Finally! Your long awaited break is here, be it Thanksgiving Break, Winter Break, Spring Break, or something in between. Unfortunately, however, academic calendars and semesters don't always end when a college student's vacation begins. Learn how to manage having major projects to complete when all you want to do is ... well, anything but.

First things first: Make a plan.

It may sound like the last thing you want to do, but your brain is probably still in college mode -- so take advantage of it.

Go through what you have to get done and when you need it done by. (For example, you can't pick a thesis the night before your paper's due if you need to make sure to put in some quality research time.) Making a plan now will prevent those "Oh, no! I forgot I had to do that, too!" moments that have a tendency to creep up at the worst possible times.

Tell your family, friends, and roommates that you will have work to do over the break.

Letting people know in advance that you must, at some point during your break, do some homework will make it easier for you to get it done when you need to. Additionally, your friends and family can be supportive of you as you work by possibly buckling down and getting some of their projects done, too.

Don't leave things until the last minute.

Of course, you've probably been hearing this advice for ages. But leaving major college coursework until the last minute is a very bad idea in college. This is, of course, complicated by the fact that, often over breaks, our minds tend to forget how much work we have to do.

During the academic year, most students have a running list in their minds of what needs to get done. During a break, that list often gets thrown out the window and the ability to gauge and plan for enough time gets lost as well.

Plan to work in long chunks.

If you're lucky, you're able to really veg out during break. This, of course, means it will take your brain longer to get back into the swing of things once you have to return to your paper on Milton. Think of your brain like an engine: it takes longer to warm up when it's not been used in a while. Once your brain is good to go and in a rhythm, plan to work for a long time. It will end up greatly reducing the amount of time you spend on your homework in the long-term.

Use the city library if you need somewhere quiet.

Working at home, or wherever it is that you're spending break, may be more difficult that you thought. Don't forget about the little gems that are city libraries almost everywhere you go (including tropical Spring Break getaways!). They can be a great place to plant yourself and your laptop, get Internet access, and work for several hours in peace and quiet.