Hey queens!! I hope everyone is enjoying the first month of the new semester and settling in. My first couple weeks here were a huge adjustment and took a bit to get used to, and I’m sure many other freshman felt the same. One of the biggest changes was the workload – so many notes, readings, and discussion posts! 

And now, as we start to head into the first exams of the season, the workloads are continuing to pile up for all of us. Now that I’ve been settled in at Iowa for a hot minute, I’ve realized the most important thing for me to stay on top of it all is to find my SPOT. You know – a quiet place to sit down and really lock in on my schoolwork. While exploring campus I’ve found several good study spots, and though I’ve considered gatekeeping my favorites, they’re really too good not to share! So if you haven’t discovered your spot yet, I hope you can take a little inspiration from mine 🙂

Before I jump in, remember that everyone works differently in different environments. What works super well for me might not be your favorite option. That’s why I’m sharing pros and cons of each spot so you can know if a spot that I hate might actually be good for you, and vice versa. So, without further ado, let’s get started!

1. Prairie Lights Cafe
   One of the places I always see people studying in are coffee shops – because who doesn’t like some caffeine to sip on while doing schoolwork? So I’ve tried studying in a few coffee shops and my favorite by far is definitely Prairie Lights cafe. In case you didn’t know, Prairie Lights is a local bookstore downtown with a cafe on the second floor. I like to sit by the window and enjoy the view while drinking some iced coffee, and it’s super nice! However, if you like to be in a place without a lot of people, this might not be the spot for you – it’s never super crowded, but there’s always other people in the cafe (they have good stuff!). 

2. Outside
   When the weather’s nice, it’s good to go outside and get some fresh air. It can certainly help boost productivity. And I know I’ve already seen a lot of people studying outside in the grass this semester. So I’ve tried it too! My favorite outside spot so far has been on the lawn in front of the Pentacrest, facing the downtown area. There’s lots of space to spread out and so many trees to shade you from the sun. Now of course you can always hear the sounds of the downtown area and the people walking by, so if you need mostly quiet to study, this probably won’t work for you, but it can be super nice to enjoy the outdoors while studying, especially in autumn!!

3. Lindquist Center
   

   

   As an elementary education major, I’ve spent a lottt of time in the Lindquist Center. So, I’ve often ended up studying there so I don’t have to walk a super long way to get to my next class. In my time there, I’ve discovered some amazing study spots! 

   If you go into South Lindquist and go through the doors to the Al Hieronymus Student Learning Center, you’ll find a cozy lounge area with lots of tables and chairs. including these huge gray ones that are so comfortable to study in! They have a really tall headrest that covers three sides, so you can’t see the people next to you and get distracted. (That’s why I call them cubby chairs). It’s really helpful for me personally, and I always see at least a few other people using them too, so they definitely work! 

4. Burge Booths
   Anyone who knows me personally knows that my absolute favorite color in the entire world is green – it’s even scientifically known to help calm your mind. And to be productive, I need a comfortable place to settle in. So that’s why one of the best study spots I’ve found is the booths located in the basement of Burge Hall. If you enter through the main entrance and go down the stairs, you’ll see a row of green booths right in front of you! These booths are cozy and quiet and can fit multiple people if you want to study with some friends. They even have a large whiteboard on the wall of each booth, which is super helpful for planning group projects or working out math problems! I’ve done some of my best work at the Burge booths (I actually wrote this post in one of them). 

   

   
   It’s a pretty quiet place most of the time, however, if you don’t have headphones or earbuds and you get easily distracted by noise, this might not be the place for you. Because it’s right below the main lobby, you can hear a lot of noise from the people coming in, or the other people in the basement (there is a ping pong table and people can get loud!). Luckily, I’ve never had anyone super noisy come into the basement while I was studying. Just something to keep in mind if you need total quiet while doing your work.

5. Hillcrest Booths
   In my humble opinion, Hillcrest has the best dining hall – and the best study spots. On the floor right above the dining hall, there’s plenty of little study areas. My favorite are the blue and green booths, but they are a popular place, so sometimes it’s hard to snag one! Whenever I do, though, I become super productive – there’s an outlet so I can plug in my computer, a bathroom right nearby, and the dining hall right below for when I get hungry. Whenever the booths are full, I like to sit on the lounge chairs overlooking the river. It’s a fantastic view! The only qualm I have with the lounge chairs is that it’s hard not to fall asleep because they’re so comfortable. And besides the booths and lounge chairs, there’s lots of other seating options for studying in the area. It’s easy to find one that suits your needs!!

So there we are – hopefully I inspired you to explore and find some new study spots. I hope you can find your best places to be productive this semester. Wishing all of you health and good grades!! Go Hawks!

XOXO, Haven