Set short, manageable goals for yourself. Break your time down into small chunks. Congratulate yourself when you reach these small goals. Often times, repeating a mantra can help focus your mind on something other than the difficult experience you are having. Good mantras are short, encouraging, and rhythmic. Make up a mantra. Use someone else's mantra and repeat it. Try out: "Feeling strong, feeling good." Try out: "All the way! Hey let's go! All the way to Tokyo!" Try out: "Looking good, feeling good, oughta be in Hollywood." Plenty of people before you have stayed up for days on end. If you are truly committed to this goal, you will be able to succeed. Say your goal out loud or write it down. Visualize yourself succeeding. When you feel doubtful, return to your goal. Say it out loud or look at what you have written down. State out loud that you can and will achieve your goal.

Summary: Take it one hour (or one minute) at a time. Repeat or chant a mantra. Believe in yourself.

Before you start, you should unplug the dryer to prevent accidents. The plug is usually located behind the machine. Test it to be sure that you have unplugged it correctly. If you have a gas dryer, you will also want to shut off the gas. You've probably noticed that lint gets everywhere. There seems to be a cloud of it anytime you open your dryer or fiddle with the trap. Of course, this means that lint works its way into all the cracks and crevices of your machine and you'll want to be sure to clean it at least once a year to prevent problems. A dryer blocked up with lint can dry inefficiently and even cause fires. The lint trap should, of course, be cleaned out after every use. This is very important because if you don't, new lint won't have anywhere to go, creating a mess and increasing the amount of time needed to dry a load of clothes. Use a vacuum cleaner to clean out behind the lint trap every few weeks to every few months, depending on how much lint your items create and how well your trap catches the lint. Pull out the lint trap and vacuum the tube that is on the other side. You might also want to vacuum out the exhaust tubes, although these are often difficult to reach or inaccessible. The moisture sensor, which is on most modern machines, tells your dryer when the clothes are dry. If it's covered in lint it won't work correctly, which can lead to your dryer turning off before everything is dry. Wipe the bar down with rubbing alcohol to clean it and keep your dryer running correctly. These are usually found near the lint trap or at the back of the machine. They will look like two long, silver strips of metal and are usually surrounded by or mounted on plastic. If you don't clean these often, you might need to scrub with something a little more substantial, like a Magic Eraser. Much like you can lift the top of your stove to clean below the heating elements, you can open up your dryer if you're brave and clean the lint that builds up around the drum. Different dryers open in different ways, so check the user manual for your model or look it up online. Generally, either the top or front panel will come off (or both). Look for screws around the lint filter, since this is usually the spot to start. With the screws undone, the panel can be removed, though there is sometimes a catch you will have to get around by pulling forward (for a top panel) or using a screwdriver at the gap (for a front panel). With the panel removed and the drum exposed, remove lint and lost items by hand or with a vacuum. Once you're done, snap the panels back into place and then replace the screws.

Summary: Unplug the dryer. Clean your lint trap with every use and your dryer as a whole once a year. Clean the lint trap with a vacuum. Wipe down the moisture sensor. Open the panel surrounding the drum. Put it back together.

A desk plant will make the space seem more alive, more friendly, and will help purify the air in your workplace. Many potted plants are ideally suited to indoor living and are easy to keep alive. Avoid those that require intensive care. Make sure the plant you choose will do well considering the lighting and temperature in your office cubicle. Some plants require lots of sunlight, so if you don't have a window nearby it's best to avoid these kinds. Don't bring in any flowering or fragrant plants without first checking with neighboring coworkers to make sure they are not allergic. Be sure to ask a coworker to water your plant if you will be away from the office for an extended period of time. Keep a small spray bottle or watering can in your cubicle to help remind you to water your plant. It is usually not possible to keep a communal office temperature at a level ideal for everyone. You will work most efficiently if you are neither too cold or too warm at work. Plan ahead by keeping a small desktop fan and a small floor heater in your cubicle in case you need them. Always check with a supervisor first before using a heater. The company may prohibit personal heaters for reasons of employee safety. Do not use a fan or heater that creates excessive noise, as this may be disruptive to your coworkers. If your heater has a timer, set it to turn off when your workday ends. This will eliminate the likelihood that you forget to turn it off when you leave for the day, which could pose a fire hazard. If your company-supplied desk chair is uncomfortable or broken, ask your supervisor if you can have it replaced. If the chair your company is willing to provide is unsatisfactory, look into buying your own. Sitting down all day can be tough on the body, and your productivity will increase if you are at least working from a comfortable chair. If your company will not replace your chair and you cannot afford to buy one, look into accessories that may improve your comfort level. This could include a lumbar support pillow, arm rest pads, a seat cushion, etc. If you purchase your own chair for use at work, be sure to keep the receipt so there is no confusion as to its ownership. You may also want to mark the chair or label it with your name. If your work desk has enough space to do so, you may wish to consider adding an adjustable desktop stand. These allow a portion of your desktop to be raised to standing height so you don't have to sit down to work at your computer. Having the option to stand while working can help you avoid the health hazards of sitting too much while at work. Make sure this accessory will work for your cubicle space. These are large items that may be too big to sit on your current desk. Make sure you are not put in an awkward physical position by standing in your cubicle. For instance, you may not be comfortable having your head visible over the top of your cubicle walls while you stand to work. Check with your supervisor or company IT professional to make sure it is okay to set your computer monitor and keyboard on a moving structure, as this creates the risk that company equipment could be damaged if your standing desktop were to malfunction or fall.

Summary: Bring in a small plant or tree. Bring in a small fan and heater. Replace your desk chair. Consider acquiring a standing desktop.

Colds tend to come on gradually. You will start sniffling for a few days and then symptoms will become more severe. The flu, however, can rapidly cause a fever. You may go to bed feeling fine and wake up very sick. Have you noticed any changes in appetite? With a cold, you will still want food. Your eating habits will only change slightly, if at all. With the flu, however, you may notice you're uninterested in food altogether. You may have no desire to eat while symptoms persist. Both the cold and the flu are contagious diseases. Think about any sick people you've been exposed to and whether they had a cold or the flu. Cold symptoms are most contagious during the earliest stages of infection, when the disease is less severe. If you were recently around someone who was experiencing mild sniffling or sneezing, you may have a cold. Flu symptoms typically appear two or three days after you were exposed to the virus, but it can take anywhere from one to seven days.
Summary: Consider how fast symptoms started. Look at your eating habits. Think about risk factors.