Instead of complaining about our bad supervisors, can we think of ideas of how to make the most out of a bad situation? What have you guys done to improve your working relationship with your supervisor and to help them do their job in a better way?

My supervisor is extremely horrible with time management and never responds to any of my emails, the way I am surviving is never to leave his office without agreeing on the date for our next meeting. I try to make our meetings regular even when I don't have anything to discuss (I schedule a meeting once every month) just in case I need him to sign a document or do something for me. In between, I might send him emails about different things but I send them without any expectation of a response because (a) I know he won't, and (b) I will discuss them with him when we meet. At times he tries to avoid committing to an appointment, but I insist because I know he will ignore my emails after I leave and I won't be able to see him for months.

I also plan things way in advance and try to check the rules and regulations to see what formalities need to be completed. He doesn't know the regulations & doesn't seem to care about me or my research, so I have to be on top of it all and make sure that I complete any formalities needed by the university. If I need him to do something for me I will email it to him months before the deadline, be very clear in my email about the deadline and what is required for him to do. I will them mention it to him in the meeting, and then again remind him about after a month or so.

I am still struggling with some other aspects of dealing with him, but I try to figure our solutions on how to make it work.

How do you guys overcome some of the challenges relating to bad supervision?