Throughout the school year, you can often find me and other students on campus in the library doing homework or catching up on studying. Most of the time, I am able to pile through a decent amount of work, but there are some days where I feel unmotivated and distracted. There are hundreds of studies that show how your environment greatly affects your productivity. Changing the scenery of your study sessions can give you a change of pace that will help you feel refreshed to get back to grinding. Here are some of my studying alternatives to the library:
Top Floor of the Activities & Recreational Center (ARC)
When other study spaces on campus become crowded, I can always find a spot to study on the top floor of the ARC. This floor is a multipurpose area where students can hangout, study, eat, or simply unwind before their next class. I like studying here because there is a lot of natural lighting, a lot of outlet plugs, and others who are also being productive. Because it is such a big floor, the noise level is spread out to create the right level of background noise. The ARC has many different purposes aside from being a great study space so be sure to check out what’s going on at myARC.
Quantitative Skills Center (QSC)
Being a computer science major, I often get stumped on my code and need some help in debugging. The QSC is a great place to get help from their wonderful tutors who are knowledgeable in different subject fields like math, biology, computer science, business, etc. They really take the time to help steer you in the right direction so that you can come up with the solution yourself. It’s also a common place to find and meet up with classmates to work together. For some, they find that working with others increase motivation and focus. It’s also really beneficial to study with classmates because if you don’t know something, they might and vice versa! More information can be found on the QSC website.
Coffee Shops
Whether it’s a Starbucks or a little shop in the city, the smells and sounds of a coffee shop set the mood for what is about to be one of the most intense work sessions to come. If I ever feel like I’m starting to lose energy, I can just grab a cup of coffee to refuel. Also, some people prefer studying with background noises to help them be productive. The sound of people coming in, placing orders, and having conversations can actually create a relaxing ambience for productivity.
Not able to go to a coffee shop, but still want to feel like it? Coffitivity.com is a free website that plays you ambient noise as if you’re sitting in a cafe. Also, this Spotify playlist was created by Starbucks and is the same music they play in their cafes.
Your Room
Studying in our own personal rooms can either be really beneficial or the worst decision ever made. We usually associate our rooms as a space where we can unwind and relax. Although that sounds great, this can feed into the temptation that getting any work done is impossible and that you should just take a nap or watch a quick episode of your favorite show before embarking on a study session that we both know will never happen. On the contrary, your room could be a great study space because it makes you feel comfortable and relaxed. If I have a huge exam coming up, I will stress for days about what, when, and how I need to study. I tend to make better decisions and plans when I am calm so that I can create a study schedule that will optimize my time until the exam date. Ultimately, this can be a great study alternative, but beware of getting too comfy!
Finding a good study place is different for everybody. Some like silence and some like noise. My words of encouragement is that you should go explore these study environments and find what makes you work at your best so that you can ease the stress from school and free up more time to do other things that make you happy!