So, first week of term is over, that means your first essay is handed in, you’ve made it through your first week of work and are now perhaps a bit more confident with how Oxford works. This blog is all about taking a breather, and where you can go to take a break in the Law Bod.
First of all, inside the Law Bod just on the left of the entrance is our Just In Corner, complete with two sofas and a small table filled with the latest editions of newspapers for readers to browse as well as our new journals displayed to the left of the sofas. This is a perfect spot if you just fancy a quick break from studying, or if you’re waiting for some of your friends to finish up.
Downstairs in the Law Bod we have a different type of relaxation method in the form of jigsaws and puzzles. These are brilliant mindfulness exercises to help use your brain in a non-academic yet just as useful way. We have five puzzles, a box of Lego and colouring pencils and paper to help focus your brain on something other than work for a few minutes. Feel free to start a on a jigsaw or indulge your artistic side: find them in the right hand corner of the first floor.
Just outside the main doors of the Law Library is the Missing Bean café, open now that it’s term time. A handy space to have your lunch, afternoon coffee, bagel or something sweet to break up your day. A subsidiary of the favourite Oxford café on Turl Street, the Missing Bean has great, sustainable food and drinks at student friendly prices. Full of tables and comfy seats there is a bit of everything for everyone here, you’ll always find people sat here having a break between lectures, or students discussing work, as well as the usual lunchtime rush. Bring your Keep Cup and then you and your coffee are more than welcome back into the Law Bod (plus you get 10p off if you use your own cup in the Missing Bean!)
The Bodleian Libraries also have created a self-help book collection following student feedback. These books range from books tailored to students with disabilities, to books aimed at any student in the University with titles such as Writing Under Pressure and The Happiness Trap. Alongside this, sometimes the Bodleian put on mindfulness initiatives for students, although there aren’t any on at the moment last year during Trinity Term GLAM (Gardens, Libraries and Museums) put on events from yoga and meditation, to dungeons and dragons games to creative workshops, all of which were free to University of Oxford students. Keep an eye out here for any new mindfulness initiatives.
There you have it, when you’re looking for a small study break without having to venture too far from the Law Library these are the best places to go! And of course, the work will still be there when you get back.
