plexuses: Cultivating the Perfect Study Space

Howdy, nerds.

It's your resident procrastinator, Lex, here to give you a lesson on nesting. There will be weeks in your academic career when you're kind of immensely freaking out about nothing and everything. Have you felt that yet? You will, probably. The therapeutic process of nesting has helped me enormously. Here's why.

Environment is half the origin of focus. Once you've got your space, you'll be not only more inclined to do things in it, but to remain in that space calmly, and not fidget or grapple with itchy anxiety.

Studying outdoors at Bauhaus in Seattle.

Picking a Place

There are a lot of different zones available to study in, and you should choose one based on its availability to you. If you're an on-campus university student, odds are you have more options. If not, though, set up camp wherever you can. The basic requirements for your study space are as follows:

Lots of table space
Comfortable seating
Ample light

natural light during the day if possible (windows are your friend)
overhead lighting during the evening

Some popular options are at a library or learning commons (because those are chock full of tables and chairs with plenty of room to spread out), in a cafe or coffee shop, at your kitchen/dining table, if you live at home, and lastly (and my least favorite), at your desk in your bedroom.

But Lex, why don't you like studying in your bedroom? Isn't that a picture of your bedroom up there? Why do you tempt us with conflicting details?

Chill, judgmental italics, chill. Let me explain. I don't think studying in one's bedroom is a good idea for a few reasons. The first is that you cognitively associate your study space with alertness and stress over time. If your study space is the same as the space in which you sleep, you will automatically shift into alertness and a stress-response when you enter that space. It can result in poor sleep because it disrupts you circadian rhythm and your production of melatonin. Science. Also, I find that it's easy to get messy when you study in your bedroom. Things get all over the place. You leave papers in the same place for three weeks. It doesn't give you any opportunities to gather your things and organize, either, which--c'mon--you need to do.

The Uniform

Dress for the occasion. Your level of comfort is your own, but be sure to keep yourself cozy. Be prepared to have to walk through unpleasant weather conditions. You're most comfortable in sweats and a tee shirt? Do it. If you're most productive after getting all done up, do that! I fluctuate between a sun-dress-and-red-lip study outfit and quite literally dragging myself to Cafe Vita in my pyjamas. It's all up to you. Just dress in something that won't preoccupy you.

What to Bring

HYDRATE YOURSELF.
Cephalopod overlord declares as such.

If you are relocating to study, there's a delicate balance of things to bring with you. Overpacking makes the journey tedious. Underpacking means taking multiple, frustrated trips. Make a list before you leave of absolute necessities:

Your textbooks or course readers
Plenty of paper, even if you've gone digital. You never know.
Writing implements
Technology and their chargers
Water. Even if you're going to a cafe.
Snacks, if you're not going to a cafe. If you are, treat yourself to a pastry, dude.
Notes and course binders.

If there's more that you absolutely need, tack that onto a little list before you go. Bring that list with you, too, just so you can re-check and make sure that you take back everything you brought. I've left my laptop charger in the library probably twenty times this year. Don't be me. Don't do that.

When You Feel Restless

And you will. You will realize that you've been doing calculations or writing or copying notes or highlighting for so many hours that reality is slipping away from you. Who are you, even? Where has your life gone? Where is your future? How do bubbles even do that rainbow thing? You will feel like you're collapsing. That's okay. Here are a few things you can do to check back in with yourself and start again:

Stretch out. You've been sitting a while, probably. Limber up a little.
Check your temperature. Are you too warm or too cool? Fix it however you can. If that takes a second sweater or another latte or chugging 20 fluid ounces of ice water as quickly as possible, do it.
Arrange your papers again. Sometimes it can get away from you, and your desk will suddenly be in total disarray. Scholastic Ragnarok. File things away. Only have out what you are currently working on or referencing. De-clutter.
Start again. You've got this!

Jams

If you study with music, I've got you covered. When looking for an ideal study playlist, you want to avoid songs with heavy percussion, because they disrupt your cognition and focus while trying to retain text. If it's generally fairly slow, however, you should be a-okay. Words are usually fine, but I wouldn't jump to anything too raucous. I'm going to link you to a few of my absolute favorites. These are long, too, for those die-hard, I-Haven't-Moved-In-Hours-Please-Help-Me study sessions.