As winter settles, what I find to be the most difficult as a student is trying to navigate what study habits work best for me, as well as the environment. If I do my homework in my bedroom, sitting in my bed, I easily get distracted. Even worse, I fall asleep. Recovering from a year and a half of Zoom calls and e-Learning, it’s been hard establish an environment that helps me focus. Below are a couple of places that offer a calm and relaxing environment to get homework done:

1. Zen Cafe (530 E. Lasalle Street) Located right across from Saint Joe Grade, this local coffee shop offers a super cozy environment. With their menu being mainly lattes and espresso, it’s a perfect place to go after school. They close at 6pm, giving you a time frame to study and do homework without being able to procrastinate.

2. Hesburgh Library (Notre Dame) This is the perfect place if you can only study in an environment that’s dead silent. With so many nooks and study rooms, doing a group project or getting in a study session at this library would be ideal. My word of advice is to act mature and try your best to blend in. Being on Notre Dame’s campus, this library is infested with college students, so try not to embarrass yourself.

3. The General Deli & Cafe Located right across from Howard Park, this cafe offers a warm and relaxing atmosphere. With tables and booths, there are plenty of places to sit, enjoy a coffee or bagel, and check things off your Canvas page.

4. Barnes & Noble Connected to the University Park Mall, Barnes & Noble has a Starbucks cafe with seating, offering the calm ambiance of a bookstore. Most customers in the bookstore aren’t there to socialize, giving you a pretty good chance of a quiet climate. They close at 9 PM, giving you plenty of time to settle in and get in a great study session.

5. Martin’s Side Door Deli I’ve found that many St. Joe students and high schoolers around the area use the upstairs of Martin’s to their advantage. With a Starbucks and variety of snacks downstairs, it’s the perfect place to stop by after school to refuel. It’s easy to get distracted there, so I would recommend bringing headphones and sitting in an area that doesn’t have high traffic.

This is just a small scale of local places that offer a calm and relaxing study environment.