Thanksgiving is tomorrow, for those of you not in Canada. The December LSAT is coming up ten days from now. If you’re studying for the LSAT, this weekend may seem like a disaster waiting to happen. It doesn’t have to be.

You need to get some studying in. That’s a given. But you need some time off, too. It’s good for your LSAT score if you can get your mind off the test now and then.

It’s most important that you keep the studying and the non-studying separate. If you’re sitting at Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow fretting about all the studying you need to do while you eat your turkey or tofurkey or whatever, you’re not giving yourself the mental break you need. You’re also not studying. That’s a lose-lose proposition.

So here’s the plan. Tomorrow, do a little studying in the morning. Set a reasonable goal and get it done. Then forget about the LSAT for the rest of the day (unless you can’t stand your family, in which case the LSAT makes a perfect excuse). Watch football, or parades, or don’t. As you like. Eat up. Engage in ridiculous family pastimes, if that’s your thing. Whatever makes you happy.

The same principle applies for the rest of the weekend. If your family likes to shop Friday, take advantage of the quiet time to get a practice test in. Review that practice test to shreds. But while you need to put the hours in, it’s counterproductive to do the LSAT from morning to night. The test is coming up soon, but you can’t cram for the LSAT. Honing your skills depends more on the quality than on the quantity of practice.

So if your friends are back in town and going out, you don’t have to blow them off. Just don’t overindulge — hungover LSAT prep is painful LSAT prep. Try to plan out your weekend. Set aside lots of time for the LSAT. If you really get productive work done during that time, it’ll help you relax without guilt when you do the other stuff.

View this weekend as your chance to tune up your skills before the real thing. If the practice tests you take this week evince any weak areas, this is your chance to review and brush up. Take tests, review them, brush up on skills as needed, rinse, repeat. If things go right the LSAT will be over in a week.