A month and a half ago, I had everything nailed. I was motivated, breezing through and making progress.
These days I'm just coasting through weeks. I start something new, leave it for a while and have to start from scratch when I go again. I can easily fill my day with mundane admin or general lab maintenance tasks. I get distracted very easily.

How can I cure this procrastination spell? It seems to be a downward spiral!
Help!

InaP, i tell u what works for me, i guess everybody as his/her own way. make a proper plan, intro, chapters, titles help, then get whichever chapter u want to start with and make bullet points of the most important things u want to say, nothing elaborate, just a big idea and work around those points. whenver u get distracted look at the points and follow them. if u happen to have an idea, put it down, but dont develop. get the big picture first before going into details. hope this helps and good luck. i'm on the 1st year but have the plan sorted for the whole thing, it doeasnt matter it will change, cos it will, as long as u have something to work with and have control over your material, u should be on the right track.

When i am at my desk, i get very easily distracted by the internet (hence my appearence on this forum ) I've started to get into the habit of unplugging my internet connection when i want to sit down and do some work. It works for about an hour or so, then i start to get paranoid that i am missing emails!

Hi, I had the same problem for ages, but found that what works for me is writing the things I have to (or want to) get done that day, and then splitting them into smaller sections. I make a list of all the little things, and tick each one off as I go along - it feels then as though i'm actualy getting work done instead of just feeling swamped. I've also started listening to music while I work - nothing with words, just nice tunes. Hope that might work for you too!

I definitely agree with unplugging the internet connection - I've taken to switching my computer off, and only allow myself to turn it on every few hours to check my emails. I also find that if I'm struggling to find the motivation to work, going away from my desk for a while helps, even just to get a cup of tea or go for a walk outside - fresh air often helps.