Hey All,
Lara- hoe did chapter 5 go? did you manage to rest yourself to some fun , i really admire the number of hours you have been able to consistently able to put in, you deserve a treat anyways!!
Tractorgirl- how was the day, did you manage to finish 7.1 and 7.2 ? do you manage to get some breaks on the weekend?
Armendaf- wow.. how do you mange work and PhD, i did that in my 1st year and was set back by 8-9 months so gave up (still got teaching though) , hope your chapter 3 is coming along ok !!

As for me..it has been quite a disaster, yes i was up until 2.00 am but only completed half of section 3 and 4 ..terrible..i was very restless , and for every 15 minutes i worked i toll 45 minutes break ...seems to be going downhill in 1 day..

today was the worst..didn't get to touch my phd...woke up midday (as usual :$) and had to leave to London to meet a friend who was visiting ...just got back ..

tomorrow isn't looking any better as I have 5 people over for dinner , I do hope to do at least something by afternoon

maybe 10-2 if i can get up...:-(

How do you mange a social life with a PhD ????????....i notice that if i focus too much on my PhD and start refusing invites i feel so isolated and when i start socializing it takes so much of my time , and i feel guilty but being single in the UK means i miss out on family support and feel the need to connect with friends at least ...apologies for the rambling ..its 1.2o am and i am tired...

write more tomorrow but thank you all so much for keeping me from slipping into a 'phd coma' , having your support is such a motivator ....

Hello ,Thanks for the lovely wecome!!

Tractorgirl , good you had a day off, it can be rejuvenating to be out and about in London (as i sometimes realize, there is life outside PhD) ..

Lara good luck with the chapter 5, hope its coming along ok..

As for me, I am off to a late start, must be my excessive zeal in the gym last nite, every bone in my body hurts :-s

I am starting now, at 3.30 Pm

need to finish my report today, 5 sections to write, not so motivated owing to the late start but will try the following...

1st section - by 5.00 pm
2nd- by 8.00 pm
3rd- by 11.00
4th and 5th - 2.00 am

looks like its going to be one long nite but cannot afford to give up ...will atleast try

will report back tomorrow,


good luck everyone else !!!

Dear All,
Just wanted to say a very big thank you for your support for my question yesterday. I followed everyones advice and managed to write 400 words and do about 2 hours work, not bad after 20 days of complete non productivity!! i also went to the gym for an hour and am feeling good..

I dont what I would have done without you guys , I am so happy to have found this group .

i look forward to participating an helping others too..

thanks so very much again.

cheers
meera


p.s more to report tomorrow ..

Dear All,
Just wanted to say a very big thank you for your support for my question yesterday. I followed everyones advice and managed to write 400 words and do about 2 hours work, not bad after 20 days of complete non productivity!! i also went to the gym for an hour and am feeling good..

I dont what I would have done without you guys , I am so happy to have found this group .

i look forward to participating an helping others too..

thanks so very much again.

cheers
meera

p.s more to report tomorrow ..

freelouise1 , Completely connect with what you just said and am also up for being an accountability partner ..I have got to finish my analysis and start writing up but locked in a vicious cycle of stress and non productivity.

I have not passed my viva yet but if you got only 12 weeks of corrections it sounds reasonable to me, one of my colleagues was asked to change his theoretical framework altogether and conduct more field work, was given 6 months, so don't worry , you passed CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Also if you work consistently am sure you can complete the corrections in 12 weeks

I am unable to sleep well as I am stressed about my PhD, as a result I wake up about midday and by the end of the day I feel i have accomplished very little if nothing, i have spent the last 20 days doing this...days and nights merged, into an incessant pattern of stress and non productivity ..

how do I break this vicious cycle ,am i just procrastinating, anyone have similar experiences , any advice is much appreciated.

cheers

I have to complete my PhD by September 2009 (Juggling teaching alongside) . Having just completed my field work , am starting the qualitative analysis, how long do you reckon i would need , ( i understand this is a highly subjective question) but...

Is 3 months (from Oct-Dec) realistic , if i need to set aside at least 9 months for the completion of the various drafts of the thesis and viva.

Any advice on how I could organize and manage this would be very much appreciated as this is stressing me out so much.

thanks a lot

cheers
m