We all know the infamous moment of dread upon coming back from spring break and realizing, shoot! You have half a million things to complete before the semester is finished! For an entire week, you have been able to experience the bliss of freedom and focusing on classes is the last thing anyone wants to do. Here is a list of five ways to stay motivated as you painfully crawl your way to summer.

1. Make a list.

First and foremost, make a list. Write down everything you need to complete between now and finals week. Organize this list into some order. I like to organize my list in order of due dates. This helps me to stay on track and ensure I am turning everything in on time. There are many ways to organize these lists such most important to least important, easiest to hardest, etc. Find what works for you!

2. Plan "homework blocks" into your schedule.

Do you have an hour or so between classes? Great! Use that time to get something done. Take a look at your handy list and pick something to work on. It can be something small that you can get done within that time or just getting that much closer to completing that major project or paper.

3. Use your own personalized incentive program.

This is good if you’re like me and have a really hard time getting yourself to even start anything. The way I use this is by selecting an item off my list and telling myself that I have to work on it for one hour or until I complete it, whichever comes first. After that, I’ll let myself get ice cream or watch an episode of one of my favorite shows. What usually happens for me though, is that I end up continuing working on homework for several more hours. This just gives me the push I need to get started.

4. Figure out how you focus best.

For me, I focus best when I am in a quiet place with no one around. When I need to get things done, I find a quiet spot on campus where I can spread my stuff out and work without any distractions. That may not be how you focus best though. Maybe you need a study buddy to keep you focused on homework when you start to get sidetracked. If that’s what you need, find someone in that same class so you can work together and bounce ideas off of each other. Find what works best for you and use it to your advantage.

5. Don't waste your time.

What I mean by this is if you are stuck or confused about an assignment, don’t spend hours trying to figure it out on your own. Either find a classmate and ask them for help or, better yet, ask your professor (I promise they aren’t as scary as you might think). Getting help right away will help you work through your confusion and get through that assignment much faster than you trying to figure it out by yourself. This will give you more time to get other things done or just give you that much more free time!