CC and PC_Geek that is most certainly good news!!! I am already in Year 3 so I am already resigned to the fact that there is going to be a Year 4! It is good to know that there may be hope for me yet

Yaaaayyyyy!!!!! Thanks procrastinator, that is nice to hear

While we are on the topic, any advice on how you did it?

Ooh just looked up 'Procrastinators Anonymous' - it is real! Sorry if I offended anyone...

I don't think I have a problem with 'compulsive procrastination'... I am the opposite in all other areas of my life - I tend to be very 'get up and go' actually!!! So you can probably tell a lack of interest in my research may be the problem...

Procrastinators anonymous... is that a real thing??? Hehehe... No I haven't tried that, or hypnosis or the like...

I am better than I used to be - now I break big tasks into little tasks which makes it seem more achievable - but I still have days where I would rather stick pins in my eyes than think about my PhD

Anyway, just want to know if someone like me could ever succeed!!!

Ok, I have a question that I am almost afraid to ask...

I know, from reading this forum and talking to others, that a lot of PhD students have problems with self-motivation and that they often end up procrastinating and not making much progress from day to day. This has reassured me that I am not the only one with these problems - but my worry is... none of the self-confessed procrastinators that I have spoken to actually HAVE their PhDs yet.

So my question is this... Is there anybody out there who had problems with motivation and working consistently during their PhD, but who successfully completed in the end??? Please, please, PLEASE let there be somebody?!?!? It would be very reassuring...

Thanks :-)

Sounds like a wind up to me!!! Think you're writing yourself a little Mills & Boon novel there, Ziggy... SPSS = Soft Porn, Sexy Stats

I can't imagine that this is serious, but if it is... that is pretty stupid!!! Drinking wine and cavorting with colleagues - in work??? Isn't that what pubs are for???

I guess you are doing a Masters and not a PhD? Because I didn't think that most research masters or PhD students got marks... just feedback.

God I miss getting grades, life was soooo much simpler back then!!!

I second that Jayney, exercise is a great stress reliever

I know it can slide down the list of priorities when you are busy so you have to make the time for it... Could you get up an hour earlier maybe? Morning is the best time to do it (or so some people say!) because it kick-starts your metabolism so you are burning more calories all day long!

Grrrr... I hate that attitude too!!!

I can think of one particular fellow postgrad who "works 16 hours a day" and says that "the PhD must take over your entire life - or else you don't stand a chance"... ummmm right... How come this person is now in their SIXTH year??? Obviously working 16 hour days hasn't worked out too well for them lol

I think this is the second time that you have posted about number of hours worked Graham? Maybe you are a bit too hung up on it... if you think you have done enough work to achieve whatever you wanted for the day then I reckon that is enough hours!!! It's kind of like asking "how long is a piece of string" really

My funding body says that if you withdraw before the 3 years is up they will examine the amount of work done and see whether you have to pay back some of your funding. They see if you have been dossing for 3 years basically! This thought terrifies me, and has actually been my main reason for not quitting on occasion!!!

I don't know if they could make you pay it back once your initial funding was up though? Or do they still keep checking up on you (I mean even when your funding has ended) to see whether you have successfully completed?

Sorry I am not much help Ms1981 but I don't know too much about it myself

Before I transferred to PhD I used to meet my main supervisor once a week - and she would contact me often in between to add more work or 'see how I was getting on'. I found it totally overbearing...

Once I transferred my second sup became my main sup (and vice versa) - he is extrememly busy so we only meet sporadically. It might average out at once a month, but even at that we only ever meet for 10/15 minutes over coffee, so they don't feel like 'official' meetings (to me anyway).

So I have gone from one extreme to the other - I think a happy medium would probably be best!!! But you don't always get what you wish for...

I agree completely trillian - and that is what rjb is saying on his other thread too... If it's not doom and gloom then people around here just don't want to hear it! I think Jola's blog is like a ray of sunshine

Yes I have noticed! I feel like I have been attacked on several occasions when I tried to make positive comments...

These days I mostly just have a quick look through threads, as the majority seem to be a big ol' source of doom and gloom - not something I need more of on a daily basis!!!

Well I didn't say they were necessarily great quality

I definitely think, as others have said, that editing, PMs, longer posts, being able to quote other posts and being able to see all posts as you are posting a reply would be great!

Also, it would be good if the 'off-topics' section appeared in the 'latest messages' section... as jouri said people overlook this section and it is a pity!

Finally some basic text-editing functions (e.g. bold, italics) when replying to a thread would be nice!