Fm and Wal... Great to hear that others are in a similar position. Excited and nervous all at the one time. Wal...don't panic - the sentences will come. My sup always tells me that it you continue to write something every day then that 'breakthrough' day will come and turn things around! I am a bit nervous about the months ahead though. I have been in a similar position with the same sup before - timetable etc, only to have everything pulled last minute and back to square one - I really, really don't want that to happen this time. It IS going in!!!!! We can do it folks!!:-)

I have returned from a meeting with my supervisor with a detailed timetable for handing in before the dawning of 2011.... He was totally confident that I have more than enough time and that all the groundwork is there - as he says, there's a PhD there - I just need to finish it!! Believe it or not, I'm a bit confused as to how to feel. I'm delighted that there is a definite timescale in place now, with clear targets. However, I'm blinking petrified that the drafts I complete now may not, for some reason or other, hit the mark (we've all had those moments!!) Blinking excited though - a normal life may just be lurking ahead....!! Anyone in a similar position?? All motivators welcome!!!

This is a great site - if only I had come across it several years ago. I'd really appreciate some advice from you guys. After three years F.T. PhD, I moved to P.T. PhD so I could get a job. This happened over 2 years ago now, and I still haven't completed! It really peeved off my supervisor when I took a job. Since then, I have been promoted rapidly and now hold a very stressful position - but, it's the job of my dreams. All the way through my PhD, I aspired for this job and have to nip myself occasionally to remind myself that it's all real!

While it's good that I have my dream career, my PhD is still looming. Feedback from my supervisor seems to be getting more and more random. One minute he says that I am a month away from a hand in, the next minute he says that it's a fail and that I basically have to start again. I am at a stage where I have drafted and re-drafted every chapter at least 5 times (some hitting on 15-20 times) and I feel I am no further forward. Intentions to submit have come and gone and I now have no realistic idea any more how good / bad my work is or how close to completion I really am. Other colleagues have had similar experiences with the same supervisor, but my paranoia is creeping in - maybe it's me? Maybe my work really is crap??

Ideally, I'd give it to someone else to read. BUT, good old politics is at play. Everyone who is anyone is in my supervisor's back pocket. As for the others, it would be suicide for me to approach them. If my supervisor found out, he would do everything in his power to make the PhD experience even worse than it is. Even the HoD is best buddies with him.

I don't know what to do. I am trying hard to write and redraft again and I really want to complete by the end of this year. As I already have the 'dream job', it is only pride that is keeping me ticking. I'm tired and struggling, though I still get the occasional burst of motivation.

Oh, and did I mention that I'm getting married in a few months?!

Sorry for the moan, but all advice / similar experiences would be so, so welcome right now. Thanks everyone.