Regardless of who Americans vote for, election anxiety appears inescapable this year, exacerbated by razor-thin races in key swing states, the specter of a new campaign attempt by Donald Trump to overturn the results and increasingly violent political rhetoric. However, based on conversations among Times employees, at least one factor is undervalued: time.

That means the amount of time it took for Joe Biden to be declared the winner in 2020. The amount of time we spent on TV news and social media watching the results trickle in. The amount of time we spent in suspense, unsure of what might happen. next happen.

If there is one silver lining to a repeat performance, it is that election night will culminate in elections week won’t be so ‘unprecedented’. (Good news for those who have come to hate that word in recent years.) To help you navigate the 2024 edition, we asked a group of writers and editors from The Times to look back at each day of election week of 2020, from the rise of the “chartthrobs” to Four Seasons Total Landscaping, and try to identify what lessons we can apply this time.

So here’s the LA Times guide to surviving 2024 election week. Godspeed.