It's almost Thanksgiving, midterms have come and gone, and finalsarenear.

The semester is coming to a close and it's time to make sure that you get on track (or maybe get your act together). Here are some tips that I think are useful to make most of your downtime.

1. Remember the planner that you bought that you swore you were going to use on the regular this year? Use it.

Or you can use an app on your phone to stay on track. I personally like the Reminders feature on my iPhone. I also use a bullet journal to keep track of my various mini-projects in addition to my daily planner. Monthly calendars near your bed/desk also really help.

2. When studying, take breaks.

Take actual breaks. Don't give up after 20 minutes. The Pomodoro technique is actually quite helpful, and helps me make most use of my study time. I also listen to instrumental music when studying. I like minimal noise, so I go to the library and bring headphones to help me stay relaxed. I highly recommend making a 8tracks account and exploring it a bit.

3. Make a motivation wall!

My best friend recently gave a presentation at our Female Empowerment Organization meeting and she made a suggestion. Put little sticky notes somewhere you'll see them every day to give yourself a little pick me up! I recommend at least 10 of these little self-love notes. Anything from "I have a great smile" to "I can do anything!" will suffice. Now some may find this corny, but it is an enormous help. Fake it until you make it. You'll also see an awesome improvement in self-esteem!

4. Proactive procrastination

This is better than it sounds. You might find it hard at times to focus on a task right away. Rather than forcing yourself to start something, and doing a horrible job on it, do a task that you find more fun first! Do you need to get a PowerPoint done? Make it a Prezi and mess around with the design! Do you need to study for a subject? Look up cheesy parody songs on the subject! Things of this nature really can help you out in the long run and, eventually, your task will be far easier to approach than you expect.

5. Develop a routine.

I made habit of going to the library right after lunch and dinner during my freshman year. I also got my friends involved and made sure that we all got our work done! After that I would go back to my dorm, shower, have a snack, and watch an episode of "Friends" before bed. It gave me something to look forward to and helped me make some good habits.

The holidays are near and so is the freedom of Winter Break! Make the most of your time and be diligent with your work. Hard work never betrays anyone, as the saying goes. You can do it!