Why?
Well, sometimes, the people in the office are not conducive to writing the dissertation, for example. Sometimes, people want to chat, when all you want is peace and quiet. Sometimes, there are plenty of people outside the corridor chatting. Sometimes, there are just plenty of distractions that prevents me from getting "in the zone" and writing this thing.
So what do I do?
Well, I have found and collected several different locations on and off-campus that I find to be perfect in writing, and in doing research in general. Here are a few of them.
1) There is always the lab. In fact, I have two of them. If I need a place to work, that is always an option. One is quieter than the other, but if I need other people, then I can always go to one of them.
2) There are several coffeeshops downtown that I can frequent. All I need to do is take the subway and walk a little bit, and I am there. If I prefer a noisy yet anonymous coffeeshop, there's always SPoT Coffee. On the other hand, if I prefer a quiet and subdued coffeeshop, then there's Dolci. Both have free fast wi-fi, so connecting to the Internet is not a problem.
3) There's these hidden nooks and crannies in the libraries. Most of these are quiet study areas where talking is prohibited, so that is always nice. I sometimes find myself in the Law Library, reading and working in the midst of these law students, perusing their thick textbooks.
4) Finally, there's always Toronto. This city is so close to me, that I just hop on to the bus and spend a few days across the border with my friends, and that's another change of scenery, that definitely helps.
So yeah, that is my geographical location as I write this thing. Hopefully, I finish this within the academic year, so I can get a permanent change of scenery, which will be something more substantial!
