If you're anything like me, you pretend bad things don't exist until you can't run away from them anymore. Yeah, I'm talking about finals week. As crazy as it seems, finals week is only about a month away. I hate to be the one to remind you, but hey, maybe if you spread out the stress and worry, it won't be so bad! I'm kidding. It's going to be pretty bad either way. But really, if you go ahead and start worrying about finals week now, the month ahead will be a lot easier.

Everyone hates those last few days of the semester, where you want to hang out with your friends before the summer but you've got to study for an 8 a.m. chemistry final the next day. How are you supposed to avoid the stress, though? I mean, you could have gotten everything together the rest of the semester before finals were looming over, but that would be too easy.

Instead, here are some tips on how to be prepared for your tests and avoid being a nervous wreck.

1. Get all your notes together!

I mean, this is assuming you took notes, I suppose. If you did, go ahead and get all those loose pieces of paper together and figure out what you'll need for study time. Papers tend to get lost (I know I have a tendency to throw them in my backpack and forget about them), so it might help you to take notes on your laptop or other device. If you do this, go through your notes and make sure they're looking good and will help you out. If your notes aren't that great (or are nonexistent), see if you can get with someone else who has the class and have a study session.

2. Clean up your room!

This might seem like it doesn't have a lot to do with finals and studying and stuff, but trust me when I say a change in your environment can have a big impact on your mind when you're getting ready to to deal with something stressful. So, go ahead and start getting your room clean BEFORE finals come around and you're too busy to clean. That way, your room will be clean, and the trash you add to the floor after an all-nighter won't seem too bad!

3. Ask your professor what you should look for on the final!

They're not going to come right out and say, "oh yeah, look on these pages," but a lot of professors are nice and will give you some hints at the very least. Professors don't want to see you fail (most of them, anyway), so it never hurts to ask them for a little advice. They might tell you what areas to study the most, and that could be a great way to start your studying.

4. Don't stress!

Trust me, easier said than done, I know. But there's really no point in stressing out right now. It's just good to have it in your mind that, "Hey! This stuff is coming up and I should be prepared for it!" Don't stress on finals week either. Just do what you can, and things have a tendency to work out for the best!

5. Go ahead and figure out what time your exam is!

Do it. Write in your planner or iPhone or Android or whatever. You do not want to be the person who shows up to the 8 a.m. on the wrong day. For some reason, this is one of my worst fears. The image of me walking into a classroom the day after the exam was supposed to happen and realizing I missed it haunts my dreams. I'm exaggerating, but still. So triple and quadruple check to make sure that the date and time you have in your planner is the correct date and time, because it's hard to pass a test you weren't there for.

Now let's count down the days until summer!