I'm part way through my second year and I'm thinking of leaving. My research isn't progressing, I'm feeling very down and I'm wondering if this is for me. My parents have told me I'd be stupid to quit and that in the current economic climate I stand next to no chance of finding work. They say I'm daydreaming if I expect any job to be without its problems. But I don't think I do expect that. I think I want something fulfilling which doesn't mean no problems but does mean that I don't feel this anxious, aimless, and generally fed up.
Am I going to be making a big mistake? Will I be a social and economic pariah if I take an MPhil instead? :-(

Yes - I think once again I have been too ambitious or too lazy. :-(
Have been very fuzzy-headed as well which isn't helping.
What have I done? I sorted out the sup meeting; found out a number of key dates that will help with my work plan (i.e. upgrade deadlines, conference paper deadlines); wrote down a couple of ideas for that first chapter (really very basic - I'm quite disappointed I haven't got further); and sorted out the admin. And got the Christmas tree!
Basically, all the jobs except the proper work jobs got done. Funny, that!
Will try and do a bit more today, though I have promised my housemate we will watch Love Actually and decorate the tree. I'm sure that'll cheer me up, though I'm not sure I deserve it.
Maggie - you sound like you're doing really well. Working in bed - ideal at this freezing time of year!

Hi Maggie, Hi Sneaks
Sounds like you've been busy. That weekend working sounds hardcore Maggie! I was away all weekend doing nice family stuff, but unfortunately have come back with a horrid cold! Really sluggish this morning (yuck - what a horrible word). Last Friday was fine though, so trying to keep the momentum going.
Aims for today: (1) Sort out a date and time for my next supervision meeting (2) Start developing my thesis plan into a plan of work for the next 6-9 months in preparation for supervision meeting (3) Plan section of 1st chapter to (fingers crossed, though its seems quite unlikely this will happen) be drafted this week (4) Sort out some admin related to my students' assignments which are going to be given back today (5) Go and pick up my Christmas tree!
Can you see which one is the treat? Yes - the lovely, lovely admin.
;-)

Hi Maggie, Hi Sneaks
Sounds like you've been busy. That weekend working sounds hardcore Maggie! I was away all weekend doing nice family stuff, but unfortunately have come back with a horrid cold! Really sluggish this morning (yuck - what a horrible word). Last Friday was fine though, so trying to keep the momentum going.
Aims for today: (1) Sort out a date and time for my next supervision meeting (2) Start developing my thesis plan into a plan of work for the next 6-9 months in preparation for supervision meeting (3) Plan section of 1st chapter to (fingers crossed, though its seems quite unlikely this will happen) be drafted this week (4) Sort out some admin related to my students' assignments which are going to be given back today (5) Go and pick up my Christmas tree!
Can you see which one is the treat? Yes - the lovely, lovely admin.
;-)

Good luck Maggie - hope you are managing to avoid the lure of the internet! (Just realised that the irony of posting this comment on the forum. Oh well.)
I reached a compromise with myself yesterday (largely thanks to my boyfriend's encouragement). I did 2 hours work and got through quite a bit of reading, then went into town and did some proper Christmas shopping.
Today I managed to get up bright and early and be at uni at my desk by 9.30. I had a slightly unrealistic target today of dealing with 3 critical essays - I have actually only made thorough notes on one so far! Does anyone else get this wildly overambitious? And is it okay to feel okay about this, because I have at least understood the one essay I have done really well?
This afternoon - a few points to follow up for teaching and I'll aim to make thorough notes on one more essay.
Have a train to catch at 5pm which at least gives me a definite deadline!

This sounds like a great idea! Have often thought how useful the accountability thread looks, but as I am not writing up yet it didn't seem quite the right place to post.
I'm a second year doing interdisciplinary work (Theology and English). So far I have 40 000 words ish of draft ideas and thoughts, some of which will get transformed into bits of chapters and some of which won't. Submitted 5 000 words of something that is a bit more than a draft for the first chapter at my last supervision. Also, now have overall thesis plan. Hooray!
Going through a very rough period workwise though (have been since August). I've been quite down and very slow - and today is a prime example! Haven't done anything yet except a bit of Christmas shopping on the internet and feel especially guilty because I know that I will be busy this weekend and the following weekend with family commitments and so won't have time to catch up then. Can't decide whether I should just try and do an hour today, or write the day off and start afresh tomorrow. Really not in the mood to concentrate.:-(

Yes! - Hi Gery. Am doing a PhD in theology and happy to discuss whatever's on your mind.

