Hi there
I have a 2 and a half year old, a part time phd and a full time stressful job. I cope by waking up early in the morning and working most of the the weekends. I give undivided attention to my daughter for at least 2 hours a day (more in the weekends) and also try to involve her in anything I can. I have been in this situation since submitting the proposal in 2009 however I am starting to feel really worn out and unhappy as I want to . I cannot imagine this going on for another 4 years. I think a full time phd would have been a lot more do-able and I envy anyone who has that luxury! So I guess my message is... ..it could be worse if you had a job to deal with too! :-)

A couple of tips that may work so as to get the panic out of the way and also to get yourself unstuck from what you've written
1. Imagine that the work is someone else's and that you are being asked to critique it.
2. Speak it out and record your voice. Then start writing up.
3. The main questions you need to answer are:
a. Why is this question important?
b. What have others answered already on this question and so what is the gap I am going to address?
c. How am I going to go about it.
Hope this helps. I am still in the lit part of my Phd, but these are tips I give to some students I supervise.
Marie

Hi Monolithic,

I'm 40 and applied for a part-time PhD right a few months after having my daughter a year or so ago. My husband started his at the same time. We both have a full time job. It's do-able but really requires alot discipline (waking early, not going out much, using every moment productively etc etc). It is probably may be more financially and mentally worth while to take time out of work altogether and get it done faster. I am currently contemplating doing this.

For what it's worth, the fact that both my husband and I are doing it helps a lot as we spend together time whilst reading/writing. My daugher is now almost 3 and is very familiar with the words "computer" "university" and "literature review"!


Marie

Hi Snowdrop! Thanks for your post. It really made me happy! I'm 40, in the second year of my part-time self-funded Phd and trying to summon the courage to leave my high stress high profile job to fully embrace the simplicity and frugality of studying... ...just for me.

Marie