well, i've managed to sit down tonight and work for 2hours, feeling pretty shattered now though! :( been reading and refamiliarising myself with what i have previously done! looking over my introduction I am still happy with the last 3/4 that i'd done most recently, however some of the older work may need a bit of rewriting! :( I have also managed to go through my pubmed searches and get some new papers that are significant from last few months so that feels good!

I know that science and social science dissertations are very different - i guess every individual one is! however, my introduction/lit review is 50 pages, approx 12,000 words, does this seem short for lit review? i will have 5 research chapters on different elements of my work, some short, some longer! i guess in back of my head I always remember hearing a thesis is around 100,000 words, however with my lit review being on 10% of that, and although chapters will be long in space, alot will be figures. Does this seem reasonable to you folks? my sup seems happy with intro as it stands, and they do say shouldnt be much longer than 200-250 pages?

possibly fretting over nothing, but just musing...! thoughts welcome!

well, that leaves me with organising papers and starting on TMC presentation for next week. If i can get them done i have met all my targets for this first week back, and i have tomorrow night and all weekend! better also get some aims for next week decided on! (they'll probably come when i organise papers and find all the reading i've been hiding from :$)

Hope you've all had a good day, or Sue you've had a good sleep! :)

Hey Bilbo, hope you feel better for some rest! wow, must be so good to see it in its final stage, with all the little extra pages too! CAN NOT WAIT to be there! the end is in sight for us all, i'm just feeling a little short sighted at the moment (or is that long sighted - my brain is tired today!)

In from work and really should get some reading done, but its snowing outside and i just want to curl up with hot chocolate and a book - keep telling myself its ok, just need to slowly get myself back into it! however, i think this is bad of me and I should just get on with it before a month has gone by!!! how pathetic on my first day, maybe i'm just not up to this afterall?

poppy and Dr Seeker - i feel the same, maybe that is half the problem, but i dont' have the panic i need to just get on with it all!!

CG - is that the thing were you spend 25mins with the sound of a timer ticking down and then quick break and back to it? I really like the theory of it, but when i hear timers i usually just freak out about what time i have and my brain freezes! does that get better over time? maybe i should try it, if i could just do 3 or 4 tomatoes or night i'd be happy with my progress over time i guess?

MODS MODS MODS MODS MODS MODS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Sue, yeah I know the feeling! I was thinking today about how i'd just started to get into a good stride, working at home on thesis and being motivated, excited by the reading I was doing and feeling it all come into place! and then i had to give it all up to start work! (which of course was also good)! but its definately tough doing both!

I guess we just have to think of the pluses - extra money for security while doing the writing! Also I guess we get a bit of variety, and see people of the outside world! :)

Yes, not sure about this manboobs person! sometimes we seem to get some normal advice etc on threads and then the rubbish spews from his fingers....maybe he's just got his own form of craziness (i'm sure i have mine...!) :) MODS we need help!

Hope if you're working tonight you have a successful few hours at the desk!

Wow, i've made my first start, maybe have a read over some chapters and have a free evening with a glass of wine as first day rewards....!
:p

Hi KC,

I know exactly how you feel, i work exactly the same and sometimes feel that it may be detrimental. However, I doubt it would be possible to read everything thoroughly and store all the information - either that or i just have a really small brain capacity compared with many academics (which i often feel may be the case :$)

I have no words of wisdom for you, but am interested to find out what others say!

HI Sue, its actually good to be back on here! although i'm only just up and about, enjoying fictional reading too much...! :$ Therefore a bit disappointing of me for my first day back at the thesis! oops! but i'll build myself up gradually! (that sounds like such an excuse!)

Really glad to have someone on teh same timescale as me, especially as we'll be evening and weekend folks together! I am feeling settled into new job, glad i took the time to relax and get to know it, feel now i can start 2010 knowing what i'm doing and comfortable with the people i work with (which is a big thing for me).
have you started back at office job this week? hope you're not finding it too daunting too? i'm going to try and keep thinking about the positive, exciting aspect of graduation!!

:p

======= Date Modified 04 Jan 2010 14:46:14 =======
well done Bilbo! you're almost there! how exciting!! Well, that's me back on the radar, no more "taking a wee break til January", its now stupid, cold, snowy January and time to get the piles of papers back out! So Hello Everyone, i'm back and determined to be submitting in around 6 months....final submission date is September, but would love to get a summer this year for first time in forever!
So here goes to many evenings and weekends spent at my dining table (which is no longer for dining :-s)

plan for this week:
-Sort out the piles of papers etc and get into some kind of order - which I never seem to be able to do...any suggestions welcome!
-Finish putting together final report for funding body - VERY IMPORTANT, should have been in by xmas:$
-Read over intro and other chapters written so far and refamiliarise myself
-Make list of checkpoints to get to and when and breakdown exactly what I need to do DONE
-Email supervisor and let him know i haven't dropped off the planet, give him my 6month plan and organise meeting DONE

Also have monitoring committee next week so need to start thinking about that!

AAAAHHHHHHHH! feels good to get all that out of my head and typed out! now that its written on here maybe i will be more determined to actually succeed and get a DONE written next to them all! (as a fabulous Dr once did :)!)

