[evil]

I believe that the physical environment you live in greatly affects your attitude, ability to study and productivity among other things. Because my attitude, ability to study and productivity levels suck at the moment. And I have to blame something!!

So in a sick attempt to get more productive, I'm going to turn this ISFAT into half rant, half PLAN!

But of course, ranting comes first:

1. My walls are completely plain, so I have nothing to look at or motivate me.
2. Everything feels unorganized and my bookshelf is as cluttered and all over the place as an episode of Heroes.
3. This room gets very little sunlight and opening the window lets in icky insects which eat my soul, thus I live in darkness and stuffy air. Also, half my light bulbs are out which may play a factor.
4. I feel like by having very little essential supplies like no paper or stapler I'm able to accomplish very little.
5. I actually have two rooms, which while might seem like a fun thing, really isn't because it means that certain things I need are spread out across different storeys and are not where you need them when you need them to be!

Okay, so the plan! Feel free to help me with suggestions from your own experiences.

1. Decorate my wall, be it with posters or little reminders of the things I like/love/want to stick my genitals in. MOTIVATION! WOO! Screencaps of awesome scenes in Lost VS photos of loved ones. Get LOST, friends! (HAHA I'M FUNNY) Oh wow! I just had an epiphany. I would love to get some multicolored cutout Ranty stickers and plaster them all over my wall... that'd be amazing. Would anyone else be interested in rantifying their walls? Okay, that's gonna happen.
2. I shall set aside a day to organise my bookshelf and keep the resources I need in one place. Also, I'm a bigtime hoarder. This is bad. I think it's time to throw out some junk. (Not you, plastic M&M dispenser - you're incredibly useful)
3. Well, this light thing is over my head. (Oooh, an accidental pun! Haha, even when I'm stressed out I'm funny). Some sort of ambience? Lamps? Feh!
4. "Hey Dad, can I borrow your credit card?" *runs to OfficeWorks* Yep, that'll do the trick.
5. Spring cleaning is laaaaaame. Especially because it's not Spring. Where can I hire a maid?

Well, thanks for listening to my rambles, you're all incredibly kind! This wasn't such a waste of time as now I have a reminder to actually do some things with my room. I think I have a fair amount of work ahead of me - and I'd like to hear from you guys.

What working or living space issues have you encountered over your years of unproductivity? What are your suggestions or tips for overcoming these obstacles?

[roboito]

MMm evil this is something i have noticed when i have enjoyed leisure time in ur lair...

I think that you definitely need to claim your space...or spaces in your case...

First I would say it's important to make your study a study space and to keep all your work out of your room. An Australian study revealed that working in your room actually makes it a harder place to relax in and to sleep in.

Putting a plant in your space will help relieve stress subconsciously...It will also filter the air in your space and add a touch of the outside...You don't get much sunlight, so get a shady plant.

Second, It's time for color.
Drab and plain walls do nothing to stimulate...Colors are very closely linked in the brain to emotion...and white walls make you feel like your in an insane asylum. SOoo...If you have the money or time or effort to paint...go ahead...But considering your not planning on staying in your house much longer I'd suggest getting colored furniture, wall stickers, curtains and wall art to spice up your space. Pick from a somber palette when doing your bedroom...like browns, reds, purples, blues...but all very dark....it will make it more comfy....In a study use little hits of colour, but nothing too scary and distracting....But before you start your space makeover choose your colors and stick to it...its nice when there's a visual consistency.

Third, LIGHTS

Over the heads halogens are nice to light everything up so you can see every ugly pour on someones face....It's important to have a full light option...It means that when it is time to look at someone's pours you have that option, but you need one more setting before absolute darkness. This setting is call a lamp...The lamp is everyone over 30s BFF...it smooths rough skin and makes your tired eyes feel good. ...get a lamp...something simple......WITHOUT an energy saving bulb...I'm all for saving the environment, but those things make anyone look like Anna Nicole (current day), harsh lighting is no fun...and neon lighting has been proven to have a distracting effect on men...So no...


now to the lil stuff..

with all the stationary stuff...if you have the money go with cute stuff...because who doesn't love smiggle..but make sure you don't over buy on useless shit. This is defiantly how you end up with 6 rubbers and no pencils...

Make sure you have a way to play music in your room...it just makes life so much better.

Get curtains that seem nice and lovable...not cold and mean...

