Procrastination hurts finals

It's hard to believe that finals week is almost here.  Finals are invaluable, and could be a make-or-break moment for many students' grades.  

While procrastination is usually an acceptable practice, this is one time that I would suggest trying to break out of that habit.

For starters, classes still require you to work until that week actually starts.  

It's no secret that many professors fall behind on their scheduled coursework, leaving much to be covered in these last few weeks.  

This could involve having multiple papers, projects or even other tests within this period that could pile up through all of the classes you have.  

Depending on the courses, this could lead to a ridiculous amount of work packed into this short period of time.  

There really is no question of fairness here, as other professors do not keep track of their colleague's assignment schedule.  

This trend does begin to suck for us once we have a full regular schedule paired with a larger volume of assignments and studying out of nowhere.

Secondly, cumulative finals are like the ninja of finals, they will sneak up on you if you're not careful.  

The almost-full notebook that you've shown friends in disbelief throughout the semester is now what stands between you and studying for everything on that final.  

Having done well on tests throughout the year may make it seem less ominous, but don't forget that there has been a significant passing of time in which the brain has played its tricks and forgotten things along the way.  

Exercising once a month can't train you for a triathlon, so don't expect taking tests once a month to be able to get you through finals.

Further, Thanksgiving break was a taste of freedom that some of us are longing for after the long grind of the semester.  

It felt short, yet at the same time was long enough to lull the mind into a state of relaxation.  

This is far from the truth, unfortunately, as this time period will undoubtedly stress many people out from preparation alone.

Focusing on school is much harder with a month's break on the horizon, but it is something that every college student needs to learn.

Finally, waiting until the last minute to cram for exams is in no way advisable.  

While coffee sales potentially skyrocket at campuses across the country during this period, it should not be an automatic go-to for a study aid.  

Yes, caffeine can help keep you awake enough to pour over hundreds of pages, keep you focused, and even help you proofread sentence structure, according to the Journal of Experimental Psychology.  

However, it tends to increase anxiety, digestive issues (already naturally sparked by increases in anxiety), and dehydration.  

Without taking in other liquids, you might do more damage than good.

As obvious as these statements are, I know I took some of them at face value in the past.  

Cumulative finals can be brutal, sometimes they can be forgiving, but either way they definitely require you to actually put time into preparing for them.  

This is not to mention the ludicrous amount of work left in the penultimate week.  

Let it be a testament to your work ethic in this last part of the semester, and let the first day of Christmas break be an early Christmas present to yourself.