The most important part of a college semester is what you do within the first five days of school. Most people don’t make use of these days wisely, which makes the rest of the semester much harder. So the next time a semester starts, here’s what you should do within the first five days to make sure you’re off to a good start:

Day 1: Know everything about your classes.

This sounds dumb, but I can’t tell you how many people don’t know what classes they signed up for or even where they are. It’s probably wise to know this information before you go to class so that, first of all, you know where you’re going, and more importantly, so that you understand what you’ll be learning throughout the semester.

Day 2: Get organized.

If you aren’t organized, you’re going to be wasting tons of time trying to figure out what you need to get done. The last thing you want is to forget to turn in a term paper or miss a test day. In order to stay organized, you should probably buy basic things like a small notebook calendar and sign up for services like Ta-da List and Google Calendar.

Day 3: Find a buddy.

Now that you’ve been to class at least once, you should try and get to know a few people and trade contact information. That way, if you ever miss a day, you have a buddy that can share notes and fill you in on what you missed. This is really important because unlike high school, professors won’t always take the time to update you.

Day 4: Plan for the future.

In college, even more than in high school, there will be times when you have very little work for days in a row, and then there will be times when it seems like you have 17 essays due on the same day. You should receive your syllabus the first day of class; start planning ahead now. This way, you can start on major projects early, so you don’t have to worry about them all being due together and at the last minute.

Day 5: Expect the worst.

Even if you do everything right your first few days of school, you’re going to end up having problems every once in a while. You can’t predict everything, but you can be prepared for the worst. Whether that means a pop quiz or four midterms rescheduled for the same day, stay ahead of the unexpected. Read when the professor assigns you reading and just attend class on a regular basis, so you won’t have to play catch-up on work you were supposed to already be doing or end up having to cram a semester’s worth of work into one stressed-out, sleepless week.