Living Tips for Graduate Students

August 29 2011, 9:59pm

Today’s guest post is from Ashley Spade. Ashley is a law student at Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago. When she isn’t at the library, she enjoys blogging, running, and spending time with her furry sidekick, Sir Winston Pugsalot. Follow their adventures on Twitter: @ashspade or check out her contributions at The Professional Intern for more tips on surviving school! Graduate school is certainly a mental, physical and emotional drain on each student that decides to take the challenge. However, one of the few things you can do to survive this time is create a living space that serves as a hub for your study, but also offers respite from it. It’s a delicate balance for certain, but here are some tips to help you achieve a sort of grad school feng shui with your domicile. GET A WASHER/DRYER IN YOUR APT The thing I love most about my grad-school apartment is having a washer and dryer in the apartment. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, is better than doing your laundry in your own home. It may seem like a luxury, but having the ability to do laundry in your own home eliminates the chore of taking clothes to a Laundromat, saving you precious time and more importantly, offers an incredible peace of mind. LIVE NEAR PLACES TO STUDY There are times when I’m sitting at home digesting a little Sir Francis Bacon for class when I look up from my book and think the room has gotten smaller. Working in your own apartment can be nerve wracking at best and paranoia-inducing at worst. Try to live within reasonable distance to places where you can work away from home. No matter where I live I try to make sure I’m near a decent library. If the library starts to get routine, I suggest heading over to some late night coffee shops or another spot near campus you can focus. CREATE A DESIGNATED WORKSPACE How many unproductive hours does it take for you to realize that studying in a Snuggie is counter-productive? You should always have a place to study outside your apartment, but you will inevitably be doing work at home also. Setting up a designated workspace that is separate from, say, the kitchen table or the bathroom sink not only increases productivity, but helps you distinguish your “professional” life from (what remains of) your personal life. You’ll be working all the time, and your home should feel like one instead of another office. FIND A (GOOD) ROOMATE Grad school life is essentially that of a hermit. Sometimes a roommate is the only other human interaction you’ll have and that helps to rescue you from the brink of insanity and/or nervous breakdown. Of course, finding a roommate to have and to hold is a chore in itself. If you do find a solid gold roommate, the benefits far outweigh the detriments: cheaper rent (which can lead to better location/larger apartment), help cleaning, and a shoulder to cry on. Yes, graduate school is a tough cookie to crumble and there are numerous factors working against you. But, your home is just that, a home, and it should provide you with both the comfort to relax and get away and study.