How often did you hear the phrase "Clear your plate" or "Be part of the clean plate club?" Did you hear it last week at Thanksgiving? Or, was the message one of saving some room for seconds, or for desert? While these messages are typically all about food, the focus this week is on the last week of classes for the semester. For this time of year, "clearing your plate" is vitally important in order to have a fresh start for the final exam period. The last week of classes is often the time when final papers and assignments are due. It's also a time for making sure all your assignments are accounted for. Whether checking your record on Blackboard, or talking with the faculty member in each class to be sure that all assignments are recorded, this is the time to do it. In addition, this is the time to be sure that you have a full understanding of the course material, particularly what and how testing will occur in the weeks to come. It's time – now – to be sure your academic "plate", as well as other responsibilities you have, are rectified and resolved as much as possible. Why is this so important now? Because final exams begin next week– and the focus of this final exam period of the academic semester should be specifically upon those tests. Hopefully the other assignments have already been taken care of, which is why this is emphasized now! But if they haven't, it's time to "clear your plate." Final exams can cause enough stress on their own, and it will be important during those exam days to allow plenty of time for study, review, and reflection for your course exams – and to be sure that this is not done at the expense of sleep or exercise. More about that next week! So take stock of whatever you have left to do. Clear up the various assignments that may still remain, and be ready to start the exam period refreshed and ready to demonstrate your best abilities.