How I, a person with crippling ADD who needs to move study/work locations every two hours, AM able to get things done.
I am the type of person who cannot, by any means, get homework or any type of work done in my room. I get too distracted every time I sit down at my desk, so my friends and I have created a term for the consistent-study-location-moving: a study crawl.
The first thing I do is decide if this is a solo study crawl or if I’d like to have a partner in crime or two. If I’m embarking on this journey with a friend, we meet somewhere, typically one of our apartments, discuss fun topics and catch up. The next step is finding a good spot to start.
I like to go somewhere to get food first so I’m not trying to get work done while eating. I have a few favorite spots for my first location. Ancora is a great place to begin the crawl. The tables are large enough to lay out notebooks, computers and textbooks, which is arguably one of the most important things to be able to do in any good work spot. It’s not too loud and the grilled cheeses are the perfect fuel for the next two hours of work.
Once a table has been found, the planning must commence. I get my planner–or if I forget my planner at home–a notebook, and write down everything that needs to be done. If you are anything like me and do not get instant gratification from checking off a box, you most likely will not stick to a planned and ordered list of what is most important to accomplish first. So, once the dump of assignments is on the page, group them by study location. If you’re planning on moving every two or so hours, group the to-do’s into three sections. Once a section is complete, you move on to the next location.
Phase two usually begins when I decide I’m done sitting and need movement like my life depends on it. For my second location, I prioritize the atmosphere. A good second location possesses these qualities: has coffee available, large windows, and is relatively quiet. For me, Bandit Tacos & Coffee is the perfect second location. The windows are huge which helps maintain sanity while remaining in a seat for a long period of time. The tables are giant, so if some friends want to meet up, you can all sit at opposite ends of the table so you don’t get distracted talking to each other. It’s a bit of a hike, but the walking in between spots is important in not going absolutely insane from looking at a screen for what feels like eternity.
After phase two you are probably thinking “wow I wish I were in bed right now” but whatever you do, do NOT go home. You will get into bed, lose all stamina and fall asleep. Approaching phase three is where I start to feel like a crazy person.
Location three may or may not be the last location of the crawl depending on how much work is left, but it’s where everything gets serious. It’s library time. For the life of me, I cannot go to the fully quiet areas, so an appearance at the Historical Society will not be occurring. As depressing as College Library is, it makes for a good final push across the finish line. If you procrastinate until midterm season, it will be packed. If you can’t find a spot on the second or third floor, don’t worry. The first floor cafeteria has giant booths with outlets perfect for the final phase. If they’re all full, I like to sit at the regular tables and watch the people in booth’s like a hawk until someone looks like they’re going to leave. Once the booth is acquired, center yourself. At this point you deserve a snack or fun drink, and are probably feeling awful.
After a few hours at the library, everything should be done. I typically don’t finish everything that was on my list, so, I’ll plan on making a triumphant return to the library the next day. Nothing compares to the feeling of strutting out the College Library doors and blasting Taylor Swift all the way home. Once it’s all over, you can be proud of yourself for a few things: getting work done, getting some steps in and having a semi-productive day!