I can feel myself drifting - the last few days I haven't done anything and I feel this isn't just a few bad days. I had to come up with a structure for a supervision meeting this week and all it did was hit home how crap my ideas are and feeling demotivated

How do you get yourself motivated again

I wish I had a magic answer!

The only thing that I find usually helps me is to do something small and relatively easy (note down some references, do some searching etc). For me, I need to feel that I can achieve a task with an endpoint which is why it has to be relatively easy and not take too long. Once I have done stuff like this I start to feel more in control and less depressed about the whole thing usually. It's definitely about splitting things into smaller tasks for me anyhow as otherwise everything seems impossible.

I have had times like this too and it will get better. We can't work effectively all the time.

Good luck and I hope you start feeling motivated again soon. You will get there.

I did SO little over the summer and I just feel exactly as I did then before I spent about two months achieving nothing.

I have to go to meetings with the other partners on a regular basis, presenting what I've done for the last 2 months. I spend the week beforehand panicking and trying to produce impressive data

I often go through patches were I'm doing nothing, I feel its sometimes useful to just do little things that are work related but don't take too much effort, last time I had one of these patches I just started drawing diagrams that would be useful in my thesis. Alternatively I find that just taking a day or two off and doing nothing work related helps me when I come back

Mind you we're in a cushy position when you think about it: in how mnay other industries besides academia could you just not do anything for a week and get away with it?

Well, I know everyone's experiences are different, but in industry I never got through a weekend without my boss ringing me asking me to come in and do some "urgent" analysis (no overtime, naturally). That's why so many companies provide staff with "free" company mobiles: they aren't being kind!

For me, I like the feeling that I'm researching to contribute to a useful and open body of knowledge, not to make some rich b***ard and his shareholders/cronies even richer. Though I must say that the way academia is going it will be just as bad as industry before long.

I also like the students; their enthusiasm keeps you from getting too cynical.

Sixkitten. Firstly you have got to let yourself off for having a dry period, plus feeling guilty won't help - you'll just make yourself feel bad. I agree that it usually helps to set yourself smaller achievable tasks if you've hit a bit of a doldrums.
I had a similar period in the summer when I went on holiday for 2 weeks and came back and did nada for another 2 weeks. What got me back on track was attending a conference at the end of Aug. It was having to get a paper together at the very last minute ( I mean on the train on the way type of thing!), meeting others in my field and having to be be 'on' @ the diners and talk about my research.
Try and identify / remember what motivates you and put yourself in the way of it ~ if that makes sense.

I'm struggling with motivation too. I complain that I never have time to finish my thesis because of too much teaching etc, but when I do I just can't get going and then I feel terrible about the wasted time (and lack of life outside of work). The never-ending revisions are scaring me. My friend who started with me just submitted but I think I'll be working all over Xmas, sob sob. I don't have any magic answers, but you're not alone.