I’m Michelle Callaghan, a second-year graduate student at Villanova University. This is our new column, “‘Cat in the Stacks.” I’m the ‘cat. Falvey Memorial Library is the stacks. I’ll be posting about living that scholarly life, from research to study habits to embracing your inner-geek, and how the library community might aid you in all of it.

Hear that? That’s the sound of finals tip-toeing around the corner, ready to pounce. Are you ready? Of course you are! You’re a Wildcat.

Since I thoroughly trust that you’re doing everything you can to be prepared academically, I’m going to remind you about self-care. I know, I know—you know that you should get sleep and should take breaks, but you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place and you don’t think you’re going to have enough time to study and take care of yourself.

But I know you also know that a lot of the studying and grinding you’re doing is all for naught if you can’t get your pesky brain to cooperate on game day.

No, you really don’t want to pull an all-nighter. As awful as it sounds, waking up early and studying or writing or just getting organized works way better than skipping sleep. If you do have to pull an all-nighter, at least fake it—pick a night before a “late start” kind of morning, and go to bed very, very late, but go to bed, even if it’s only for a few hours.

But no matter what, your waking hours are going to be a little out of step for the next couple weeks. That’s why Falvey has a 24-hour study space accessible via Wildcard.

You also have to eat right and move a little. A break to walk to Connelly or the cafeteria for a bite to eat won’t hurt you! It’ll probably help you. The fresh air and the noms will help cement in your brain all the things you studied before walking out of the door.

Now, if you are a little behind and need the library to rescue you, fear not. We judge no one within these halls! You can haul your books to the fourth floor and study in silence. You can scour our catalog and online databases for those last minute resources that’ll really tighten up your paper—those late-in-the-game finds are always the best! And when you’re really up the creek without a paddle, don’t forget about our librarian live chat.

And if all else fails, listen to some music to pump yourself up!

Article by Michelle Callaghan, graduate assistant on the Communication and Service Promotion team. She is currently pursuing her MA in English at Villanova University.