When decorating walls be careful not to over crowd...The second that every inch is covered by tacky print outs you'll realize just how small the space is. Stick to larger items that draw focus but look sharp.

don't have a ten billion pieces of furniture side by side...it makes everything feel bunched and crowded as hell.

Don't forget your own personality...You don't want to go to all this stupid fucking trouble only to find urself in a room that is nice but looks like its someone else's dream....ever noticed how its hard to sleep in someone else's house...this applies here.

With cleaning, the best thing to do is put on music grit your teeth and enter the cesspool...do as Mary Poppins says and take this as an opportunity to bust a dance move and get those cob webs in the corner of the room...Even be evil and get a friend around and get them to clean with you...most friends have nothing better to do with their lives...........some friends are just losers who would want nothing better than to go through your stuff and throw it out....and get dibs on ur stack of old Kzone magazines.


ANYWHO...this is all.

hope it goes well.

[n0lite]

OKAY SO I HAVE TO GO OUT TO SOME HEINOUS RESTUARANT IN A MINUTE SO I WILL GIVE YOU A TL;DR POST FULL OF ~SAUCY SUGGESTIONS LATER BUT I HAVE TO TELL YOU DON'T DO A THING YET BECAUSE I HAD A BRILLIANT IDEA:

WE SHOULD ALL COME TO YOUR HOUSE AND DO AN EXTREME MAKEVER: HOME EDITION AND IT WILL BE BEAUTIFUL AND BUILD UNITY AND WHATNOT BUT YOU WILL PROBABLY SAY NO BUT STILL THIS SUGGESTION MUST BE ON RECORD

I'LL BE BACKKK~

This post has been edited by n0lite: Apr 11 2009, 07:56 AM

[n0lite]

So as promised I AM BACK, with more practical comments.

First off, roboito's advice was A+, but I especially agree with this: When decorating walls be careful not to over crowd...The second that every inch is covered by tacky print outs you'll realize just how small the space is. Stick to larger items that draw focus but look sharp. When it comes to putting random crap on your wall, there is no surer way to make it look as though your room is a trailer you are attempting to fancy up before towing it to the next hoe down. If you really want to cover a whole wall with something then use things that have a point, even if the point is just "looks good". Do NOT just slap on crap print outs and fliers from your local drycleaner.

So, my thoughts are...

1. Having two rooms is actually v.v. good for what you want to do. I sort of have two conjoining rooms (my house has a weird layout) and I use each for different purposes. Make one of your rooms strictly functional; uni work, ~personal projects~ and so on, like a home office. The other can be your chillax/socializing/pretty room. Not only is that very good for sleep hygiene, it also solves the issue of havening to lug your stuff around & having a room full of ugly clutter. You can then decorate accordingly.

2. CLEAN! The least fun part, but one of the most important. No amount of pimping your room can disguise grimy windows and dusty shelves.

3. If your furniture isn't right, it isn't right. This could be for practical reasons (your wardrobe no longer all your clothes in) or superficial ones (Good Charlotte stickers on your dresser? Heartfelt message from ex carved into nightstand? Just plain ugly?) but either way be critical. Ikea is a magical place full of cheap everythings, and you'll be able to pick up a replacement ______ for peanuts. Their stuff is functional and quite often nice (incidently they have some awesome lighting stuff in atm). If you're not into Swedish capitalism then wait for your neighourhood's hard rubbish day and go hunting. Yes, ew, but get over that immediate recoil. Think of it as op shoping; although a lot of the stuff is undesirable, if you stick at it long enough you're sure to find some really cool stuff (or stuff that could become cool).


BUT.

If you are planning on moving any time soon (I have no idea if you are, but everyone in the world seems to be at the moment), I wouldn't bother going too nuts. Some spring cleaning and reorganizing ought to do the job. My friend spend a month and a half (and most of her savings) on sprucing her flat up. It looked great, but not long after she moved interstate. She was aware that she was moving, and I think she did it as a displacement activity. Which is all well and good except that she had to leave almost all her new stuff behind, she got into a huge fight (that is still going on) with her dodgy landlord over whether painting the walls red meant he got to keep her bond money, and her (previously shit) flat was now yet another thing she had to leave behind. Plus her ex-housemate has already managed to undo most of the sprucing. So, the moral of this needless story is that you shouldn't put too much effort into something you are going to abandon anyway, and that you should never major in anthropology because you will be unemployable and have to leave town. /bitter.