The sun is shining, the birds are singing and students everywhere are slowly slipping out of school mode.

I know I'm not immune to spring fever-I spent the past three hours or so trying to come up with a suitable topic for this column only to realize that my lack of motivation was the perfect inspiration.

Even though it may be drizzling and cloudy outside, we've had a few tantalizing glimpses of what the summer might have in store for us this year. The more we see of the sun, it seems, the more likely we are to put off Friday's assignment until 11:00 p.m. on Thursday.

It's not the healthiest of patterns, but sunny days are a more than adequate distraction from final paper after final paper. What's an overwhelmed student to do, short of locking themselves up in a windowless room?

Thankfully, there are ways to combat spring fever.

Prioritize your assignments and actually stick to your plan. A planner can work wonders here-though it might initially be difficult to remember to write in and check a planner, it allows you to schedule out your assignments visually and keep track of them. Anything helps to keep a spring fever victim's wandering mind on track

Tough as it might be, ignore the sun's tempting siren song. Take your schoolwork outside if need be, but don't let yourself get caught up in enjoying the spring so much that you abandon your assignments entirely. That is how people fail classes at the last minute, making all your hard work earlier in the quarter for nothing.

Most importantly, remember to reward yourself for good behavior every now and then, even if it's just stepping outside for a breath of fresh air. It's easy to get bogged down in the seemingly endless list of assignments we have this time of year, so remembering to take time to breathe is crucial.

Remember, most of your fellow students are suffering through the same coursework overload that you are, and there are plenty of study partners available to suffer through the agonies of spring fever with.

Don't let yourself get too caught up in worrying about school, but don't let yourself slack off either. A healthy balance of work and play may just help you save your sanity.