No one around?

I've not been around this thread in ages but feel it'll help me today. I've got the day off work to do some revising...

Have a productive day!

You're not that far out. Could you ask a very nice friend to have a read through and see if they can think of anything else you could add/expand on?

How many chapters have you got? How long are they?

Will do Sneaks. The dog is bored by my feet anyway so I'm sure she'll appreciate the sound of my voice :)

Hi Emmaki,

As the others have said, try not too stress too much about word length and focus on quality. I aimed for 10,000 chapters but one in particular has over 12,000 and another just over 7,000. Just remember that guidelines are just that, guidelines. The content is so much more important!

How many words do you think you'll be getting?

Hi Maria,

Thanks for that! I've just checked it and I've watched that video already ;) good video though, very helpful and definitely a good tip for anyone who hasn't watched it yet!

Thanks Dalmation. Thats an excellent idea but unfortunately I haven't got anyone who could help me. I moved away a few months ago and I don't know anyone in my field around here.

I had a mock viva a few months ago so I have that to look at. I'll be talking to sups regularly as well till viva so they can help me with potential questions and answers.

I know that I'll do my bestest ever, it's very likely I'll pass, that I know more than my examiners, etc but still... it's a viva!!!

I need a chill pill. Maybe I should just stop for today and start again tomorrow....

Thank you all for your support. I'm finding difficult to find to motivate myself as I've read the thesis so many times already that it all sounds boring and obvious to me :( - I know it isn't either, maybe I've read it too many times.

Anyway, I'm working M-F 9-5 and they won't give me any time off to revise so every minute counts. It's Saturday night and I'm going back in time thinking about everything I've done and why I chose to do what I did. It beats reading the thesis once again ;)

Thanks, Dunni, I've got Bilbo's 5 areas written down, they're next on my to do list :)

Sorry phdviva, but I can't risk reading any stories in case they're horror ones. that would so put me right off...

Sneaks, I know what you mean about the 'you'll be fine', I'm getting that quite a lot. I don't think people really appreciate how big and nerve wracking a viva is. I'm not good at interviews at the best of times so an oral exam is not ideal for me really. Thanks for the advice! I hope all is well with your new job and the new place:) btw, you did really well on yours, I see no fool ;)

Sorry, no luck here. Anyone else??

Thank you for the support Linda and Ady!

I'm excited at the prospect of finally finishing but also slightly scared at the possible outcomes. Reading my thesis has been helping though as I'm realising that, although there are a few things I'd already forgotten, the bulk of it is still there. I'm planning on doing a decision making tree sort of thing to help me with defending my decisions. I know that everything I did had a rationale behind it so I'll just have to remember it all.

Hi guys,

I just want to scream right now. Having submitted mid-Oct last year, I've finally been given a viva date, in just over 2 weeks time.

Great news but... not so great considering I haven't been revising as much as I should have. All hands on deck for the next 2 weeks now! I shall have no life but it'll all be worth it!

Hi Splendins,

I'm sorry to hear that things aren't going to well your end. I think it's easy to lose track of the phd journey sometimes. At the end of the day, 3 years is a long time and things are bound to go wrong in that time regardless of how much planning has been made so try not to let this put you down.

I know it's easier said than done but the journey is full of ups and downs and the horrible times are bound to affect us at some level. I can safely say that many of us have had our problems during the phd, have doubted ourselves, felt like quitting, etc. It's all part of the journey and it's allright! It may not feel this way now, but things will move on, and will get better.

It's hard to find the motivation to do things when you don't feel able yourself but taking small steps can help. It doesn't really matter how small these steps are when things are not that great as any step forward is a step in the right direction! So keep it up! (personally I found the one goal thread helpful)

As for your supervision, I'd probably be looking into providing an update of what things have happened. I appreciate that you have very little data and things haven't been working but could this be an opportunity for you to discuss what's not working, what you've tried and perhaps get some advice and/or discuss some ideas of how to move forward?

Also, whenever things weren't going that great with my work, I'd readjust my Gantt chart and discuss it at supervision to make sure phd was still on track overall as well.

Hope this helps.

Let us know how it goes.

Skig

Thanks Batfink! I hope all is well your end :)

Thank you for the suggestion Slizor. I'm slightly reluctant to tell them that I'm pregnant because I haven't done any real revising so I don't want it too soon. Plus, it'd be difficult to do anyway as the only person who I could approach directly is off sick. The sups are doing what they can (it's in their best interest for me to get through it too!) but there's only so much they can do as well. I'll have to rethink if bump starts getting too big though, but frankly, right now, I can't say that I care much. It's a bit sad as I worked so hard for it, but it's just not a priority right now. I know I won't be able to get a job in my field with the bump, so whether I have it now or in 2 months time, it's all the same. Well, hopefully I'll have revised by then :p

Hi Beth,

Like Delta, I also experienced bullying in a previous job out of academia and I found support from the EAP (employee assistance programme). I'm not sure if your uni offers this, but although EAP is paid by the organisation, it's confidential advice to employees in various topics (e.g. housing, employment) and you may be able to access counselling as well, which personally I found very helpful as I felt more able to deal with the situations.

You can also seek confidential advice from an organisation called acas, they provide confidential information and advice on employment related issues.

http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1864

As Delta says, it'd be helpful to know if you're experiencing bullying as a student or as an employee...

You can also try kalms or any other herbal remedies.

Also, you're saying that you naturally worry about things and expect the worse. So maybe there's something about you acknowledging this and remembering times when the expected catastrophe didn't come true. This way, you can maybe teach your brain that, just because you think or believe in something, it doesn't mean that it's going to happen...

It is normal to feel anxious about the viva though. I think many of us, certainly I for one, have/have had times when we think/have thought we didn't deserve our phd or that we couldn't do it. The reality is that, it's unlikely you'd have arrived at this point if that was true. You've done the work, all you need to do now and talk about it and justify why you took route A rather than B...

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Hello!

Welcome to the forum!

I can see how you may wish to start a family now but, having gone through my phd journey not so long ago and knowing now what it is like to be pregnant now, I certainly I wouldn't like to do both at the same time.

I appreciate that we all have different experiences (although most of us share the feelings of inadequacy at some point!), but whilst there were times when things were pretty easy and everything ran smoothly, when challenges arose, things got really tough. I simply wouldn't like to be pregnant, feeling tired all the time and queasy/sick whilst having to face a deadline and having to force myself to do it.

I don't have kids so I didn't have to deal with any child related issues (eg. childcare, illnesses, etc) but I feel that the demands from my phd were too high and, if I had to choose, I would much prefer to give my child my full attention, rather than keep worrying about my work.

That is not to say that people should do it or that it can't be done, just how I feel about the topic.

On a different note, I hope you have a lovely time on your wedding! Make the most of it and try to enjoy the day as it flies by.