Where do you like to study?

As an undergraduate I used to like to study in bed because then I could fall asleep over a book while appearing all diligent. Botany worked faster than any other subject to put me under.

In my most recent student experiences within the past three years, I preferred to study on the living room sofa in the afternoons with the sun behind me. I know some people want a firm, straight-backed chair at a desk, but I still think bodily comfort frees my mind’s attention. Just not so much of it that I can’t stay awake.

I occasionally opt for the bed. That’s usually when I’m feeling tired yet guilty about neglecting my ever increasing reading list.
I tend to use the library a fair bit because even when I don’t get a huge amount done, I come away feeling more productive. Must be something about being surrounded by books :/
I also like to sit on the couch and study for comfort purposes.

I have a timber board my husband made me and I sit in the rumpus room, the garden or on my bed and work. I rarely sit at my desk. I do have one but the only time I use it is if I really can’t get into my work and it seems to help on those occasions. Mostly though, my board wherever I feel like sitting does me just fine.

I always study on my bed; it’s comfortable, everything I need is within reach, and I have loads of chocolate to get me by ^-^
The school library is also a favourite, as again you have everything you need and it’s a quiet atmostphere,

The kitchen table: Warm and close to the biscuits.

This is my actual study area.

Be jealous. I like it because it is awesome.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard: Your plant needs watering.

Pre-computers I always used the library. No food, no phones (pre-cell phones), no noise and all those resources at my fingertips.

In some ways, I miss those days.

I like places that are soft and secluded where I can both stretch out, curl up, jump around, and easily use the computer.

@gailcalled it’s an orchid. I’m trying not to over-water it. I was told that I should put three ice cubes in it a day, and that would be enough water. Is that incorrect?

Sorry. I didn’t know it was an orchid. I have no idea about treatment. Essentially, you have to recreate a tropical rain forest for it to thrive ideally, I’ve been told.

Would a tropical plant love having ice cubes dropped on its root system?

Have you had any orchids lately? My sister keeps hers, which has abundant blooms, on a kitchen counter in an open, warm and sunny room.

@gailcalled I know the ice cube thing sounds strange, but I house-sat for a woman for a week who kept orchids… she had dozens of them- huge ones too, and she told me to put two to three ice cubes on each one every day. They were thriving, so I guess there’s something to it. I suppose I could consult the internet about how to properly take care of it. This is actually my first orchid. A very dear ladyfriend gave it to me for my birthday and told me to name it after her… I’ll feel really bad if I kill it.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard: Here

Short and clear and only slightly more complicated than the 3 ice cubes/daily

Natural habitat involves:

Strong light, but not direct late-afternoon sunlight

High humidity

Turbulent air flow around the roots

Regular periods of drying, alternating with drenching rains

Temperatures between 50 degrees and about 85 degrees

@gailcalled wow, that’s quite the list. Thank you so much! Now maybe I won’t kill it!

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard I jelly
Unless there’s a bunch of people smoking, I study on the roof of my uni. Well it’s not really the roof, but it is pretty high.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard: Misting and occasionally blowing hard solves two of the issues.

Somewhere where I can hear noise. I like to study at Barnes & Noble or Starbucks where I can keep a steady flow of coffee coming.
I don’t mind studying at the library, but it can be too quiet for me.
I can’t really focus unless I hear some type of noise, whether it be traffic, music, the clinking of cups…just noise besides birds and my own breathing. I can’t deal with total silence for studying.
I know, I am a strange chick

I preferred a quiet carrel at the library. I’m hyperactive and extremely easily distracted. My living quarters were always bustling with temptations, so I isolated myself. Worked pretty well.

Library cubicle. No distractions.

Or at a clean desk. So I don’t have the I’ll-study-after-I-clean-up-a-bit excuse.
My room was coincidentally always clean during finals. :P

Late at night. 11:30pm to 2:30am is was primo study time for me.

Classical music on the headphones.

A book I edited once about older learners reported studies that showed better recall of material in an environment similar to the one in which you learned the material. It said that if you want the best chance of remembering your subject matter under test conditions in a classroom, you should try to acquire the learning under similar conditions.

I don’t doubt the studies, but if I had had to do all my studying under glaring lights at an uncomfortable little lecture-hall desk on a hard tile floor, I would never have studied at all.

I do study in the fullest quiet I can find, though, and I can imagine that studying to music would affect your recall when being tested in silence.

I used to love studying at IHOP—big tables, open 24 hours, bottomless coffee pot, access to food if necessary and… uninterrupted time alone. I notice my preference is for wide open spaces. Now, I prefer Starbucks/Barnes and Noble. Better coffee and food!

I have to have some activity around me to focus—too much visual silence would drive me nuts.

I preferred to study in the privacy of my dorm room (except on a Friday night when the stereo wars were in full force). Of course, that wasn’t always possible when we were expected to work in teams on some paper or other and had to meet in a meeting room in the library or empty classroom.

I’m decades past any actual academic study but I do love to write, and my favourite place to do that is with my laptop in a bar or cafe in the city, with endless cups of coffee (or glasses of beer, depending on my mood).

It worked for J K Rowling too.