I wouldn't say I have a routine.... I'm terrible actually, I'm more of an interval runner.... jog along a bit, walk a bit, fast sprint (deadline), walk a bit and so on...

I work 2 days at the uni as an RA so don't do much PhD work on those days (I have ME and can't over do it) but I do tend to do a bit on the PhD 7 days a week as I just can't work solidly long term for 8 hours a day, I'd die (or at least have a relapse and lose my degree) lol! When I have deadlines coming I tend to sprint, work more, longer hours etc, but when I'm data collecting and analysing then I tend to do 2 hours some days, 8 hours others, procrastinate too much others.... I'm just starting my 3rd year and the pressure is really starting to pile on especially now I'm thinking about publishing and presenting, but I find I work when I can and its going well. I've never been much of a 'structure' person in study or live. I do like mytomatoes though :-) Very helpful for when I'm seriously procrastinating (like now!)

You have to find what works for you and we're all different. Some as you can see are incredibly organised - others (like me) are rubbish at it but ensure we get through the work and meet the deadlines.

Oh and I'd strongly recommend taking up running - I'm a bit evangelical with that - ask Sneaks lmao - its brilliant and after a darned good run i work so much better

Oh well done!!!! awww I'm so envious - no viva???? jammy thing ;-) So pleased for you, that's just brilliant.

I'm not sure when you can start calling yourself Dr, I don't know if its as they say you passed or when you graduate or what -I'm sure some of the other esteemed Drs here will tell you ;-) I think though its like, ermm, now!!

You poor thing :-( it sounds as though you've got yourself so wound up over this that you're making yourself ill! The advice given by the others is great - do you have the facility for extra training or to attend classes at a lower level? In my uni we have the right to attend any courses and I did a few MA courses in my first year of the PhD - not being tested or marked - just participating in the seminars and learning and it helped! And don't be afraid to talk things through with your sup - that's what they are there for, and I'm sure no matter how great an academic he is he was a student once, and I'm sure that even now there are things he struggles with - they just hide it better ;-) Talk to him, explain that you feel out of your depth but that you want to do something about it now rather than let things run on - it shows that you're pro-active rather than sitting and waiting for the fail. Sometimes all it takes is a little explaining and things become clear.

Look at what you've achieved, you aren't a fruit bat :-) You're just getting overwhelmed and scared....

Its weird isn't it... I'm really not sure, but maybe the click hear, that turns into click here is suggesting that they are errors a student might make - I don't know! The trouble is its soooo bad that it makes you wonder - heck, I'm confused now!

I tried everything, then the editor had a go too, then we gave up ;-) He's hoping the typesetter can sort it out - but then there's the 'wrong' type of lines, but Word and Excel won't give me other options - bloody nightmare! But woohoo - omg, if we can sort out 2 poxy graphs I'm going to be published in a matter of weeks!! arrggghhh - so fast - thought it would likely, if accepted, go in the Spring volume, its not, its going in the Autumn one AND he's asked to quote me at an international conference - argghhhh. Exciting stuff, but also rather terrifying as I'm kind of turning some stuff on its head with this - as it is he says its rather ermm dented his new work but confirms something else... oops!

Oh that's such a shame but don't give up hope! Something will come along, it just takes time :-(

As for the 'local' thing in the UK.... it doesn't work that way - infact most people will tell you that here the more local you are the less chance you stand!

Thanks Sneaks, that doesn't work, it just alters the title. The design is with the data table showing - that's cool, but it won't right justify the numbers within their columns, it only seems to want to right justify the entire graph! The numbers stay firmly centred and the graph shoots around the page. It seems that there's no way to do it! Utterly crazy - as the editor says - its convention - so why does bloody Word ignore that??

Ok, so I should be happy, very happy, I submitted an article on Saturday, last night I get an email, its only going to the typesetters TODAY!!! Arggghhh. All brilliant, all formatted, only minor problem is that I have some graphs in there that I prepared on Word with the data table showing in the body of the graph. Take out the 2nd title, check, format data to 1 decimal place, check - RIGHT JUSTIFY figures - arggghhhh - it won't do it - i don't know how to do it. I can get the data in the accompanying excel file to right justify but it doesn't alter the figures in the word graph. I'm going nuts here, I have to get it back within the next hour or so and I can't do it - can anyone help me out with this PLEASE. I'm using Word 2007 (but its currently in the compatibility mode so more 2003 Word)

Thankyou to anyone who can save my life. Been at this til 3am - now back at it again!

