Grumpy's Thesis writing diary

G

Hey everyone. I got quite a bit done on my Background section yesterday. There's just one section that I hadn't written before which I want to add to it today. Then I'm moving on and doing the same thing (addressing the bigger problems) in my methodology section.

@Grumpy, remember that you're still moving forwards with your productive meetings. Ok, it's not writing, but it's all part of the project/process as a whole. So try to be happy that you've done that and the writing will come when you don't have meetings.

Good luck with the work today everyone :)

G

Thanks glowworm! Your advice is always great and very reassuring! Good luck today with your final background section :)

Good luck too to everyone else!

I've completed my first goal already! Abstract submitted - now back to the chapter (going to need another coffee before I get stuck into this!)

G

That's so lovely of you to say, Grumpy! (I feel bad calling you 'Grumpy' all the time, but the only other option is 'Mule' and that doesn't seem much better!) Haha!

;)

Well done on getting goal no.1 done so early in the day. I hope the coffee helped and your chapter is going well.

I've finished all the big work on my background section, including adding in an extra bit I wanted to talk about. So I've achieved today's goal - woop!

Tomorrow I start with the big alterations needed on my methods section, or as I prefer to say: tomorrow I'll be doing meth!

Hope you guys are all having productive days.
G

G

Well done glowworm on reaching your goal yesterday! I hope today is as productive! :) Oh and GrumpyMule was the brand on my coffee cup the day I signed up, so just went with that. Regretting it just slightly now :-P haha

I was in the uni office yesterday and had one distraction after the other, resulting in little writing - again! I did however get many important small jobs done.

Today I have shut myself away - quite literally and ready for a good stint of writing. Goal as always is a modest 500 words on the literature review.

Have a productive day everyone.

GM

G

It's all gone quiet! ;)

How did everyone do last week? Are we still plodding onwards? I hope you're all ok.

I've got a few meetings this week, but only 2 weeks till I have to send my full draft. working on my results chapters for next couple of days. What is everyone else up to?

G

Good luck Glowworm.

I had a last minute request to present a poster at a conference next week and I couldn't turn it down. I tried to finish it over the weekend but it took yesterday in the end to finish. Done now! :)

I want to finish this current chapter tomorrow so goal today is to finish section 2.

Good luck everyone!

A

Hi everyone,

Can I join this thread please? I have to submit a full draft of my thesis by the end of June. I'm a part-time student so I can't work on it every day, but today my goal is to write a draft of my abstract.

G

Good luck AislingB and welcome to the thread!

A

Thank you GrumpyMule! Have a productive day everyone!

S

Hello everyone!

I feel happy seeing everyone progressing steadily. However on the personal front I do not think that the accountability thread does good to me. It creates immense pressure on me if I can not achieve the desired goals which affect my subsequent day performance as well. I am moving ahead but slowly and by documenting my progress I just feel so inadequate. There are some major changes I am doing in my thesis. Nevertheless there are many aspects that need attention at the moment. Anyways no time to talk about it as I can write more in my thesis than crying. But I maintain that daily accountability is not for everyone, at least not for me.

Sorry but I wont be able to contribute any longer in this thread :(

But I would like to wish GOOD LUCK to you all and welcome to AislingB :)

G

I hope things go well for you silverlining. You've got to find what works best for you :)

Welcome Aisling! How did your abstract writing go? And how's your chapter going, GM?

I'm working on big edits to my Discussion and conclusions section today.

Good luck everyone! =D

A

Hi glowworm. I finished a draft of my abstract yesterday and sent it to my supervisor. Also managed a bit of work on my methodology chapter. Good luck with your discussion and conclusion chapter. I wish I had one of those!

Silverlining, I know what you mean about feeling inadequate. I get very disheartened by how slowly my writing is progressing, but in my case I figure it's better to be accountable so at least I have a specific goal to work towards even if I don't always make it.

I'm marking student assignments today but good luck to everyone who is working on their thesis!

S

@ Grumphymule: Yes I am trying to figure out what works and what does not. It is a trial and error

@ AislingB: You are so true however as I mentioned I am doing certain substantial changes in my theses, which means I may have to read new docs to get more insight. This interferes with my daily goals. Though on one hand I understand spending time on reading, which leads to fewer goal achievement I do not seem to accept the fact that I am unable to achieve all goals. I know this is harsh but I am a self critic which affects my performance. On the bright side I have not disowned the possibility to contribute in future but I can not say for sure right now and hence I called for goodbye for the time being.

I hope the thread works best for you all :)

T

Hi GrumpyMule and everyone else too!

I'd like to join this thread too if that's okay - I think I need some accountability at the moment! Things are a bit up and down with my supervisor lately, he swings from saying he thinks everything is going reasonably well to telling me my writing is crap and I won't be ready to submit on time, not great for motivation! But I need to crack on and make progress and you guys are always very supportive so hopefully this thread will really help.

So my goals for today are:
1. Finish experiment that I started yesterday
2. A chunk of my literature review (I'll aim for around 500 words to start with)

Hopefully then I'll start to feel like I'm making progress again - how is everyone else doing?

Tulip

G

Hey Tulip. great to have you here!

I'm *really* struggling today, everyone! :(

I'm trying to finish off adding a few bitty sections to chapters that so far I've only got notes for. It's taking me forever and I'm finding it really hard to concentrate and get motivation. I'm so near and yet so flippin' far! I'm not sure why I'm struggling so much today (and yesterday a bit), but I am.

Anyway, whinge over. I just needed to share.

I hope you guys have a productive day. I must remember the day is not over yet and I can still get loads done =D
Good luck!

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