Too often, after a long night of procrastinating, I quickly rush to the library to finish work last minute—only to discover that dreaded “library closed for lunch” sign. My heart stops and I look around at the others reading the same sign in panic, all wondering ‘where do we go now?’

Between the noisy cafeteria and the buzzing hallways, work is not always easy to do in school if you need some quiet space to focus. But here are some alternatives for everybody’s inner overachiever.

The writing center is a good place to work because it’s quiet and there are computers as well as free English help. While strict, it’s not under the same iron-clad fist as the media center, and seems to allow for a little talking if group work is necessary.

Another option is a booth in the cafeteria. While the cafeteria is one of the noisiest and most crowded places in school during lunch, you can always pop in your headphones and have a great work session on a real table where you can spread out.

The cafeteria is one of the only work spots where you can eat during lunch, which works in your favor for when you’re hungry. When there are no more booths though, you better start looking for somewhere else to go.

A teacher’s classroom is an alternative option when everything else is unavailable. Make friends with one of your favorite teachers and chances are they will let you work in their classroom if they aren’t teaching during your lunch.

While it might seem lame to hang out with your teachers during lunch, when you need that extra study time before a test you’ll learn to embrace your inner nerd. The teacher might even help you out, so that’s always a plus.

The benches in the front hall are also a pretty good option as they allow for somewhere to sit without too much human traffic. It’s a pretty good place if you need somewhere quieter to work or need a break from teachers’ harsh rules.

These options provide something for everyone whether you don’t mind the noisiness of the cafeteria or the silence of the writing center. Hopefully these ideas provide you with some options for when you want to eat and do homework too.