Social Spaces and where to Study on Campus

Amy-Louise comments on the topic of Studying

On Campus there are so many social spaces where you can study. I particularly adore the library. It might seem like everyone says it, but I find it to be one of the most helpful places to be able to ‘lock in’ and focus on whatever tasks I have to do. I change seats a lot in the library, going from setting up my laptop next to a computer to work between the two screens, to sitting cross legged on one of the sofas crouched over a physical book with my headphones in. I also tend to lean towards using the red rocking chairs as a way to keep moving while I sit with my friends and work on the bigger group tables on the first floor.

I also love how the library is 24 hours, this makes it easier for me to be able to sit somewhere at 5-6am when I can’t sleep without feeling like I am disturbing anyone else with my pacing or typing.

The library has amazing facilities for all types of workers. This could be the silent floor on the second floor, this isn’t my favourite place as I don’t like working in complete silence but I know a lot of people who prefer this floor to the louder group ones. I find as well, the amount of resources in the library to be wonderful such as the noise cancelling headphones and rocker chairs for those who need a little extra support when studying.

The ground floor of the library is open 24/7, however, between 8pm and 8am you need your student ID to be able to enter the library. This is good for students as it creates a student-only space in the evening and early morning. I find as well, the library is a lot quieter during these times meaning I am less distracted by everything else going on around me.

The first and second floors open at 6am which means there’s time to find what seat works the best for you, whether this is a bigger table with your friends or the solo/partner tables around the side of the floor. These tables are great if you are working one-on-one with someone and need to be closer to them than on a bigger table. I usually work on these tables or a corner of the library where I am able to focus solely on my own task.

When I am not in the library, I find that I am drawn to the Cafe in the De grey Building. For me, this place is somewhere I know is allergen free for me (mainly due to the fact they don’t cook in the cafe) and I find the environment really nice between the greenery and smell of hot drinks. I find as well that the cafe is relatively small so it’s easy to be able to sit by myself comfortably.

A lot of the time, the work I am doing will depend on where I am. If it’s something I do with friends, then the library is the best spot, whereas if I know its something I need to be vocal for or will take longer I tend to either stay in my accommodation or find a corner in a cafe to work.

This varies mainly due to how I want to work that day. I sometimes need really loud music or a TV show/Film on in the background so I have something to direct my attention to if I need to take a break, I find wearing my headphones for long periods of time can begin to cause a lot of discomfort for me so on days like this, I find it easier to stay home and do my work in a space I know I can’t get too distracted by.

I don’t have very many tips on keeping focus, but here’s some things that work for me, that you might helpful:

1. I rely a lot on essential oils and focus patches, these tend to be high in Ginkgo Bilbo’s, Vitamin B3 and Magnesium to help keep my focus. These could just be placebo effects but they really help me to keep my focus when I know it’s going to be a day where I am easily distracted.
2. I play music and keep to the same songs so I associate this music with studying, this for me to tends to be a lot of classical music or on the complete opposite end of the spectrum heavy metal so I can follow along the bass and drum lines with my typing.
3. I reward myself after a certain amount of work time, this could be every 25 minutes I take a 5 minute break to scroll through TikTok or reply to messages on Instagram, this is often called the ‘Pomodoro Technique’. Or on longer days, I try to spend at least 10-15 minutes outside per every one or two hours of work. I find that taking a break and getting some air can really help to pull myself back into focus.
4. I romanticise studying a lot, I make Timelapses of me studying or I make belief when studying that I am a main character in my favourite academic style TV shows or films (my go to tends to be ‘The Dead Poets Society’).
5. I have fun when studying, this takes away a lot of pressure and allows me to still be incredibly creative. This comes through in examples such as making power points for essay plans, or bright and colourful mindmaps when I need to just throw all of my knowledge onto a page.
6. I also make a detailed To Do list, often marking what is the biggest priority and needs to be done first. This helps me to take ownership and have a sense of accomplishment when it gets to the end of the day and it’s all ticked off.
   

There are times where I love studying with my friends too. I find that a technique called ‘Body Doubling’ can really help my focus. This is where I copy what my friends are doing, if they are sat concentrating then I follow suit and try to match their style and level of deep focus. This helps a lot when I know I should be doing work but feel like my focus and concentration is elsewhere.

I find as well, that I love studying with other people. It’s a place where I often bounce my ideas for essays or seminar responses off my friends and we can talk about our difficulties with the readings or our favourite parts of it and it means that my ideas are often more refined for seminar discussion. I think as well having a study group can be really beneficial on the days where I feel like my concentration is skewed and going a little lopsided.

There are, however, days where I would rather grind everything out on my own. These usually take place once or twice a week where I spend a day rotating between my bed and desk when working so that I know exactly what I am doing next. On these days, I tend to have an incredibly long and detailed to do list, as I work my way through everything I want to do and how I am going to do it in a certain time frame.

Sometimes being on Campus isn’t always where I want to study, this can be for a range of reasons. Perhaps it’s too cold to walk all the way to university, or I’m meeting up with my friends or flatmates and want to be somewhere cozier, or maybe I’ve already spent hours in the library and know a change in scenery will be the perfect thing to get back on track with studying.

Whatever the reason, there are so many other places around York to study in.

For me, sometimes this is the Library and Archives down Museum Street where I can fully romanticise my task in a quiet environment. Other times, I am sat upstairs in the Waterstones cafe where I can look at the possibility of a new book after a study session as a little ‘well done’ to myself for getting through harder tasks.

I try to make sure I stay focused, which can be incredibly difficult when there’s so much going on in the world around me, hopefully you find the place that works best for you, and there’s always time to keep looking and trying new things when it comes to studying, for some people it comes naturally, for others it takes a lot of time and effort to get into the right momentum and headspace for it.