At this point in the semester, college students everywhere start to freak out.

You know, the pre-Thanksgiving-oh-my-goodness-I’m-ready-for-Christmas-but-I-have-so-much-to-do-but-also-I-don’t-want-to-miss-out-on-anything-but-also-I-need-to-pass-my-classes freak-out.

If you are suffering from symptoms such as procrastination, mindless Netflix-watching, late night vigils for your GPA and intense cravings for home-cooked food, you are not alone.

Many of us are excited, confused and caught up in a whirlwind of major assignments, but if you’re like me, you don’t know where to start on your ever-growing to-do list.

When this season begins, we are faced with a choice of how we handle busyness:

Option 1: We can pretend like we have nothing to do. This seems to be a popular option among many people I know, including me some days. We say we’ll get to things tomorrow – or the next day – and try to come up with ways to get out of things. Though it may seem like a good idea in the moment to ditch your responsibilities for your favorite show on Netflix, it normally catches up to you when deadlines and due dates are mere hours away.

Option 2: We can cut off all access to the outside world and descend to the depths of the library. With this choice, there is a chance of becoming a dungeon-dwelling hermit who survives on coffee and Bean Bucks, but this may be a desirable option for some. Stuff gets done, man.

As one who consistently overcommits to lots and lots of things, I often find myself struggling to balance these between these two extremes.

Do I live on a prayer and hope things get done without me putting in any effort? Do I forget all my friends’ faces and what the sun looks like at the cost of a 4.0 and a newspaper that is put in your hands twice a week?

At times I have found myself in both of the aforementioned scenarios, and neither of them are actually all that fun. There has to be a better option in these seasons of busyness.

As I navigate the busy days ahead, I am learning along several things the way.

I am learning to use my yeses wisely. They aren’t unlimited, you know. Take a minute to think about the things you say yes to before the word actually leaves your mouth.

I am learning to get offline for a while. The Internet, as helpful and amazing as it can be, is often the death of my productivity. There’s always another tweet or photo on Instagram to look at, but so what if you miss a couple people’s posts. As hard as it may be, try putting the phone down for an hour or two and see what you can get done.

I am learning to value the people around me, even when I have a lot to get done. The late night conversations with your roommate or the time in the library when you get absolutely zero homework done are the ones you’re going to remember.

So whether you’re graduating in four weeks, or anxious to study abroad in the spring, or if you are a freshman who wonders if college will be more fun next semester, hang in there. As the cast of High School Musical so aptly sang once, we are all in this together. Enjoy these crazy, busy, stressful moments while they last.