At the start of my college career, I tried to spend as little time on campus as possible. I purposely took morning classes to avoid being at school past the early afternoon in order to give myself time to relax on my own.

Spending little time on campus was easy as a freshman and even a sophomore, but proved to be more difficult to achieve as an upperclassman. School is a full-time job that demands many people to have a completely open schedule.

However, a free schedule is not always attainable. Students take time from other commitments to be at school. Some even have to be on campus for hours at a time or all day for a couple of days a week to fit school into their lives.

It doesn’t help that most required classes are available only at very specific times. A perfect schedule is near-impossible as professors are making time for school just like their students.

I am going to have an irregular schedule next semester, which will require me to plan even further ahead than I usually do. In order to come to class stress-free I will have to use my free time to plan according to my busy time. Planning ahead seems to be a major factor in the lives of many students, day in and day out.

I often see people on campus with multiple book bags and lunchboxes with ice packs. Acknowledging this, I know that they have to have a meticulous schedule just to be able to make it to class. Many students may have to bring extra assignments to school so they have something to do during a break when there is not time to go home.

As the temperature finally drops and winter lethargy reveals itself, it can take an extra mental push to be productive. While the semester isn’t quite over, it certainly is winding down, and it may be even harder to stay on campus all day.

August and September breed the mentality that there is time to waste, while October acts as a weigh station for the stress that November brings. Projects are due, holiday planning becomes tiresome and, to top it all off, the weather is erratic.

It’s easy to give yourself a break in the middle of the semester. Major assignments seem light years away and Netflix’s “recently added” section seems extra full. Yet November can come as a shocking reminder that there is only a month left to complete the things that once seemed so distant.

Everyone seems to be on their second cup of coffee as of late, and it’s getting harder to plan ahead when the prospect of a warm bed is so attractive.

As the year winds down, many students may find that they are overwhelmed with the fall semester’s demands. Yet it is this time of the year that marks the beginning of the end. The chilly days can lag but the end is so close.

This is the time for fight mode in which students forsake grievances in order to power through assignments. It is tough, but the idea of completing another semester, or perhaps your first, may propel you to work more efficiently.

The workload that November brings coupled with a schedule that requires you to spend all day on campus may be tiresome, but it will soon seem worth it.

Drink that second cup of coffee, and remind yourself that a marathon of your favorite show is right around the corner.