Thanks guys for your lovely & helpful replies - they've helped alot- I've been re-reading them today in my panicky moments and they help to get me back on track. It's funny how much of a difference the kind words of a stranger can make! Lara your game sounds like just the thing to break up the monotony of hours of reading - I think I'll give it a go tomorrow when I'm working from home - I already get funny looks from the guys in the office for carrying around my hot water bottle- throwing a few squats and push-ups in there will probably convince them that I've lost it completely!!

Thanks KeepCalm - it's good to know at least I'm not the only one - I think you're right - I'm already putting pressure on myself to"achieve something" and it's so early on. I guess it just seems hard to know if you're doing ok or are falling behind when there are no deadlines or feedback. So I'm probably panicking and as a result amn't getting anywhere (can't even focus on the paper I'm trying to read and really not taking it in at all). I was planning on working til 10pm but maybe I'll leave at 7 instead and start afresh tomorrow. Hope all is going well for you!

Hi Sue,

thank you for your help - for me now it's 10am the next day (after my worst day ever). So last night I tried to totally swtch off from work - I brought the dog for a long walk- then had a glass of wine with some friends. Unfortunately though I didn't get much sleep so I plan to sleep for an hour now then hopefully get about 10 hours done later. I'm very anxious to make up for yesterday.

I absolutely agree that the conflict with my sups isn't really helping the situation. The problem as I see it 1st off is that they each come from different fields within my discipline and my project is mostly based in one of these fields but will also touch the other. So whilst each of them is an authority in their own fileld, neither of them obviously has an in-depth knowledge about the others. Basically this means that all 3 of us have interpreted the major task which I must complete for my sponsor in a different way and nobody seems to be in a position to make a decision about it. I myself don't feel that I have the knowledge or experience yet to make this decision as it determnes the course of my work and could even totally change the direction of my project. On top of that, I have several other tasks to do which some of my colleagues have pointed out are very big in themselves and could potentially be the basis for an entire PhD by themselves. As these tasks are quite diverse getting to grips with even the basic theory has been quite difficult.

Basically, I am repeating exactly what you have said - it's hard to focus on something if you don't really know what you are trying to get at. Maybe this is normal at this stage (3 months)?? But s it ok to not really have a direction to go in until maybe the 8 or 9 month mark as I estimate it could take that long before I have the necessary knowledge?

I am 3 months into an engineering PhD and have just had my most non-productive day so far (excluding weekends!!!!). I've been up since 7.30am and it's now 4pm and I have read 1 page of 1 paper. I have had the house to myself since 12pm but can't seem to focus at all on work today and now my stomach is in knots with guilt. I think part of the problem is that at the moment my research plan is very vague (my supervisors disagree about the path I should follow and I don't know enough about the area yet to have an opinion). So my reading is very diverse and as yet it's very much surface stuff so far. So I feel like in 3 months I haven't achieved anything or gained any knowledge and I seem to waste so much time worrying about work but not being able to actually do anything. I estimate that I probably only have 2-3 hours per day where I'm actually focused so it seems like I'm wasting so much time. Is this normal or am I heading for trouble? Does it take a while to train yourself to focus? I've been a successful crammer in my academic career to date and so am used to fast results!! Does anyone have tips about how to focus/maintain some sort of self-discipline? Help!!

Thanks for the advice guys. I now have some words down on paper. Well, only 266 and I'm sure that they are awful and they will be totally edited out by the end. But I have only been at it for an hour and have set myself a target of 1500 words in 4 hours time (as I am taking the evening off and going for a drink with a friend). I feel a little bit better now and hope to meet my target.
I'm wondering if I should be really pushing to meet my supervisor at this stage? I've only met him once (1st day) so have no idea if I'm going in the right direction or not. Or is it general practise to have at least a draft written 1st??
Thanks guys, this forum really helps!

OK so 3 months into the PhD, I've read a mountain of papers to figure out what my subject area is all about but have not yet started wrting. Thanks to all the guys who gave suggestions for mind mapping etc. So I've listed about 10 sub-headings about areas that I think at the moment should go into my lit review - I don't really know if they are correct as I have had no contact from my supervisor.
So I guess my question is do I just start writing? And how do you start writing? My leaning is to write an introduction to my topic and a general outline of its importance but that just seems so vague.
How do most people start off? And does it seem so intangible to everyone?

Thanks for the advice guys. The meeting has been cancelled twice so far and she seems to be showing very little interest in my progress so maybe I don't have too much to worry about. As regards managing the papers I've read, I have registered for a endnote course in the next couple of weeks, so hopefully that will simplify things a bit.
Still feeling very overwhelmed by the whole idea of a PhD and find myself already procrastinating. I had intended to start writing my lit review last week as well as some of the tasks I have been asked to complete but somehow it's Sunday and I have made absolutely no progress. So still can't put my finger on anything I have actually done.:-(

Hi Paperdoll,
I'm new to this world too - 2 months in now. Best Of Luck!

Thanks BilboBaggins. I probably could get together a list of what I've been reading pretty quickly. My problem, I think, is that I have 4-5 aims for the project which require me to read papers from very divergent subject areas. As a result, it has been difficult for me so far to get a clear idea of where to even begin with the literarure review. But just to put pen to paper, I think I will try to have a broad outline of what teh lit review might consist of for the next meeting.

Being in the early stages of a PhD (3 months) I wonder if anyone has any advice as to how to gauge your progress? As in, what should I have to show for the time?
My problem is that I have nothing to show and have my 2nd meeting with my supervisor coming soon. I haven't been a bum!! If that's what you suspect. I have been reading alot around my subject but have not started writing? I am just now contemplating a layout for C1.
Will my supervisor be expecting me to have some work produced by now? Or how do I let her know that I have been working?
Any thought welcome...

Thanks Megara- I've been talking to some of her other students and apparently this is just the way she works- they told me 6 months without meeting is not uncommon. On the bright side, I have managed to schedule a meeting pretty soon to "see what I have done"!! This is making me uneasy since I have not "done" anything as such. I have been reading and gathering material but have nothing to show. Should I have started writing by now?? (2.5 months) I do not understnad what she is expecting to "see" at the meeting otherwise.

Good day. I too have a seemingly disinterested supervisor. I'm very early into the process - 3 months approx- but have had only 1 initial meeting with my supervisor. Since then I have been trying to muddle along on my own, trying to get a feel for the background of the subject. I would like some guidance from my supervisor but am reluctant to approach her as I do not have any clear questions to ask other than- what should I have gotten done by now?- Any advice?
I was under the impression, that in the initial stages of PhD, guidance would be available?