The last week of every semester is always the most stressful – students are finishing projects, writing papers and studying for finals. Procrastination is my middle name. I love how I always save everything to the very last minute, and I know we are all guilty of it. Especially for papers. It is so easy to do, and I do it every semester. I mean, it isn’t like the professors give the assignment a week before it’s due. They let us know the first day of class that a 10-page paper will be due at the end of the semester. It just makes my “to-do” list 10 times longer and my stress level 10 times higher than it should be. I have two research papers I need to write and a final project I haven’t even started and have two weeks to get it all done.

You would think I would have learned putting stuff off to the very last minute always comes back and bites me in the rear end. Sometimes I work better when I am under a lot of stress, while at other times I just want to scream and run away to Never Neverland in Walt Disney’s “Peter Pan” where I can be a kid forever and not worry about growing up.

I’m sure everyone is just as stressed out as I am, so I decided this week’s column would help relieve some steam by venting and providing some tips on how I deal with the stress of finals. The best advice a professor once gave me is to remember worrying gets nothing accomplished. Relax and make a list of everything you need to get done, and then organize assignments out day by day so that it doesn’t seem like you have a lot to get done in one day.

It’s best to get all your partying and bar hopping out a couple weeks before finals so you get it all of your system and can buckle down and actually concentrate. Just think: Once you get everything done you can celebrate with a few beers at the Professor’s Pub with some friends.

I also would suggest going to the Student Recreation and Wellness Center to work off some stress. It always helps to take breaks to give your brain a rest and clear your thoughts. Even if it you just walk on the treadmill for 20 minutes or swim a few laps, I’m sure you will feel refreshed and energized. After working out, I highly recommend relaxing in the hot tub or treating yourself to a massage.

Don’t freak out. You know you will get everything done. Just be realistic, spread your work out and don’t try to do too much in one day because that is when the gray hairs start growing. Because I am probably the best procrastinator, I have realized there is so much more to life than worrying and stressing over a paper. Worrying gets nothing accomplished. It is what you don’t do that you should be more concerned about. Just breathe and think: It is almost over.

Alyssa Conner is a junior public relations major and a columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].