I feel like I have produced nothing worthwhile for my PhD in the last two months. I haven't submitted anything to my supervisors in that time. I've met with one of them once to discuss how worried I am. The worry doesn't seem to go away. I cry when I wake up with the thought of how lost I am. Bizarrely I love my subject and I love the idea of researching it - I just don't seem to be able to do it.
I keep taking time off so that I can calm myself down, but I can't do that forever!
I feel sad and lost and I don't know what to do. Have I left it too long to fix this? :-(

I don't agree with this - though it might be different in different fields. Whilst I was doing my MA in my department, we had some sort of "introduction to academia" sections for those interested in going on to do PhD. Here book reviews were highlighted by senior lecturers and the head of department as a good way to start publishing. It gets your name out there, it helps make a contact with editors to whom you might submit articles in the future, it requires you to practice critical skills that are going to be important to your PhD and your future career in academia if you choose to pursue it. Long into their academic careers, senior people keep doing book reviews. The difference is they do them for increasingly prestigious journals, and they can be more forthright in giving their opinion. When you start out you are not going to get the chance to do a long review in the top journal in your field where you completely take apart the most exciting work to emerge in the last decade - leave that for post-PhD! Nor, however, should you settle for simply and blandly summarizing books you are not interested in, in journals that only five or six people will ever read. So, I think go for it. But assess first - (1) how important is this journal? (2) will I get a chance to read a book that is interesting and relevant to me? (3) will I get a free copy of said interesting and exciting book which normally costs £65 (the price of the last book I reviewed!) Don't spend longer on it than the answers to those questions indicate you should.
Finally, although opportunities to publish, even book reviews, don't grow on trees there will be other chances. If you decide to concentrate on getting your head round your PhD for now don't feel you have missed out forever.

Bellaz - I completely agree with Shani. I'm so sorry that you've had this difficult time, but as long as you let the fear and the guilt take hold of you you won't be giving yourself a chance to get back on the PhD horse! (What a terrible metaphor!) I too have just had a "blip" which lasted 6 weeks. I got to the point where I just wanted to stay in bed all day, hoping that the PhD would miraculously write itself. Yesterday I went to see my sup and told him I was having a panic. We went through my ideas so far in a way that helped to remind me what I have done and what my ethos and motivation are. (My sup gave the helpful piece of advice - stop thinking about whether this is going to be a PhD that the examiners will like, and start thinking about whether you are going to write something important that you believe in. 9 times out of 10 if you are doing the latter you are a fair way towards doing the former as well).
Today I'm back to it with small targets, working slowly, allowing myself to take time to get back into the swing. Have read one essay today by the author I am studying and am making notes on it. Hopefully will complete before lunch and do one other thing this afternoon.
Give yourself a break - not from work, but from the mental treadmill of guilt and self-deprecation. Very best wishes. :-)

BOOK

Just come back from a week away with high hopes of feeling refreshed in reinvigorated. Instead, this is week is turning out really badly. I don't know where it's come from but I just feel so depressed and alienated from my work. I did nothing yesterday or the day before and today I have spent 2 and half hours trying to produce a thesis outline and I've got nothing! My question is, how do people get themselves back into the swing of things when they feel like this?
Also, I'll be starting my second year in Oct - I've done around 30 000 words in the form of short essays on a variety of topics (it's an arts PhD) + given one seminar paper and one conference paper. Does this sound on track? I think I'd feel better if I knew that this year had gone okay overall.:-(

I didn't think this merited a thread of its own but I am so happy I wanted to share it and this seems like the best place!
I actually met a target! I have this work plan for the summer and it didn't seem to be going too well, but I'm going away with some friends next week and I had a target to get a chunk of a new chapter to my supervisor by today. Just about to zap off 5 000 brand new words to him! Hurray! :)

Alternatively, you could try this ruthless exercise: take a piece of paper, write at the top of it 'What is wrong with my PhD?' then bullet point all the problems you can think of. Hopefully you will see that there are fewer than you thought, that some of them are about your perception, rather than concrete problems, and that many of them are soluble. This would be better than thinking that everything's wrong with it and that there's nothing good in it.
This can be a bit scary to start with though!

Hi - Sounds like you have a case of "imposter syndrome". I suffered with that in my first degree and the same feelings come back every now and again. When it comes to what other people say to you about your potential, your strengths and your work, you think that 'if they only knew the truth' then they would quickly change their minds. This feeling comes out of being so close to your work and so self-critical that you can't see the good points that those on the outside do see. I know you're busy but can you take a couple of days and try to distance yourself from work. Might help you to see it more clearly?