In the days of hybrid work schedules or remote working, being at home can become somewhat monotonous. We get used to a fixed routine, seeing the same walls and furniture day-in and day-out. Having a break from such a routine can end up benefiting us so much more than we initially anticipate.
Breaking from the every-day routine
The need for a third place can provide us with a necessary reprieve. It can take us away from the stressful environments we become so accustomed to. It’s easy to wallow in stress, isolate yourself and even become quite lonely when you find yourself bound to your desk and computer. You begin to experience the weariness both mentally and physically, be it the straining in your eyes from staring at a monitor for hours on end or the dissociation from the outside world you feel as you become so enveloped in your work, your deadlines, your responsibilities. In my experience the latter of the two, the dissociation, can become far too real especially when your day-to-day might not be going as you’d previously planned. All too easily, we can fall into feelings of struggling to clear our minds, not being able to think straight and losing our drive to be productive. Being in the same environment without taking yourself away from it can only fuel these feelings. You need an outlet, stimulation, room to breathe and so much more.
For me, the Wellcome Collection is one such third place. For me, the second floor Reading Room provides a different environment, filled with external stimulants to let your mind think about things outside of what you’re so used to. A safe, comfortable and warm space, with artwork all around you to take in. The Reading Room acts as a sort of hybrid area, a mix between a library and a museum with thousands of works of fiction, non-fiction, novels and more to entice your mind, to help you generate some newer and fresher ideas. The interior décor is also a pleasure to take in, the pillows sprawled out along the steps, the lamp lights hanging down and the little nooks between the bookshelves for you to have a seat and immerse yourself in a new work of fiction. I’ve found that you can often have feelings of self-doubt that can stem from being stuck in a continuous cycle without any real change and in my own opinion, a great remedy for this is to create. Through finding creativity within yourself, whether that be as you’re reading something new, exploring other genres or perusing through interesting pictures/images, inspiring yourself with the creativity of others can often be of help. I found that the Reading Room provided all these things as well as an inviting atmosphere to simply relax and enjoy.
The Reading Room at Wellcome Collection
On occasion you’ll find the odd performance at the Reading Room, as well as workshops and events which vary from time to time. You’re better off asking the staff for more details, but it’s a lovely addition to the space and gives you that much more of a reason to visit.
For a more social setting, I found the Wellcome Collection’s café on Floor 0 a good spot. There were always plenty of people around you, which adds a level of hustle and bustle that can be missed from being alone at home working remotely. When you’re based in the city, at times, such crowds can often be a negative factor when going about your day. This ends up becoming more so the case when you’re travelling into the office during peak hours in the city but often when you’ve spent enough time working by yourself, the change in scenery and the people that come with it, is a welcome switch-up.
A home away from home
For many of us we work to enjoy our lives. Outside of the office, we have our friends or partners, and we go out or we engage in group activities that give us something to look forward to aside from the usual everyday routine. But for some of us, there isn’t much of a choice in that respect. Some can find their social circles a bit lacking, they might not have many friends or find it as easy to spend time with the friends they do have due to schedules, location etc. There’s an innate human need for companionship and community. It can become very lonesome to spend all your time alone, and even if you’re not entirely on your own, you can find yourself yearning for that sense of community, belonging to a group of like-minded individuals who share your likes, dislikes and interests. I believe a third place can be essential here, regardless of the space itself. It’s not always a coffee shop, or a museum, it’s the place you can go to and find others that you can relate to, others that are doing what you’re doing, others who have an interest in what you’re interested in. That shared sense of joy you can collectively draw from the same thing in itself is a wonderful feeling. It’s all nurtured through being together in the same space and soon it begins to feel like a home away from home. A place of belonging and companionship.
Conclusion
Whether you have a third place or not, or you have a couple of third places, we can never underestimate the importance of finding a space for either yourself or to build even more connections. It keeps us youthful; it provides depth and intrigue into our lives, and be it through others or yourself, it can serve as a reminder of the part we love most about ourselves. Isolation ends up having a silent effect on your mind and it’s always very easy to underestimate it. Being able to remove yourself from the kind of environment that stimulates a sense of isolation can really help combat the feeling itself. Fresh air, the smell of coffee filling up a room, the comfy booths or chairs, the wide array of drinks to choose from, the people around you each enveloped in their own world, all of which adding to this hub of newfound interactions or experiences.
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