I mentioned in a column in Monday’s edition of The Daily Eastern News that students should find a way to manage their time efficiently while heading into the final month of classes for the semester.

There is so much going on in the final month for everyone that it honestly doesn’t even feel like there’s enough time in the day to do everything.

There’s so much going on that the only solution to make all of this go away is to just take a nap and have your future self deal with the problem.

That 10-season show on Netflix that’s just sitting in your instant queue is starting to look really appealing instead of working on a project or studying for an exam.

While those things can help take the edge off and give you a moment of relaxation, those shouldn’t be things you make a habit of doing going for the last month of classes.

Going back to these things every single day makes the deadline for a project or exam date come closer and closer.

Before you know it, your project is due tomorrow and you have a test the same day, and you haven’t done much for either.

This usually results in busting out a project that probably won’t be the greatest or studying for a test that barely gets you a passing grade.

Cramming for a test or waiting last minute to do a huge project is never a good idea, and it’s something you should never do.

If you’re a senior, you probably tell yourself that you’ve mastered the art of waiting to do everything last minute.

I was told the first day on my college career that high school and college are incredibly different, and you shouldn’t treat either of them the same. I found that to be very true not long after that.

Succeeding in college is not something you can’t just prepare to do over night. It takes actual time and actual effort to succeed.

Last minute efforts may get you by early on, but it’s not something that is going to help you out in the long run.

People can tell when someone puts actual effort into their work rather than those who just try to get by with a lazy effort.

There’s a whole month left until final tests and projects are due. Now would be a great time to get everything done.

You definitely won’t get to enjoy doing any of the work, but in a month from now when you have everything done with the only thing left to do is to study for exams, you will definitely be glad you started early.

Space your work out right now to give yourself the most time to actually succeed in what you’re trying to do.

It’s a good habit to develop early on while in college, and it’s just a good habit to have in general.

Why put off work for later when you have time to do it now?

Chris Picazo is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or cepicazo@eiu.edu.