Happy Finals Week!

Or, should I say, Welcome to Hell! So close to the most wonderful time of the year, we all have to get through the most stressful time of the year. With essay deadlines and impending exams, I think we all could do with a little learning. So here is a lesson on something I like to call,

Strategic Procrastination.

It all begins with stress. You realize how much you have to do, and you become so overwhelmed that you can’t figure out where to begin. Therefore, you procrastinate. But unfortunately, after watching Netflix for three hours you feel like crap about yourself and you are even more stressed out. Solution? Change how you procrastinate.

Instead of diving back into the series that you’ve been binge-watching, put something on that you won’t get sucked into. Maybe a rerun of a comedy you love, or a show that hasn’t quite gripped you yet. Let that run in the background so your mind can stop the panic-mode.

Now take out some lined paper because here comes the “productive” part. Make a list of everything you need to do. Everything that could be remotely necessary to get done over the course of the next week. Hold back your fear upon seeing the completed list, and move on to the next phase:

Schedule. Go through the list and write the due date (and time, if necessary) of every item on your list. Then rearrange or rewrite your list in chronological order.

Next: number the list in order of priority. What will take the most time? What needs the most work? What needs the best grade? Mark up your list with a ranking of which needs to get done first.

And that’s it. Congratulations, you haven’t done a lick of work, but you are now much more organized. You can also clearly see what you need to panic about, and what you can relax about for a little while. Bonus points if you go back to this article every time you’re looking to put something off.

Happy finals everyone!