I'm actually pretty scared, even though it's only been two months it seems forever since i looked at it all, i feel like half the information has just fallen out of my head!!! and the thought of being motivated every night to come home from work and work all night on this and on the weekends is pretty daunting! but on the otherhand, the IDEA of being so good and doing it and seeing myself progress, submit and finish is very exciting!!!

Lets hope together we can all do this! I'll probably see a few of you on the nocturnal workers thread too....!
right, i'm off to bed, for one last early night with a nice FICTIONAL book, ready to get up tomorrow and sit down to the desk all day! (up)(up)

yes, you are right, i'll shall keep completely schtum and enjoy my good fortune! 8-)

I shall, now that i've have received my luck however, put it on the midnight express with first class delivery and send it on to you and Wal! I hope you have a good night and i'm sure it will all be worth it.
Proud of you all working so hard, i'm feeling a complete lack of motivation, so tired, just want the quiet life for a month and then must crack on - however the dreich weather is driving me insane, why can't humans hibernate??? Actually is there a thesis right there? I could be the experiment! ;-)

Thinking of you!

Hi Teek, good to hear from you? Hows things going for you, hope all is in harmony in your world too! I'm actually pretty surprised, but I did have quite a bit of hassle actually getting the new laptop, but at least like you say i'd backed up! I'm sure in the usual topsy turvyness of this world, that was my one bit of really good luck in the last while and now something horrible will happen....:-s

sorry not sure why this posted twice! it wasn't me....?

hello everyone! Seems forever since I was on here however i've had major saga's!! a few weeks ago while enjoying a chinese and South Park, i'm knocked my OJ all over my lovely macbook! :( 3 days of drying etc lead to nothing and it was totally fried! got death certificate but due to flooding etc had to wait for insurance company to find time to process claim! total mayhem between them, another company and curries, but finally today I got a brand new macbook :) very annoying as i could have got a nice 800quid to spend in curries but my thesis is all in mac office and compatability for styles is rubbish so decided to save the hassle and get another one! although now it has arrived i'm in love again already and for the price of my excess have another very good, hopefully sturdy laptop (minus the orange juice!)

You can all breath though, luckily I had just done a massive back up and had my whole thesis and associated files on network storage and email! 8-)

Anyway, just wanted to say hello and remind everyone that laptops don't like juice!! :( BACKUP BACKUP BACKUP!!!!
I have just finished my college lecturing, it was great but glad to be finished as now I can get stuck into one full time job! going to concentrate on that for this month and then in January the writing starts up again big time! Very scary at the moment as seem to get email every week from uni telling me someone else from my induction year of PhD is getting viva'd, and i'm no where near! oh well, i'm thankful to have a job, even a low paid one!

Anyway, hope everyone is doing well and not too stressed in this yucky season of cold and dark - i have winter blues and can feel my SAD getting worse every week, but trying to just not think about it and keep busy. I think if I had lost all my thesis with the laptop breakage though i would have taken to my bed and not been up for a while - also possibly would have made me want to give up and not bother with submission etc! so remember to keep multiple back ups, I think email is probably the best as likelihood of losing it is VERY VERY slim!

I seem to be rambling so i'm off to finish customising laptop and setting everything up!
Cheers (up)

i'm going for full blown homemade prezzies this year! never had the time before but fed up of money making Christmas racket and think its much more personal!
my mother in law is awful to get stuff for, so i'm making her a hamper - really fast and simple, buy a wicker basket and put tissue in bottom, then buy/make some gifts! i'm including a nice new picture of me and her son that she's wanted for ages, some nice coffee, bag of hot choc, mini marshmallows (just nice things she loves!), some biccies and chocs and anything else i might come across that she'd like! then buy some ribbons and cellophane off ebay and hey presto one gift done! and if you do for more than one person then works out even cheaper cos can buy/bake in bulk! i'm very impressed with my present idea, however we'll wait til boxing day to find out if it was a complete flop - back up plan is a nice scarf!! :)

I really don't get people who don't like home made stuff! i made my dad a xmas card afew years ago and it looked awful, like something a 5year old had made (i'm not very arty), but he loved it and was like a proud daddy who would treasure it forever! On the other hand my sister and I made a lovely card for my mother (who is a strange woman i don't associate with much), and she just turned her nose up at it!

hmmm.... :-)

ooh, hope you get a lovely walk Sue, some nice fresh morning air, fresh clean and tidy study too, sounds perfect! I bought some gorgeous yellow crysanths yesterday, they're sat on my desk and really brightening up my mood! :) I bet you're glad the brighter weather has reached you, its yucky and grey here and I can already feel my SAD hitting in.

I hope the post finds some great advice, i'm afraid I have none, my writing style isn't the best but its passable I think? my boss does make changes but nothng too major these days, although I think alot of it has just been practice of writing and re writing and trying to write as many articles as possible. like you say I think its one of those things taht just over time you fall into. I used to be told my writing was like 'spaghetti on a plate' so hopefully i have improved from there :$

yes, funding report does need doing this month, luckily i've been doing them 6monthly so matter of taking template and just reporting on what i've managed to complete over last months. I think what scared me is that there are somethings I havent done either due to technical issues or major time constraints, so going to have to explain all this to them :(

Right, off to sort my washing out, and get a hot water bottle. Good luck for your day or night hours! (up)

oooooh! thank you so much Walminski! I am now a very happy bunny, as they say, simple things and all that.... ;-) I will also top up your stars whenever I may get the chance! :)