Holidays are a hectic time for everyone: you have gifts to buy, parties to attend, and carols to sing. If you’re a college or graduate student, the holiday season is a schizophrenic phase of extreme activities. One minute you’re booking your plane ticket home and suggesting to your mother what types of snacks she should buy to stock the fridge for your arrival, and the next minute you’re trying to decipher your professor’s red marks on the paper draft that was returned with the word “Rewrite” at the top. For college and graduate students, December represents the culmination of the semester, and the final paper/project/exam deadlines often peak the week before Christmas (and just a few days before you’re supposed to pack your suitcase to fly home).

Since students are expected to effectively divide their time between Secret Santa shopping and writing the draft of that final Art History paper, here are some suggestions for how to manage holiday stressors that are specific to finals week:

– Print a blank Google calendar for the month of December and use it only to chart your due dates for final papers, projects, and exams. This exercise is my first plan of attack when I see students at the beginning of the semester and during finals season. Professors have a knack for scheduling major deadlines all within the same several weeks (the week of Halloween is huge for midterms, for example). I refer to the phases of time during the semester when multiple assignments are simultaneously due as “hot weeks.” By charting your deadlines early in the semester, or if you’ve waited this long, early enough in finals season, you can be more aware of those crazy days.

– If you have more than one major final paper due on the same day or on the same two days, consider asking your professor for a short extension ahead of time. Professors are usually reasonable, and if you show that you’re conscientious by troubleshooting multiple deadlines in advance, your professor is more likely to reward you by giving an extra day or two if it means your work will be higher quality.

–If you arranged accommodations for a learning difference in the beginning of the semester, remind your professor that you will need extended time, distraction free space, or whatever accommodation is stated on your paperwork. Even though you’ve done well by establishing accommodations early in the semester, your professor may still need to be reminded. Make sure that if you need distraction free space, you schedule the test in advance so the Disabilities Office at your school can enlist a staff member to administer the exam. Such arrangements take some coordination, so it’s never too early to schedule.

–  If you are involved in a group project for a class, and you’re given a choice of when to present, choose an earlier date. Get the project done while you are fresher in the beginning of finals season. If you’re presenting at the end, you’re likely to be exhausted from finishing the work in your other classes. Also remember that the closer you get to leaving for the holidays, the more distracted you’re likely to become.

– Meet with your professor or the teacher’s assistant early with questions and even a draft of your paper. Make sure you’re clear on the expectations for the project. Meeting with the professor or teacher also earns you brownie points. More importantly, you’ll feel better knowing you’re on the right track.

– Make an appointment at the college writing center.  Most college writing centers offer extensive tutoring help. These centers book well in advance, however, and often you’ll see different tutors for the same project, depending on who fits into your schedule.

– Hire an outside tutor. Obviously, as a professional tutor, I am biased. However, I can tell you that the college and graduate students who seek my help often do so because I offer specialized support. A Harvard graduate student told me recently that he was looking for someone who knew a great deal about ADHD; he felt more comfortable working with someone outside the university.

Additionally, schools are on a budget, so they usually cap the number of hours students can receive tutoring services. College writing tutors are less likely to offer hours outside the traditional work day. While some centers offer some evening tutoring times, not many tutors are likely to meet you at 10 pm or respond to a draft emailed at midnight.  Finally, writing center tutors are often graduate students. While graduate students can be incredible teachers and writers, there is a quality advantage to hiring a professional tutor who has completed her days of managing her own academic coursework and whose main priority is to help students maximize their academic success.

In addition to teaching the MTEL to a graduate student from the North Shore today, I also worked with students from Ireland, Russia, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic on strengthening their writing skills and completing final papers. I feel very fortunate to spend time with such a geographically eclectic range of clients!

Everyone procrastinates, and creative people with ADHD have a particularly difficult time shifting from one task to the next. Getting started is often particularly daunting because once people with ADHD get immersed in a task, they may work on it for hours. So the mere thought of committing to sitting for hours to do something mundane and difficult or interesting but high stakes is enough to make a person want to fold laundry instead. That’s why I tell my students to consider the ten minute rule. It’s the same strategy my mother used with me, and it’s highly effective when you just can’t seem to get started. “Just spend ten minutes.” Inevitably, when you spend ten minutes on a task, you realize it is much easier than you thought. You may even get the task completed in one sitting. If you don’t have hours to spend, however, using a kitchen timer to track a beginning and an end to the time you’re investing is helpful.

And try using the ten minute rule in other areas of your life. It worked for Mom! If she’d want me to watch an old movie that I was sure would be boring, she’d say, “Just watch ten minutes.” Of course I would hem and haw, roll my eyes, and look at my watch for the first five minutes, but by the last five minutes (more often than not) I was transfixed. The same phenomenon can occur with schoolwork (I swear!), personal statements, or that report you don’t want to write.