It’s finally here. 

The week where projects and homework cannot be assigned by professors, but students are inundated with projects and homework. Where calculating final grades becomes as second nature as tapping out a text message to Mom. 

It’s Dead Week at Iowa State, the week that can either be the most stressful or most relaxed of the year. Here are a few tips to stay sane and maintain focus before Finals Week begins.

Check your grades

It sounds like a scary task, but check all of your current grades during the start of the week. Doing this will paint a (hopefully) accurate portrait of where you are in a class, help decide where you want to be and provide a stepping stone to making a plan for how to get to that grade. While coming up two or three letter grades in a class may be unrealistic, shooting for one letter grade up or getting over the border between a B+ and an A- are less stressful goals to shoot for.

Make a plan (or many) 

According to an article from the State University of New York, or SUNY, system, creating a balanced study plan and schedule will decrease the need to cram and increase the amount of information retained in each subject.  From there, make a plan of action as to how to effectively study for your exams, even if that means flipping the script and changing around your study habits entirely. 

Project a deadline on projects

Some classes have large or heavily involved projects serve as their final exam. While those projects are as important as an exam, the execution of the project takes much longer, and according to studies from the Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching, group projects should hold every group member accountable for the material being covered. 

If you’re working alone, set a deadline for yourself on when you want to have a project done so you aren’t scrambling the night before, all while trying to study for two or three additional exams. If it’s a group project, try to work with group members on setting a deadline that works for all parties involved, so as to make sure everyone is accountable for their part of the project. 

Tackle one test at a time

Do not try to study for multiple tests at the same time. A desk cluttered with papers from three different classes can oftentimes mirror a cluttered brain, overflowing with formulas and vocabulary words and dates to remember. 

Try and take studying one step at a time. Have one test tomorrow? Study for that one. Have two tests in one day? Set aside time to study for each one. Have one test that’s easy and one that’s hard? Set aside time to study, but set aside a different amount of time. If you feel comfortable with material for one class, spend a shorter amount of time reviewing and locking in that material, so you can devote the majority of your study time to that difficult class. 

Remember to eat, drink and sleep 

Basic functioning is just as important as getting an A, if not more. Students often let their health fall to the wayside during stressful periods in school, and being sick during Dead Week and Finals Week could lead to decreased focus, lack of retention of material and a poor mindset going into the exam. 

If you feel yourself getting sleepy, stop studying. Don’t make a fourth cup of coffee, don’t grab another snack and don’t try to push through another hour of studying. According to a 2008 study conducted by St. Lawrence University professor Pamela Thatcher, all-nighters can impair reasoning and memory for up to four days. 

While students are probably tired of hearing the old “eat healthy during finals” speech, it may have some truth to it. According to Cameron Holloway, a senior clinical researcher at the University of Oxford, students whose finals week diets consisted of fruits and vegetables held steady in their test performance, whereas students who ate a high fat, low-carb diet had lower test performance.

Make an effort to pack small snacks, like fruit, granola bars and crackers before trips to the library. That way, the temptation to stop and grab fast food won’t be there when hunger eventually rolls around. 

Getting eight hours of sleep and eating on a normal schedule may not be realistic during Dead Week, but it’s worth a shot.

Don’t freak out

Finals Week doesn’t get any easier. It doesn’t get any less stressful or tiresome, but it also isn’t going to stop coming around. 

Don’t stress out about things out of your control. Spend time focusing, not worrying, about the things in your control- how much you study, how much you focus and how relaxed you are going into an exam.

Knowing you studied as much as you could, stayed as healthy as possible and did your best to reach your goals should give you peace of mind, and may lead to a relaxed, positive mindset during final exams.