What your go-to Durham study spot says about you

With summatives getting everyone down, we are all scrambling for a new working environment to feel motivated to actually do our degrees. Be it a university building or a cafe, Durham has plenty of study spots to support all your different environmental needs. However, which is your go-to says a lot about how you plan your work, your work ethic, and how you actually manage to be productive. 

The Billy B

With the Billy B being the perfect place to “lock in”, your study goals in each session are intense. You aim to get everything done within one long stint of studying, which means that you’re either organised and can split your time between studying and socialising by just getting your uni work over with, or you have procrastinated everything to the last minute.

You also find that the external pressure from other people helps you focus and you need that social accountability to actually put your phone away and put 100 per cent of your time and energy into the essay, reading or problems you need to complete in the next 12 hours. Without the modern and rigid atmosphere of this library you know you will just lie on your bed promising yourself “just one more Tik Tok…”, and before you know it five hours have past and you have done nothing. Whilst the stress makes you momentarily regret not planning out your time, you also find such a euphoric sense of completion leaving the Billy B at ten-to-midnight, knowing that you made the deadline and can now relax.

However, I will credit you with the skill it takes to actually get a seat. You have to walk in at the right time to get just the right spot, and this is something you have figured out to maximise your focus and experience. You also love the food at the library café and it takes most of your money, but you see it as an investment into your academic career. 

The TLC 

The TLC being a modern building and equipped with both lecture halls and a café makes it the perfect study spot that combines different atmospheres and study conditions. The relaxed rules around noise makes it perfect for group projects and summatives, but for those with independent work it is perfect for the broke uni student that wants a café ambiance, but without having to spend money on an overpriced coffee (but the option is always there). If the TLC is your go-to, you prefer the relaxed environment to study, but find the silence and pressure of the Billy B intimidating.

You feel as though this space gives you agency, and you have meticulously planned your uni work and schedule so that you don’t have to resort to the pressure and judgement of the Billy B. However, if you are a humanities student (except law), when entering the TLC you feel like an imposter, knowing that everyone around you has just left a STEM lecture. This performative element aside, you enjoy a relaxed environment to focus and you enjoy the flexibility and modern design of the space. 

Your room

If you study at your desk in your room, this usually means two things: 1) You are going through a financially tough period and cannot justify to yourself spending money in a cafe, and 2) you live on a hill college or far away from the centre/the Billy B and would rather just stay at home. You tell yourself that you’ll be disciplined and that it’s pointless trekking all the way out to the library as you could be spending that commute time studying.

You are a home body and like the security of knowing that everything is right where you need it. You need endless access to cups of tea and coffee without the financial pressure outside of your weekly food shop. You require complete solitude to focus and adopt the Rory Gilmore ethos of being able to go from “zero to studying in 60 seconds.” Even though every 20 minutes you may take a ‘break’ to scroll on Instagram reels for longer than what you said you would, you allow yourself to believe you are being productive and time efficient. 

Chapters 

Chapters is an adored café within Durham, with its architectural charm and structure and the aesthetic plates and bowls. However, being honest, you only study here because you cannot resist the cake; you justify this as a financial investment into a few hours of locking in and giving yourself a treat for getting through the week. You love the old buildings within Durham city centre, and you probably listed all the Bailey colleges as your first choice as a result.

However, you also value that Chapters is unique to Durham and feel as though you must appreciate it as much as you can during term time. You find it also helps you romanticise the process of studying. Even if it is the cake drawing you in, it helps you feel more focused and relaxed when studying. You also find that you enjoy a mixture of studying alone and with your friends; you enjoy being a social butterfly but also acknowledge when you need to lock in alone. Chapters provides the perfect in-between for this and your favourite thing to do in a study break is yap. 

College libraries

If you study in college libraries, you are typically a night owl who prioritises convenience, but also the importance of your study space. You get cabin fever really easily and follow the science in believing that switching where you study is better for focus and absorbing information. Because of this, your room feels too familiar and gets too claustrophobic. However, you also feel an urgent need to study to feel productive and you need a new space to focus. When trekking to the Billy B feels too long, you settle for the perfect compromise: Your college library. It is right near your accommodation (if you still live in college) and you can appreciate the library ambiance and focus. 

Your study breaks also consist of potentially yapping, but also exploring the library and the resources it actually offers. However, how often you actually visit this depends on your college and the vibe it gives. If you are in a Bailey college, I’d imagine that you visit this more frequently as you appreciate the old charm in glorifying your studies. However, the more modern builds of the hill colleges mean that when you decide to go, you really need to escape your room. Either way, your deadlines are urgent and you really feel the stress and pressure around just the act of being productive.

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The Students’ Union

If you study in the SU, you usually sit in one of two categories. The first is those in the SU all year round. You are committed to this space mostly because you have contact hours in Elvet Riverside or somewhere close to the centre, but you cannot justify the time it will take to go home after class, to then come back for your next lecture, tutorial, seminar, etc. During the Winter, it is usually freezing, but you accept that your productivity and desire to learn overrides that. The second group of people are those who come in seasonally.

As Durham starts to see spring emerge, it slowly becomes more popular and glorified as a space. The sun streaming through the window gives life to the rooms and the picturesque view of the river and Cathedral makes it the perfect seasonal spot for summative season. Regardless of which of these you are, you also aim to get the comfy seats in the booths and circle round all of them before giving up and realising they have all been claimed. The SU is also a place to do your weekly uni work. So, for example, tutorial readings or prep, and so you save the serious stuff for a trip to the Billy B. 

Your bed

If you are studying from your bed then I’d assume you find the barrier of getting into a focused mode to study is quite a hard one to cross. It is low effort and energy to just sit on your bed with your laptop in front of you. Yes, you are taking a 10 minute break every 15 minutes and you do sometimes resist the urge to fall asleep, but at least you are trying. Whilst the progress on your assignment is slow, at least it is steady.

Palace Green Library

If you frequently go to Palace Green Library, I’d imagine you have a great appreciation for old architecture and manuscripts. You feel inspired by the ancient look and feel of the books around you and this just motivates you to be an academic weapon and pour your entire personality into studying and your degree subject. You also feel like it’s part of the Durham experience and aesthetic with it being located in-between the Cathedral and Castle.

You also love museum trips and this gives you an artificial sense of importance and romanticisation that you need to study for long periods of time. You are also a very organised person who prioritises their degree work. This means that you get things done early, not two hours before the deadline, as you meticulously plan out your day. You also really want a satchel or something old to carry your work in so you feel as though you can blend into the aesthetic of the building.

Wetherspoons

If your favourite study spot is Wetherspoons, you feel incredibly smug because you delude yourself into thinking you have found the most financially viable means of studying. You crave the ambiance of a public space to help you focus and feel more than justified in spending £1.85 for unlimited tea and coffee. Realistically, you are also exploiting this policy and refuse to leave without four hot drinks as a bare minimum.

While you may leave shaking from the caffeine consumed, at least you were productive and your wallet isn’t too empty. You also have a really high tolerance for the general public and you will spend hours in here because everything you need is at the touch of a button in the app. Either that, or you just want an excuse to drink while working.

The Botanical Gardens

While this is only seasonal, you fully embrace the idea of summer and will take every opportunity to feel the sun on your face. With a demanding degree, you then decide to take your studying outside. You love being within nature and find the natural heat and freedom that comes from sitting outside satisfies your soul and your work.

It becomes much easier for you to romanticise the process of studying within this environment and you take in every colour and beauty that surrounds you. However, until that first week of sun in March, you find the rest of the year you are confined to your desk, eagerly awaiting when you don’t have to put on four layers to survive the brutal cold of the North. 

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