Alas, we have reached the point in the semester where doing work seems especially difficult. The weather is getting nicer outside and most of us would consider ourselves a trifle “burnt out” from the months we’ve already spent grinding in our classes. However, with final papers, projects, and exams just around the corner, now is the time to push through and finish out the semester strong.
If you are feeling the pressure and struggling to concentrate, here is a guide to having the most success you can at my second residence, Homer Babbidge.
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Pack
You can’t just spontaneously decide you want to go to the library, okay? Library time is ALWAYS premeditated. The reason why you need to plan to go to the library is so that you can bring things that you 100% will need. Example: multiple locations around Homer B. are comparable to the actual tundra so a sweatshirt or blanket scarf are essential. My list of essentials includes: phone and computer chargers, snacks, and headphones. When you get to the library and realize that your computer is on 5% and you don’t have a charger, it’s likely that you’ll end up just leaving. Leaving the lib does not equal a successful lib trip. You get it.
Fuel Up
As much as we like to think that we can crush a lib sesh without eating prior to it, that is just not realistic. Try to eat a meal or a snack before you head to Homer B. so you can focus on your work and not how hungry you are. If you physically can’t manage to get food into your body, water is, you know, good for you. Personally, I always come double-fisted with a large iced coffee and my S’well. Just be nice to your body.Â
Go Zero Dark
Depending on the amount and difficulty of the work you have to do, having your phone out is risky. If you’re just doing a leisurely assignment in a class that you’re killing, sending a few Snapchats here and there or scrolling through Insta won’t ruin your studying. However, if you are under pressure – whether it be a time constraint or an assignment that is worth a lot of credit – turning your phone off is a very smart thing to do. Putting your phone on silent and ‘Do Not Disturb’ still allows you to check your notifications if you want to – and we all know you want to. If I’m doing something really important, I always turn my phone completely off and put it in my backpack. It’s also kind of nice not being accessible to people for a few hours because when you turn your phone back on, it’ll be blown up which is a sick ego boost.
 Squad Up
Friends, while distracting sometimes, can also be great motivators. If you know you’re the type of person who can’t focus around your friends, get a cubicle, go to the basement, or go to the fourth floor. However, having friends to go to the lib with has also been really great for me for the past two years. I always have someone to lock down a table if I’m in class, vent to when my brain stops functioning, and motivate me to keep going. The best example I have of how great friends make lib time better is my hourly dabs with my friend Maria. Every hour we look up from our work and simply dab. Just that subtle movement of our head to our elbow is reassurance that we, in fact, will be alright and can get through all of the stuff we have to do.
Post Up
I previously touched on how important it is to find a good location at the library, but this is very key. The third floor is great if you’re in Greek life because people are always there. Three south is louder which is good for group studying and three north is spaz-out central – good for doing assignments on your own. The fourth floor, parts of 2, B-level, and A-level are relatively quiet if you work better in silence. The first floor is chaos, but good for group projects. It also has lots of computer stations, printing stations, and is home of Husky Tech, the Q-center, and the W-center. Bookworms CafĂ© is chill for meeting with tutors, group projects, or working by yourself. Essentially, there’s a place in the library for any type of student, so find what works for you and make it your post.
I hope this guide helps you crush the rest of this semester. If you ever need a study buddy, you know where I’ll be!