Working Against Depression Pt.1

Setting Up a Realistic Work Space
Realistic...right, ok.
1. What do I dislike about my environment?
There are people in it, and I can't play my music - I hate having to wear earphones now and become entangled in wires. Often it's too chilly, because I become very sensitive to the cold. Sometimes it feels very small and cramped, say those cubicles in the library (I really love a wide desk to spread out on, and a cushion for my bum).

2. What are three simple changes I can make in the next few days?
(Ok, this is really hard. I can't remove the people from my room, which is the only place where I don't have to share the space - everywhere else, it's public commons. I need a space that feels as though I have an absolute right to be there (this is difficult because I try to be very polite and sensitive to others' properties), and I need to be in a space where I have access to all my stuff to work with, so it needs to be a space I can part-inhabit. Like right now, I'm in Julia's room and she's not here, and I've decided to just make it my room because I can't deal with anymore unhappiness shit.)
Visit Julia's room more often. I'd ask her for reservations, but I think since she's out of her room so much anyway, it may be just easier to start visiting and wait to start work when she's gone.

3. What do I need to change in my environment to help me get things done in a timely manner with the least amount of stress?
- no people
- music for math
- no IMing

4. Who can help me with this?
Julia F.

5. How can I keep it going?
The space? Or the work?
Self-talk, get myself to sit down with the work once the environment is right. What do I do when someone comes in? Don't answer the door if Julia's not here, for one.

6. Where am I most productive?
In my room, when I'm not depressed. When I am depressed, I'm easily distracted and I have yet to find a space that works, except by doing things to help me feel less depressed, which takes up a lot of time and sometimes doesn't work.

7. What are my options, considering my present situation?
There are times when I can just go into Julia's room when she's not there, and she'll be gone for a few hours, and no one will have had the same idea to sneak in and use her room, too. I hope she doesn't mind, though; I can't ever tell if she's annoyed at people staying in her room all the time or not. Doesn't she need a room to herself sometimes, like me?
There's also the WCC/LGBT-CRC. The latter is usually occupied, but not always the former. To have people tromping around over head is slightly annoying, but around 3am, there's no one there.
I can also work to change my sleeping pattern, so that I'm awake at times when other people aren't. It's difficult, however, since I have to be up by 9am most weekdays. I don't focus well in the mornings, right after I wake up. The tendency to treat myself to internet (like right now) is a lot greater than late at night, when I've been up for a few hours and can urge myself into homework. So I need to wake up pretty close to when I need to start doing stuff, so that I can get up and get moving to someplace straight away without dawdling near a computer. So I should head to bed around 2am, but the quiet hours don't really start until 1am. This is very difficult.

8. What is the best work environment I've ever experienced?
Tonight I spent the night at the WCC, with cups of coffee, my laptop, and a patience for a fair amount of reading. If only I wasn't so tired and unfocused starting around 3am.

Ah, but oops, I'm not supposed to spend the night at the WCC. If I do utilize this space, I must make sure to be out by 6am.