don't let "waiting for the new keyboard to arrive" be an excuse
I'm planning on not, either in the specific case or in general. (Which is why I went for my precommitment yesterday.)
(In case you're curious, my external keyboard is the one shown at http://www.dx.com/p/convenient-69-key-wireless-bluetooth-folding-keyboard-for-tablet-pc-smartphone-black-303707 ; fits in a pocket, allows full-speed touch-typing.)
available food/drink
I've already got my backpack ready for my first writing-focused trip to the library, come Tuesday: my preferred carbonated water and granola bars (which I should be able to have despite the usual no-food-or-drink policies of that library, as long as I'm reasonably discreet about it). If Soylent 1.4+ ever starts shipping to Canada, I might try that instead.
a comfortable chair
... Oddly enough, about a month ago I started thinking about replacing my current chair with a new one, maybe a recliner. This moves the idea up another notch or three on the priority list.
what is distracting you
At the moment, the main place I have at home where I can set up to write is my living room, in my Sheldon-like spot, where my roommate is usually working on their own projects, and/or listening to the radio and/or watching TV and/or trying to socialize with me and otherwise keep me from entering a flow state. It's infeasible for me to carve out a new workspace within the next few months, so as long as I can go somewhere where I don't have to worry about being talked at and around and with flickering images in my field of view, I should be able to manage. If I had better batteries for my laptop, a park bench would do; I might try that with my phone, just because I've now thought of it. Having excess books around is more of a help than a hindrance (which it should be, as even without the internet, I have several gigabytes of ebooks on my laptop at any given time).
whether the "distance and time to the library" is worth it
I go for miles-long walks daily. Won't be a problem aiming some portion of those walks to and from the library.
Regularly marking time out to do X will help it actually happen.
This has potential. Once I've found out if the library is the best spot, or I pick a different location, I can make it a regular thing.
raising the barrier to starting the internet
Maybe I can fiddle with the laptop's settings, so it doesn't automatically connect to the library's wifi.
so when you come back you can start with writing specifically
An addition - I can have my writing software automatically start when the laptop boots.
If Soylent 1.4+ ever starts shipping to Canada
Hunh. That was fast.
http://blog.soylent.com/post/121573571522/now-shipping-to-canada
Yesterday, I set a personal deadline: If I haven't started writing more "S.I." by Canada Day, then I'm going to start writing up the fast-finish version of the plotline to at least tie up the story and stop having it hanging over me.
Never underestimate the power of precommitment.
Now that I've started thinking in terms of my writing more of SI as a simple fact, I've realized that, due to complicated/personal/private home-life stuff, in order to actually have a reasonable chance of even writing the short ending, I need a new low-distraction work-space, and nowhere in my home is suitable. The most likely candidates are my local public library when it's open (Tue-Sat, 10am-5/6/9pm), and, elsewhen, a particular local coffee-shop with a customer-available power outlet. And, in fact, my not noticing the lack of a suitable low-noise typing location may have induced an ugh field that kept me from even trying to catch up with suggestions and comments to SI even as my depressive episode has waned.
It occurs to me that there may be further options I'm not considering; and that there may even be other aspects to the process of writing which could be hindering my progress. And so, I come here, to inquire of the local hivemind: What advice can you offer?
For example, I currently have two and a half devices to type with: A Thinkpad laptop, an iPhone with a touchscreen keyboard, and an iPhone with a (folding) full-size Bluetooth keyboard. Should I look into some other input device?
Or: Is there some aspect of nutrition or hydration that I should pay more attention to?
Or: How significant is the audio environment? Should I pick a particular soundscape or playlist and hook up the headphones, or would there be minimal effect compared to a library's shuffling or coffeeshop's satellite radio?
Or: Would turning off my connection to the internet, save when I'm looking up some reference, be useful or annoying?