Create the perfect study space at home

By Geraldine Fitzgerald

Creating a dedicated study space at home is a step towards success. Off campus you’ll need to make a place where you can concentrate in comfort.

Once you designate an area devoted to study, your brain starts to associate it with work and over time will enter ‘study mode’ as soon as you enter. Choose a place and learn to love it.

For most students, space is at a premium, so you’ll need to make a nook somewhere, probably in your bedroom. A desk at the right height, a supportive chair and a comfortable temperature are the basics. Never study in bed – always go to your designated study spot.

Avoid positioning your desk facing out a window; everything outside will suddenly become fascinating, and you don’t need the distraction. Do try to get as much natural light into the area as you can; even reflected daylight from strategically hung mirrors will help.

As winter approaches, don’t study in a dark room with only a screen for illumination. Overhead lights and fluorescent are unforgiving, so set up a lamp on your desk and another one somewhere in your room. Adjustable desk lamps with a bendy neck are affordable and widely available.

Low wattage soft light bulbs are best, and ensure lighting is arranged so that light doesn’t shine into your eyes.

If you live in a busy house full of chatter, try noise-cancelling headphones. Some people like music while they study but try ambient noise instead; it helps aid focus. There are lots of ambient noise options online.

Plants are rarely high on the student shopping list, but NASA studies prove houseplants improve indoor air quality. Add a low-maintenance plant to your designated study space; something alive and green makes the space serene.

Stash your phone somewhere and put it on silent; smartphones and their endless alerts will jolt you out of study mode.

Once you’ve finished your study time, take a break and don’t use the study nook for recreational internet surfing or Netflix. Your brain needs to switch out of study mode into a more relaxed gear, so physically moving out of the space will help you to wind down.