Now that Thanksgiving Break is over, students' minds are slowly turning over to finals week. That means planning ahead to make sure we can fit in all our studying and make time to write our papers. It's early enough that we haven't been getting any of the assignments yet so it hasn't quite set in. It's the calm before the storm.

Every semester begins the same. Everyone makes a promise to themselves that they're going to do all their homework on time and they're going to get all A's. Some people live up to those expectations and others don't. Whatever side you land on, my biggest suggestion as finals approach is to stay on top of things.

Take some time for yourself this week and look through what you're going to have to do just so it doesn't come as a surprise once assignment sheets start going around. If you can anticipate what you're going to have to do, it will all seem less overwhelming. Work on papers a little bit every day so you're not up all night a few days before it's due hating yourself for procrastinating. Put off some time every day to do some studying.

Working ahead is one of those things a lot of people promise themselves they'll do but end up falling through on it. It takes an effort to commit to something but when it comes to schoolwork, it definitely pays off. Do yourself the favor and save yourself from at least a little stress come finals week.

And if none of that motivates you to get through it, after finals week comes Christmas break and the end of a semester. That means a brand new start.