lmao, what's wrong with answering to door in a sleepsuit? especially a nice fleecy one? ;-) I always envied the babies for having them!!! Oooh, didn't know primark sold adult sized ones - must get one - ok, so hubby might not be overly impressed but hey, warmth is ALL that matters ;-)

I've got a slanket too - its a god awful thing lol, I always get tied in knots and the bit at the back is a pain lol, but its warm(er)

And Algaequeen - all though I'm all for being eco friendly - I draw the line at clinical hypothermia at least 4 times a week... literally, your body temp drops into the 34C margin pretty quick ;-) Not only is it rather uncomfortable but when you begin to slur words and lose the ability to create a coherent sentence your productivity drops ;-) Plus, it is really that much worse to run one fire than 8 or 9 rads with gas?

There are schemes to help with insulating your house, but we don't come under any of them as we're tenants and we're timber framed and listed. There is a bit of insulation in the roof but we were told there is little point as most of the heat in these houses goes through the walls - we aren't legally allowed double glazing (grade 2 listing) and for obvious reasons there are no cavities to fill and we would be allowed to even if there were as the foam damages the timbers... so, in short, we're buggered lol. We have that film stuff on the windows in the winter which helps a little but the drafts come through the gaps in the timbers mainly lol!

How lovely to have more than one radiator ;-) Actually I've got 2 lmao;-)

That's a good idea Sneaks - i do have a dehumidifier somewhere - in the old house the only place I could work was at the table and it was so noisy I couldn't concentrate so we brought an old caravan and turned it into an office - nice and warm with the heater but damp so we brought a dehumidifier - not sure how much they cost to run though? We get our coal delivered in bulk, but its like £70 a fortnight but so much cheaper than those piddly 25kg bags you get at service stations! we get small coal and the really large stuff - a lump of that keeps the fire going most of the night with the vents shut. My mum sussed quite quickly that if she rang and said she'd made soup and had the fire on and did I want a coffee I was there as quickly as it took me to take a couple of layers off lmao. It is an experience - not one that I'd recommend mind - these old places look amazing but are so hard to live in - so cold, so damp and you're always wondering where the next ensuite is going to be when it rains hard - I'm all for multi-tasking but washing up at the kitchen sink and enjoying a cold shower at the same time isn't my idea of comfortable living ;-) I just sooooo miss being able to walk in out of the cold and taking my coat off rather than putting another on, and pressing a button and having warmth :-( sigh......

The problem we find Sneaks is that the wood doesn't give out much heat - we have tons of the stuff - we have about 30 or more trees in the garden (probably a lot more than that actually, never counted). We do burn it but it burns so fast and doesn't make a huge amount of difference so we tend to use more coal which is crazy money. The main issue is the house itself. Its beautiful, the kind of house you drive past and go wow... we rent it at a ridiculously cheap rent, far cheaper than our old two up two down, but its timber framed so the heat just goes straight out of the walls - thermostatically controlled things don't turn off lol - we have cellars that flood - i have one beneath me now and I'm separated from it by some floor boards - cold, damp walls and water... the carpet is covered in damp patches coming up from beneath lol. We're often actually warmer outside than in even in the depths of winter. We have the full 'cold' experience - water freezes in glasses, on windows, on my pillow if I breath too much lmao.... I'm going to buy an ecofan this year when my bursary comes through :-) I'm hoping that will help in here at least - it sits on top of the woodburner and blows the hot air rising off it into the room. I remember last winter sitting here trying to type shivering violently, wearing a hat, gloves, full thermal underwear (including long johns...), two tops, a big think fleece and a coat - happy times :p

In my case its a combination of zero cash, but also that most of the house, including my office, has no heating anyway - the bit there is is horribly expensive (bottled gas). I have a woodburner, can't afford the fuel to light it yet though.... I like the idea of burning the thesis if I had one.... hot water bottles it may well have to be. Again though, will I feel the benefit when the weather gets really cold???

If anyone gives any suggestions I'll be pleased to read them!!!

I'm flipping freezing, and don't have the heating to look forward to either :-( I'm worried about going into thermals and duvet mode as I know I'll need them more when the temp is another 10 degrees cooler in here. I do go outside to keep warm though, its warmer out there ;-)

And I totally relate to the other comments too - how many pages do you have to do.... duh!!!! Well surely it can't take 4 years to write 80k words.... oh f**k off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! arggghhhhhhhh lol

and breathe.....