to my brain (and body) screaming "Take a break!". While breaks are definitely good, and highly suggested between studying sessions and the rest of life's craziness, for students everywhere the danger lies in procrastination.

It happens naturally: You're sitting down to study for that quiz you have on Monday, half prepared to focus and maybe even learn something when a friend calls with the extremely tempting offer to come hang out. "Don't do homework," your brain whispers. "Friends are more fun than homework. Go have fun instead. You have the whole weekend ahead of you."

Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday. Two and a bit days to "Get to it", or "Finish it later". Before you know it, it's 8:00pm Sunday night, and you've only just glanced at the study guide for your quiz, and have homework due in three other classes- none of which has been done. And then, just when your stress levels have reached their peak, and you start to panic, your brain and body tell you to go to sleep early because you stayed up late with friends the night before.

Now I don't know about you, but I've definitely done this before. And for me, this is what restarts an endless vicious cycle of procrastination, which then leads to my grades suffering, my sleep time diminishing, and my energy levels dropping. Before you know it, it's goodbye real food, hello take-out, because you're using the time you would normally have to cook, for your homework!

For all of the many students out there for whom this is a problem, don't worry, we all procrastinate. Some of you may even work better during crunch time. But for those of us who struggle when we're down to the wire, here's my advice: Balance work with play.

That sounds really simple and really complicated at the same time, but if we can find a way to balance our time between the hectic movement of everyday life and finding some time to just rest and relax, we will be better able to stop ourselves from procrastinating. Sometimes, when your friend calls and asks if you want to hang out, you should step back and look at the work you have to do. If you can manage it and also spend time with your friend, then go! Have fun! Enjoy yourself! But if going to spend time with friends means you don't study for that quiz that will determine your final grade, you need to let them know you're busy.

The thing that we as humans sometimes struggle with (I know I do) is that our friends will understand when we're busy. If you can't go to their house to watch a movie because you have a study group, it's OK! If you are sitting and drawing boxes for your drawing class instead of having game night, it's fine! You may feel as though you've missed out, but when you are able to recognize when your schedule is too full to take time off of schoolwork, you are also able to see when you can take those breaks.

So even though midterms are coming up, and life is crazy, and all you want to do is sleep in past that 8:00am class, you need to remind yourself that if you can sit down and it get it done, you won't have to worry about it later. If you've spent hours studying on Friday night and Saturday for your quiz on Monday, then you can go to sleep early on Sunday night, waking up fully rested and ready to go.

Don't wait until it's down to the wire, and your teacher is going to walk in any second and tell the class to put all of their notes away. Get ahead of the game! Turn an assignment in early, or edit that rough draft two days before the paper is due as opposed to two hours before. See what can happen when you make time in your life for school, and then make time for the fun things. You'll be amazed by what happens next.