Yes I thought that everyone had at least two supervisors now - everyone I know does!

I am on for joining forces, most definitely! If anyone is interested there is a great website called traineo.com - you can enter in your diet and exercise details every day and you can pick other people to be your 'motivators' - they keep an eye on your progress! I've been using it for a few months but I don't have anyone to motivate me cos I don't know anyone else on it!!!

Also, this might help... During that whole period of 'non-motivation' I spent a lot of time looking back and berating myself for how little I'd done. I eventually realised that this is pointless. As I like to say 'draw a line under it'... Ok things haven't been going great but just forget it and move on. Try to look forward instead and think of even one thing that can move things along a bit - and then just do it!

And the next time you have a bad day or week - like me this week unfortunately - just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and promise yourself that next week will be better Sorry if that is some cheesy advice but it works for me lol

Longest would be about 9 months - eek!!! Basically I transferred in March 07 and from then onwards was completely lost - I didn't manage to really get it together until around last Christmas and now I am (fairly!) motivated again.

I didn't actually stop working at any point - I just crawled along at a snail's pace because I really, really, REALLY didn't like what I was doing. I am still doing the same thing but I have sort of set it in a slightly different perspective - both in my head and in my thesis - which helped a lot.

Also, around last October or November I thought about leaving but decided to stay, rather than throw away two years work - so there is no point in going over that decision again and again - I have decided to stay and now it is just a matter of getting on with things, which is kind of motivating... most of the time!!!

I think that a lot of people go through this, maybe even the majority - so don't worry too much about it!

Ah I know how this feels - even other PhD students do this to me!!! Like if I come back into college after working at home for a day, they'll say 'Did you have a nice day off?' Grrr... I'm convinced this is just an 'undermining' tactic - but that's a whole other thread

As for friends and family, they always ALWAYS ask - every Easter, every Christmas, every Summer - "Are you looking forward to your 2 weeks/1 month/entire summer off?" And I'm like "How many times do I have to tell you - we work ALL YEAR ROUND!!!!!!" I feel like I should get it tattooed on my head or something "I only get 2 weeks holidays a year - so stop asking me".

Anyway, rant over

I think that if you took an hour out of your schedule every day for exercise it would be an hour well spent - and certainly nothing to feel guilty about! In fact if you do more exercise you will probably have more energy and be more focussed on work - thus saving an hour a day anyway!

The gym can be very boring sometimes though - maybe you should try to find something you enjoy more! Like some kind of class... Or try going outside walking/running too, it will break up the monotony of just going to the gym all the time

As for the weight thing, just ignore it! I have completely stopped looking at the scales - it only has a negative impact on me I think that if you eat right and exercise every day then you will eventually reach whatever weight you are supposed to be.

Good luck

Thanks verdy

Here's a great quote for the day...

"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go" T.S. Eliot

Whenever I go to a conference all my friends and family say "you're going on holidays AGAIN?!?" Bless

@ spacey... Yes I have felt like that, many times - you are most certainly not alone! My entire second year was a disaster and I really considered leaving around that time. But then I realised that I would be throwing away a great opportunity (and 2 years of work!!!) so I reconsidered. I think I would always look back and think 'if only I'd tried a bit harder and stuck it out'. I still have next to no confidence about my work though so I can't really give advice on how to overcome that But I think I would rather try and fail than not try at all.

@ verdy, that is inspiring!!! I have serious doubts as to whether I will ever finish at the moment... but I have resigned myself to keep going and try to make just a little bit of progress every day and maybe I will get there eventually! If not at least I can say I tried and it wasn't a wasted opportunity...

Did you ever start to feel (I mean during your PhD) that you were 'getting there' and that you would be successful in the end? And if so, at what stage... just curious!!! I am in my third year now and I still don't feel I am anywhere near the finish line...

Oh yay I'm not the only one!!! Why do you think that is??? I've never been able to figure it out...

On the 50-hour weeks thing... I know that lots of people will tell you that they are working that amount of hours but I wouldn't be convinced that they are actually *working* all of that time. There are several people in our postgrad area who are there for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week but that's because they spend all their time chatting and going back and forth to the canteen - yet of course they would tell you that they work 60 hours a week.

I know obviously there are times when a lot more hours need to be put in - when you have deadlines and so on - and I'm thinking that the final few months will be permanent 'deadline mode' - but on a long-term basis I think that productivity and hours are not necessarily the same thing.

I agree that hours don't have very much to do with actual progress... I often find that if I just put the head down I can do something in 2 hours that might have taken double that time if I hadn't been as focused.

I have been trying to use that as an incentive to motivate myself lately... i.e. write 500 words and as soon as you're done you can go home/go to the gym/whatever. It seems to help! I am probably working less hours but I am getting a lot more done. Like you I am not based in a lab so it is probably easier to be flexible...

Also, yes I do tend to think a lot about my research when I am not specifically working - particularly in the shower how weird is that lol!!! But it definitely helps because you might have new ideas by the time you get back to work...

I'm sorry to tell you, but I agree with the others - you should buy a new book...

If you go with option B he will probably know what you are trying to do (i.e. hope that he won't make you buy a new one) and that's not a good position to put him in.

Sorry

Just read this thread for the first time... I have to say all of this is just lost on me. Maybe there is not as much of a distinction here as there is in the UK because I haven't noticed much of this type of snobbery (I don't mean that in a bad way but I couldn't think of a better word for it!!!) over here... or maybe I'm just blissfully unaware! I thought that the PhD was a standard qualification - so a PhD is a PhD no matter where it's from??? Either way, I am with the posters who said that the main concern is just getting one... full stop!!!