=(

which is to say, the PhD is in the last stages of writing before the writing up...or perhaps I am now in a writing up stance, because I am and have gutted various chapters, am inserting some new ( but not lots) of relevant research in certain places, am re-doing a lit review...aggghhh!!!!!

Its all messy, and I can see how it WILL come back together, but periodically, like now...I am wondering whether a particular bit is better in THIS chapter or THAT chapter...and it makes me want to scream, run out of the door, and find a peaceful lake full of trout and just lay under the shade of a nice green tree....

Olivia, i will join you by the lake!! i have to have full first draft of my thesis by next monday. and i have 4 chapters left to write!
and my desk top computer today decided to take a vacation. i think it got tired, and is not working.

so now i have to work on my laptop, which hasnt much disk space as it is and it's uncomfortable.

i cant offer any advice for you, but you have my sympathy, that does seem like alot of hard work. i guess just to tackle one section at a time? bit by bit.

good luck!

Thanks Lara! ( waving to Lara from under the tree--come have a seat here!) I hope you make your task with those chapters, that is a lot of work, but I know you are working hard and I am sure you can do it. I am just trying to take a few bites at a time at this, and work on things, knowing it WILL all come back together again!

I don't know why, call it a gut instinct, but I have a feeling you're going to produce some sterling work. I'd wish you good luck with it, but I don't think you'll need it.

I keep rearranging stuff too - can't seem to quite make a plan and stick to it. it is just a great mass of 'stuff' at the moment and it's hard to believe all the dots will be joined one day.

Good luck joining your dots - I feel sure you will.

It sounds like one problems I've had. It always scared me to sit and get some work done because I didn't know where to start and how to organize all my thoughts and hand-written drafts.

Today, after a very long time, thanks to folks here, I sat down and got a lot of work done today. You can try what I did: Set yourself achievable goals and instead of jumping from one idea or section to another, start from whichever section you'd like to. That'll keep you focused and prevent you from drifting away frequently. Hope this helps!

Thanks all for the replies! I am not worried that I cannot get this put together, indeed, I will, but sometimes its hard to know which section to focus on. I sort of picture this thing like a field or yard being raked, I am in the process of raking relevant bits back into the whole and making the whole richer and deeper, and leaving the rubble by the wayside...yesterday's genius bit of work, today's rubble.