Over the next few days, an epidemic is going to settle upon this school. Kids, stumbling from class to class will clutch Monsters and coffee as they break down in tears, wearing sweatshirts they haven’t taken off in three days. Juniors slowly lose their minds along with their GPAs. Seniors will laugh and toss aside their study material, thinking that because they’re leaving, it doesn’t matter. By the time they realize they’re wrong, it’ll be too late.

Quizlet becomes a deity. The one student in class who took notes the entire year is worshipped, as money exchanges hands in return for their study guides. Every Starbucks within twenty miles of a school will be booked until closing, stuffed to bursting with stressed teens who are slowly breaking down.

This… This is finals week. It’s pain and it’s war: the final battle for your grades before the doors open and you run out screaming. Finals week is the climax of the school year and, without a doubt, the hardest part. Which is why Protips is here with another edition to help you battle the oncoming storm.

Protip 1: Start studying a few weeks in advance.

Ha. Funny. Like anyone actually does that. Now on to the REAL Protips…

(Real) Protip 1: Accept the fact that you should have started weeks ago.

It’s fine. You didn’t study before now. You told yourself that you would take notes all year and you didn’t. But no one else did, either. So don’t waste the little time you have left beating yourself up for being an average human being. And as for the people who actually did study? They’re more than human.

Protip 2: Make a study group.

Yes, it’s the most basic tip ever. But it is also probably the most relevant. I know for a fact that “studying” when your alone will consist of three hours of Netflix, a half hour nap, 15 minutes of staring at your computer, and then another three hours of Netflix. It’s hard to keep focused alone so a study group will help you focus. work with the material and, with other people and their notes, you can learn things you might have missed. The cliche isn’t cliche if it’s true.

Protip 3: Have an abundance of snacks close by.

One of the easiest things to do when you just feel done with it all is to get up and rummage through the refrigerator for something to eat. Usually, you aren’t even hungry. You’re just exhausted, frustrated, and, if making a peanut butter sandwich takes half an hour, you don’t have to go study again. So cut out the middle man and keep a couple of bottles of water and snacks close by. If there’s no reason to get up, then you’re forced to keep studying. Plus, it’s a great motivator. Have an Oreo after every chapter you complete and you (and your waistline) will feel like you’re accomplishing something.

Protip 4: If you’re going to listen to music, no lyrics.

It’s a proven fact that lyrics are a distraction to studying. Your brain has to split time between the material being read and the words it’s hearing and, if you start jamming out, you’ll lose focus. So if you need music to study, try classical music or movie soundtracks. Or, if you can stand the nostalgia factor, put on the Mario Kart soundtrack or the music to another video game. Those tracks psychologically make you want to focus and keep playing: or in this case, keep studying.

Protip 5: Don’t caffeinate up.

It goes against every stereotype about students ever but trust me, caffeine will NOT HELP YOU FOCUS. To prove this, it’s storytime. When I was a junior, I had three trips scheduled within the span of a week… finals week. So I spent hours cramming in planes and airports and, the day before, pulled two all-nighters, thinking I could use caffeine in place of sleep. Five cups of coffee and a red bull later, I was shaking too bad to hold my pencil during my math final, much less focus. Caffeine will not fix things. Go to bed.

Protip 6: No, seriously, sleep.

We romanticize not sleeping during finals week. Supposedly, it’s a rite of passage to stay up studying all night for that final A. But it’s a rite of passage we need to break. Not sleeping will just make you more irritable and less focused and make your week even worse.

Protip 7: And finally, let it go.

The facts are this: If you’re a junior, any poor grade isn’t going to destroy your high school career. And if you’re a senior, well, it doesn’t matter anyway. As soon as finals are over, you’ll be gone. Once you look at it that way, the big, scary beast that is “Finals Week” isn’t so scary after all. It’s just one more thing to overcome before you graduate. And one way or another, it will end.