I find my environment sometimes impedes my studying
Where you study can oftentimes be as important as how you study. If you study in a place that is too noisy, crowded, or filled with friends, you may find yourself distracted from your work. On the other hand, maybe you do need some background noise - if so, studying on the third floor of Hunt library likely isn’t for you. It’s important to find a few quality study spaces where you won’t be disturbed. Once you find where you work best, you can develop a routine and associate particular spaces with accomplishing particular kinds of tasks.
STEP 2: SELECT THE REASON that best describes your situation, keeping in mind there may be multiple relevant reasons.
I’M HAVING TROUBLE CREATING THE RIGHT WORK ENVIRONMENT.
STEP 3: Explore potential STRATEGIES to address the problem.
The first step of setting up a good study space is removing any distractions. Distractions can include emails, television, radio, social media sites, magazines, video games, newspapers, cell phones, or anything else you might want to pick up or think about. If you’re in your room, alert your friends that you want a quiet, undisturbed place to study, and isolate yourself by closing the door. If you work best with background noise, pick a radio station without commercials or listen to music without lyrics.
Additionally, it’s important to make sure your surroundings are comfortable. The temperature of your study space should be between 66 and 74 degrees, depending on your personal preference, to keep you alert and active. Make sure the lighting is adequate and try to sit in a comfortable chair at a desk or table. We don’t advise lying or sitting on your bed, as that can make it more difficult to focus and easier to fall asleep. Have all of your tools, including notes, books, pens, pencils, calculators, laptop, etc. ready so you don’t have to interrupt your studying later on to get them.
Once you establish a few good study spaces, you will learn to associate work and accomplishing tasks with those environments. For example, you may become accustomed to studying for exams in Hunt Library, while you may enjoy working on homework assignments in your dorm lounge. If you start to find your study space oppressive, however, don’t be afraid to try someplace new!
For more tips to help you set up a good study space, view our “Fast Fact” on [pdf]
I’M HAVING TROUBLE FINDING GOOD PLACES TO STUDY ON OR AROUND CAMPUS.
STEP 3: Explore potential STRATEGIES to address the problem.
- Baker & Porter Hall
- - Modern Language Resource Center
- - Unused Classrooms
- Cyert Hall
- - Lobby
- Gates
- - 5th Floor
- Hammerschlag
- - Study Room
- Hillman Library
- - Corner of Forbes & Bigelow
- Hunt Library
- - Basement Study Rooms and Whiteboard Tables
- - 1st Floor Tables
- - 3rd Floor, Quiet Study Floor
- - 4th Floor Clusters
- Mechanical Engineering Cluster
- Mellon Library
- - In Mellon Institute, off of 5th Avenue
- Tepper
- - Study Rooms and Unused Classrooms
- - Top Floor
- University Center
- - 2nd Floor by Pool
- Wean
- - Lobby (5th Floor)
- - Engineering and Science Library (4th Floor)
- - Cluster, for Group Discussions
- Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
- - Off Campus, by Schenley Park (4400 Forbes Avenue)
- - Cafe, Free Wireless Internet, and Beautiful Atmosphere
- Cathedral of Learning
- - Off Campus, by Schenley Plaza
- - “Hogwarts” type atmosphere