Hi, I Was Prescribed A 2 Week Course Of Sertraline

Hi,
I was prescribed a 2 week course of Sertraline 50mg for the first time for anxiety and depression but as it is likely to get worse before it gets better, I was wondering if I should hold off from taking it until after my deadlines? Im a biology student who is attending a research course in shared accomidation for a week starting this Monday with 2 major deadlines coming up on the 29th of April. If my anxiety gets worse or if I become extremely tired this will effect my research and it's also a group project so i dont want to bring the group down but on the other hand, I have had to ask my tutors for extra time in my deadlines all year as I left everything to a few days before and barely slept for a week trying to get it done. I also suffer from dermatillomania which gets extremely bad before deadlines. What would you suggest I do?

Many Thanks
Maxine