I never imagined campus would be more restricted than it was last year. But with the onset of the Omicron variant and its highly transmittable nature, many things have changed on campus. Blanch is now grab-and-go, classes are on Zoom for the first two weeks, and the administration requires KN95 masks. With all these changes, I personally decided to start studying in my dorm room. As much as I love being in the beautiful Williston Library, I can’t control what people do there but I can control my dorm room. In addition, I can also be more comfortable in my dorm room with comfy clothes and no mask. On the other hand, the dorm room can be too comfortable for studying. So here are some tips that help me study effectively in my dorm room.
First, don’t study in bed. Not only is it impossible to actually get any work done, but it’s also important to associate your bed with sleep or rest. According to The Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard, “keeping computers, TVs, and work materials out of the room will strengthen the mental association between your bedroom and sleep” (source). Doing work on your bed associates it with work, which can affect your sleep. Despite the constraints of a dorm room, try to assign different spaces for different things: the bed for sleep and the desk for work and eating.
Secondly, make your desk comfortable. A lot of people go to the bed to study because your desk isn’t comfortable. You can also make it pretty. I have a pink blanket on my chair because the wood is too hard to sit on. Another very important thing to get is a support pillow for your lower back so it forces you to assume good posture.
Thirdly, use noise-cancelling headphones. I mentioned earlier that one of the pros is that I can control my dorm room. That’s true, but I can’t control what happens outside of it and when it isn’t quiet hours, people are allowed to do whatever they want in their room. I opted for in-ear headphones because the ones that go over your head hurt my ears. But do whatever suits your taste. Just make sure it’s comfortable and can be worn for long hours.
I don’t usually listen to music because most of my coursework is writing-intensive so I need a lot of concentration to think. But if you opt to listen to music, choose classical music or something with no words, just instrumentals.
Fourth, keep your room clean and smelling great. Get some lavender-scented air fresheners and keep the windows open. Since Blanch is closed and we all have to eat in our dorm, you don’t want your room smelling like the rice and dal you ate last Tuesday. Ventilate!
Don’t wait till Saturday to clean or use cleaning as an excuse to not study. Try to maintain a daily cleaning schedule. This is where the small dorm space comes in handy because you don’t have to spend much time cleaning. After all, it’s not a large space.
Lastly, schedule how and what you’re going to study. I have a mini whiteboard where I write out the study schedule for the day and I mark it off as I go. My technique is to write out everything I have to do and put the due dates next to them. Then I map out how much time I need to allocate to get each of them done, starting from the nearest due date. Something I’m still working on is learning how to move on to the next subject. It’s not effective to spend too much time on one subject. To solve this, I would write down questions about anything I’m struggling with and either email my professor or go to their office hours.
One final thought, I’m in a double but I don’t have a roommate this year so I made this list solely based on my experience of living alone. For people with roommates, I strongly suggest having a discussion with your roommate about your study patterns. Communicate and be ready to compromise. Tensions between roommates make the dorm space very ineffective for studying, so come to agreeable terms about noise, cleanliness, or whatever else may impact both of you.
Good luck folks!
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