Hi Asha,

I think because the results dont come through as fast as they could or i get held up or do something wrong my supervisor looks for a way it might have gone wrong - maybe it shows some kind of trust in my intelligance that she automatically thinks it is me not being organised enough, not that i get it wrong so many times so it takes longer....

Lorna xxx

Thanks Dr Jeckyll, that advice is really useful... I think the lack of confidence makes me procrastinate more than, for example, when i started my PhD... I have to remember this year is the final push to finish!

Lornaxxx

Dr Jeckyll,

She suggested filling in an outlook calender instead of a lab-book (as my experiments are very physiology based i dont really use a lab book in the same way as, say, a geneticist - instead i have my calender where i write important notes and i have a notebook i carry with me always to jot things down). I suggested we share a calender so she could imeadietly know what i was doing that day if she wanted to.

Lorna xxx

Hi Everyone,

I'm having a bit of a low point at the moment in my PhD - I'm losing confidence day by day and im not sure how to stop this. One of the main issues i think is how my supervisor sees me and my work. Although everyone else seems to think i work enough and do a lot, she has expressed concerns about my organisation skills and ability to 'get on with it'.

In an attempt to make things better i would like to become more organised in my work (i am a science PhD student). Are there any tips anyone can offer for being more organised?

I have already set up an outlook calender linked with her where i note down what i do in the day and i seem to be constanting making lists and mindmaps of work to do but was wondering if there was anything else which could spur me on and hopefully prove to her i can 'get on with it'?

Thanks for your help,
Lorna xxx

Thanks Skig,

this is really helpful and sometimes it's just nice to be reminded that other people have the same problems and have soldiered through. I am going to spend the rest of the afternoon reading and having a good plan, i know i've tried my hardest, i just need to prove it to them!

xxx

======= Date Modified 13 May 2012 13:17:59 =======
Hi everyone,

I've had a few (4) rough months in my PhD (i am now over half way through my second year) with very little data and things working. I finally have some results but the final result is a lack of motivation and a severe lack of confidence...

I am know quite firm in the belief that my supervisor is wondering why she took me on (i am a crier) and i am faced with a meeting with my other supervisor tomorrow. He is a lot more aggressive and even my primary supervisor has said he will give me a hard time. I am sitting trying to come up with something i can present to him and things i can discuss to keep the meeting moving on but i am scared i am just going to come out of it a broken student and wanting to quit...

any suggestions about preparing for this meeting or upping my confidence in general?

Thanks in advance,
Splendins xxx

Thanks for sharing this zinar7, it really does make me feel better knowing there are other people in the same boat as me and im not having these doubts on my own. I am going to see me supervisor today and i am a bit scared she will throw the book at me, give me a good shake and tell me to get on with it....we'll see...i think the main crux of it is i need to a) work more productively, not just more and b) i need to give myself a bit of a break now and then instead of continuously beating myself up about it....

Lorna xxx

Thanks guys :) I think i just need to take a deep breath and get on with it....sometimes the panic is just paralysing though and i spend time i could be doing useful things just calming myself down...

Am now trying to take my lit review in sections and hopefully this will work a little easier.

Thanks again,

Lorna

Hi all,

I am sure this has been covered somewhere in your extensive forum but i think i just need some current advice or
reassurance....

I am just feeling a bit low about my phd. I still love it but now i am entering my second year i dont feel anymore intelligent than i did when i started. I am having problems with rewriting a literature review for my
confirmation board (i cant seem to start on it) because i dont think it will be good enough. My work over the last few weeks has been really slow and very very few if any results and i an sure my supervisor is sitting there thinking 'what
the hell is she doing with her time?? why isnt she getting any better at this??' I spend a lot of time working or desperately trying to fix things i think i have mucked up.....i feel like i have climbed a really small hill, thought it was a mountain, and then seen the real mountain...

While phd students that started the same time as me are already submitting papers and increasing their
employability i feel like i am just left treading water. Any advice?

Lorna


Any advice?

Thanks guys :) I am a bit daunted by starting my PhD (I think it is the paper reading and just thinking i might not be 'intelligent' enough for it and it is in a new city) but I really want to make a good impression. I think you guys have affirmed im doing the right things :) I will ask about the literature review and, yes, i am human and really looking forward to a bit of holiday! ;-)

Thanks again
Splendins xxx

Hi,

I am starting a plant sciences PhD in October and just before i finished my UG my supervisor rang me up and offered me a lab assistant job for a flexible 8 weeks.

It is good i get to work with people and test out the university and area in my summer. I was wondering though is there any other preparation i should be doing? I am reading a lot of papers (and scaring myself a bit) and i am using equipment i will hopefully have to use but is there anything i am missing to make the transition any smoother? any essentials i should be asking my supervisor about etc?

Thank you for any answers, all appreciated :)
xxx Splendins:-)