My name is Emma and I am a final year Human Rights student at the University of Central Lancashire. I run the student lifestyle blog Writing Essays With Wine where I talk about beauty, health and fitness, travel and life as a student. It’s that time of the year, deadline season is upon us! There isn’t much time left in this academic year so you’ve got no choice but to get down to it, but coping with deadlines isn’t always easy, especially when every assignment seems to be due in the same week! Don’t worry though, just follow these tips and you’ll have those assignments finished and submitted before you know it.

Plan

This is where to start. Organisation and planning are your best friends. Write down everything you need to do and when it’s due, then work out the best strategy for getting them done. Prioritise assignments that are due soon and assign tasks for each day, and set targets you want to reach like a certain amount of words.

Work in the Best Way

Find out how and where you work best. Some people work best at home, some in the library, coffee shop or park, pick the place you’re most focused and will get the most work done. Take note of what time of day you work best, if you work well in the morning make sure to get up early, if it’s in the evening take your dinner to the library so you don’t need to go home. Also think about how you work best, some people need the pressure of knowing their essay is due soon while for others they need weeks to prepare, some people need complete silence and some like to listen to music. Once you’ve worked out where, when and how you work best tailor your schedule to fit this!

Write Something

Staring at a blank page is not going to help you finish your essay. The best thing to do when you don’t know what to write is to just write something, anything that is slightly relevant even if you end up deleting it. Having words on the page will make you feel better and will get your brain thinking.

Take Breaks

Regular breaks are important to help you relax, keep you motivated and to give your brain a rest. Take a break and chill for a bit, whether it’s 10 minutes to scroll through Facebook, an hour for lunch or a whole evening watching a film with your housemates. Having a break keeps you from getting stressed and you’ll have a fresh outlook when you get back to your laptop to continue. However, don’t cheat yourself! Don’t give yourself breaks you don’t deserve, if you’ve actually bene sitting on your phone for 2 hours occasionally flicking through a book then you don’t deserve a break.

Treat Yourself

Deadlines are stressful and essays are hard so make sure to that yourself occasionally. If you’ve worked hard or done more than you expected that day give yourself a treat. Acknowledge how well you’ve done and feel proud of yourself, just remember to keep going tomorrow! So what do you do when it’s too late for these tips and you’ve got 0 words done for your 3000 words essays thats due very soon and your sitting at your laptop in tears wondering if you should just quit uni? Well firstly close your laptop, take a step back and don’t panic. Go for a walk or go to bed if it’s stupid o’clock in the morning. Calm down and wait until you’re feeling less like you want to quit uni, and then reevaluate. Look at how much needs to be done and how much time you have to do it? If it’s possible you can still get it done in time set some strict goals and keep to them, you can do it. If it’s maybe not totally doable then it’s time to speak to someone. Get in touch with your lecturers, explain what’s happening and ask for an extension, you never know you might just get one. Do you have any tips for coping with deadlines? We'd love to hear them!