Is there anyone that could do the presentation for you on this occasion? Perhaps your supervisor?

I think you should be honest with your supervisor about it though, you'll find that in the long run it will actually make things much easier. I've told my supervisor about the issues I have and he's been absolutely wonderful. It's helped massively. I certainly can't see any negatives to telling him.

I think the best thing to do is explain to your supervisor and then see what he/she says about it and go from there.

I completely know what you're going through! My project was pretty much handed to me, at least the hardware and goal, it turns out however some of doesn't even appear possible and I've spent the last 6 months trying everything, and none of it works. I too only just got through my first year viva.

Don't give up though! A lot of people I've spoken to, like TreeofLife said, spend a good majority of time with very little working but then it all comes together. It's hard to stay positive, I too am completely miserable now, but you just need to sit down and really think about it.

Also just to point out a few of my friends got their PhD from things that didn't actually work. It isn't always about saying this works for this, but sometimes you can pass on the basis that something doesn't work and you've shown that too. I'm not sure if that's relevant in your area though. Stay positive. You still have a lot of time!

I tend to get in between 5:30 and 6:30am. I'm a morning person though, it also means I can leave the office when it's still light without feeling guilty about doing so.

I do take a two hour break at 11 until 1 to go to the gym, have lunch etc, but apart from that I work constantly. I'm lucky enough to have my own office at the moment, so absolutely no distractions

I'd definitely go for department ranking over the general ranking.

I agree with HazyJane and although it may only be a short period of time you should enjoy moments like these, they're all great institutions and providing you do well I doubt it will make a huge difference on whether you are accepted for a PhD.

I'm probably the worst person for advice, if you read my other attempts at being helpful ha. However, I was in a very similar but also completely different situation , I'm now 4 months into my second year.

When I first started my supervisor (professor) said everything was sorted with regards to an end goal and I just basically need to do it, he said it was all planned out and basically rather than spending my first year doing research etc I can basically just learn and get straight into everything. However, during my first year another student finished his work, which was identical to what I was supposed to be doing thus I'd not really learnt anything and had little to show.

Whilst I learnt some valuable things it was a complete waste of time. I had my first year review and although it was horrific they explained that they knew I had done work and of the situation. So the best thing to do in my opinion is sit down and plan out exactly whats going to happen now and when the time comes just be honest with them, don't however pass the blame, I always said 'we' to share the blame. If you have a solid plan there shouldn't be a problem.

Sorry to ramble on and if this is no use what so ever, but just my opinion

I have no idea how all of this works, but if there is a contact number it might be easier to ring them instead? You'll be able to find out exactly what is going on. If there isn't a contact number I'd wait a couple more days and then e-mail again.

I hope you get it all sorted.

I think that's plenty

I have PhD funding at The University of Nottingham. I have a Software Systems degree (Basically computer science with a lot less maths) and that's it. I applied for the funding in which they invited me in for an informal interview, they then offered me the position there and then.

I left my well paid job in the games industry to do a full time PhD, I've already got a mortgage so it was risky and means that money is reasonably tight I'm also going to have to line up a job in time for when my funding stops. I'm incredibly happy that I made this decision, even the worse days in my PhD are better than my best at work, however I didn't enjoy my job despite the salary.

If you enjoy your job and it has potential I'd certainly think long and hard, once you leave to do a PhD you're back to the bottom with regards to job progression and even though you'll have a PhD it will be hard to find a job - but no harder than it was the first time around.

I'd say if you want to get into academia then definitely do the PhD, otherwise it might be worth sticking with your job. There's always the possibility of doing a PhD in the future when you have a good level of work experience behind you, this will make getting back into a career much easier. It might be less stressful working full time too!

I'm completely the same, I'm always stressed. I have brief glimpses after getting something right, but then its back to normal again.

I've found going to the gym really helps and now train an hour a day right in the middle of the day, I push the work to the back of my mind just for an hour, its amazing what a bit of exercise can do - also means I can eat plenty more junk food for the rest of the day too :) It's reasonably cheap, I'm a member of my University gym which works out at about £10 a month, buy a few cheap t-shirts and some shorts and you're sorted.

I know it's easier said than done but take time out to forget about your PhD, make plans for the evening for example and that will give you something to look forward to.

I know exactly what you mean. I'm taking some time off as we speak to gain my motivation back. Even being away from the office for 3 days has really helped and I'm actually looking forward to going back.

If I were you I'd take some time off over christmas, but not too much mind :), and enjoy that. Towards the end set a series of deliverables and some realistic dates. It's only one year of the rest of your life so in my opinion it's worth battling through and putting in whatever hours you can, obviously everyones situation is different.

You can't change what's already happened so worrying that you haven't done enough so far will only making matters worse, focus on the future. Get a clear plan and get your head down. The whole thing is a learning process and you'll be surprised how much you can get done once you get into it.

Sorry I can't be more help!

Thank you for all of your replies!

I think I will take some time off at the start of next month, I suppose even a few days won't do any harm study wise, but will probably help massively.

I use the gym to manage my anxiety really, I'm on medication too. It helps quite a bit, but there are still times I really struggle.

Hi all

I've been reading the forums for some time but finally decided to register.

I'm in my 9th month of my PhD and have come from working full time for 5 years. I decided I no longer wanted to do my job and had never really enjoyed it, I always enjoyed learning and researching, so I managed to secure some funding.

I've always been a worrying person and have many anxiety problems and I just can't stop worrying now. Despite the fact my supervisor tells me I'm doing perfectly fine I still feel like I never do enough. I've read so many stories where supervisors have said their students are doing fine only for them to fail.

I was just wondering if others feel like this and how they take their mind off this worrying?

I tend to get into the office at 6am and stay until around 4pm but with a 2 hour break for gym and food. So I'm working around 7-8 hours a day, and then I do planning and organising at home in the evenings and weekends.

I desperately feel like I need to take time off, with the exception of public holidays I've only had 1 day off in 9 months. Though I know I'll feel guilty for doing it

Any advice/experiences would be appreciated.

Hi all

I've been reading the forums for some time but finally decided to register.

I'm in my 9th month of my PhD and have come from working full time for 5 years. I decided I no longer wanted to do my job and had never really enjoyed it, I always enjoyed learning and researching, so I managed to secure some funding.

I've always been a worrying person and have many anxiety problems and I just can't stop worrying now. Despite the fact my supervisor tells me I'm doing perfectly fine I still feel like I never do enough. I've read so many stories where supervisors have said their students are doing fine only for them to fail.

I was just wondering if others feel like this and how they take their mind off this worrying?

I tend to get into the office at 6am and stay until around 4pm but with a 2 hour break for gym and food. So I'm working around 7-8 hours a day, and then I do planning and organising at home in the evenings and weekends.

I desperately feel like I need to take time off, with the exception of public holidays I've only had 1 day off in 9 months. Though I know I'll feel guilty for doing it

Any advice/experiences would be appreciated.