Some Princeton students’ think of it as a saving grace, others a curse. You’ve got a big chunk of time before finals. On the other hand, you’ve got a lot to do. Not only papers and exam prep, but last minute assignments from your professors. You may have also put off readings and other assignments until now, telling yourself you’d have time “over break”. And the stakes are pretty high. Now that you look at all that you have to do, it may not seem you have enough time. What should you do first, what should do at all? How should you approach these tasks? How are you going to make the most of the time that you have and still have some fun?

Here are some answers—strategies offered by highly successful Princeton juniors, seniors and graduate students—to minimize stress and make the most of winter break, Reading Period and Final Exam weeks.

Learn what to do when—isn’t that what you are wondering about? Use these suggestions to map out a doable schedule to achieve your goals.

Master course material so that you can tackle assignments and exams with confidence. These strategies help you efficiently organize and prioritize the huge amounts of information you have to work with in preparing for Princeton’s (often cumulative) final exams and papers.