Nagulmera, this isn't really the right place for you to ask those questions - you'll get a lot more responses if you start a thread of your own in the main part of the forum, as this thread has a lot fewer visitors and is about setting ourselves daily tasks rather than the kinds of questions you list. Some of the questions you ask sound quite specific to your university and subject, so people on this forum might not be able to help - but if they can, I'm sure they'll try! With more general questions about what is involved in a PhD, and what the application process is like, try searching for previous threads that have been started about the application procedure - there's lots of useful information out there! Good luck.

Morning everyone!

I'm coming down with a cold and feeling a bit fevery and sore-throated today, so not the best start to a week when I have to work my socks off to write a chapter by Friday! Oh well, have to see how it goes.

My goals for today:
1.) Plan out content for chapter
2.) Assemble data analysis needed for chapter, identify any missing analysis
3.) Carry out any missing analysis (may take longer than today, depends how much there is!)
4.) Update action plan

Well done Lindalou!

I've got half way through my analysis for my third sample but I've lost concentration completely now. But I can get this finished on Sunday I think, ready to start writing an analysis chapter on Monday. Now it's time to put my theory about taking breaks into practice and go and meet my friends in the pub!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Thanks Lindalou, I'm feeling positive today! Making good progress so far.

Button, hope the headache's better soon. Do you think it's maybe an eyesight/computer screen issue? I find I get headaches if I try to spend too long staring at the screen, trying to make sure I take breaks from screens of all kinds (including TV!) now so it doesn't get too bad. Or it might be a bug of some kind, of course!

Lindalou - I try to take whole weekends off, unless I have a deadline to hit, in which case I often work all the way through, or only take Saturday off. But breaks are important for recharging, I think. I'm expecting to take less time off the closer I get to submission, though!

Morning all.

Today, I'm running PCA analysis on two further samples. I'm expecting this to take all day, so there's my goal right there! Looking forward to the weekend now!

Good luck Lindalou, I can find it really hard to get motivated again after a break, I have to be very strict with myself and set step-by-step goals to walk myself slowly through the work until I get back into the swing.

I've made slow but important progress today. I had to re-run the analysis I did yesterday with some different settings, and that produced some interesting implications for running the same analysis on two other samples, which I'll do tomorrow, I'm too tired now. I feel like I'm actually getting somewhere with this research now - about time!

I'm going to spend another hour typing up some findings into a big table, then call it a day.

Good luck Lindalou, hope you get plenty done!

Today I'm continuing with the work I did yesterday. I'm on campus for the day, which means I've had to drag my copy of Field's statistics book with me - it's soooo heavy!! But so useful. Hopefully I'll make good progress.

Goals for the day:
1.) Go swimming - DONE
2.) Finish interpreting yesterday's PCA results
3.) If necessary, re-run PCA with different settings
4.) Run PCA on two other samples and analyse results
5.) Email supervisors with progress report

Hope the head's feeling a bit better now Button, it's horrible trying to work when you're feeling that way. I hope you have managed to take a bit of a break though!

Made good progress today, very happy. I've not quite got to the end of the analysis I'm doing, but it's a new technique for me and I'm getting to grips with it, so it's positive anyway. Time to stop for the day and recharge my batteries for another go at it tomorrow!

Most PhD supervisors are very understanding of this situation - they're used to students having to juggle offers, so it shouldn't be a problem if you do decide to go to the other place. The main thing is to be upfront (but polite) about it and to let them know as soon as you're able to, so they can find someone else to fill the place. Might be worth mentioning to them (if you haven't already) that you're still being considered for another institution, though, just so they're aware. I was in a similar position, and ended up having to choose - the other institution was fine about it, and I've actually been co-authoring a paper with the person who would have been my supervisor had I gone there, so it doesn't need to sour anything. Good luck!

Morning all!

Made good progress yesterday and I'm feeling enthusiastic today. Goals for the day:
1.) Run Principal Components Analysis
2.) Update action plan
3.) Send some emails
That should fill the day up nicely! And if there's any time left over I need to do some housework!

Morning!

Just got to my desk on campus, but feeling revived and energetic after a good swim this morning. Time to get cracking.

Goals for today:
1.) Go swimming - DONE
2.) Borrow/renew library books - DONE
3.) Complete stats tests I got half way through yesterday
4.) Sort out expenses payment claim
5.) Look at running Principal Components Analysis

Going well so far today. I've redone the tests that I'd made a mistake on, recoded my next lot of variables, and am now half way through running my tests. Losing concentration now so I'm going to take a break to cook some nice food, then come back to the rest of the tests this evening. May not get to planning the chapter, but I've had some thoughts about that while working on these other bits so it's all good. Not a bad day really!

Hope you're all managing to achieve things (even if those things are real life instead of PhD related!)

======= Date Modified 13 Feb 2012 10:36:08 =======
Hello again Eska, welcome back - the dreamy courting sounds like it's been a very nice distraction!

Welcome to the thread Pinniapley, hope it's useful!

And hello everyone else, sounds like everyone's got good plans this Monday morning, hope the interruptions don't get in the way too much!

I'm a little scared by how much work I need to get done - I'm supposed to be sending my first draft analysis chapter to my supervisors next Friday, but I haven't even finished the analysis yet, let alone started writing. But this is do-able, I just need to focus.

Tasks for today:
1.) Re-do some analysis that I spotted a mistake in (oops)
2.) Recode the next set of variables
3.) Run the next set of tests
4.) Make a rough plan of what will be included in the analysis chapter
If I can get all of that done I'll be very happy. May not manage it, but I really need to push myself if I want to get this chapter done by next week.

Oh, congratulations, Sneaks, that's brilliant news! And really well done on the no corrections as well, you thoroughly deserve it but it's also really heartening for the rest of us!

Oh, that's good news Lindalou, sounds pretty positive. The weak writing thing keeps tripping me up - my supervisors always talk about thesis writing being about eliminating the weak spots that can be pulled up in a viva rather than focusing on the strengths. Generally I'm not too bad, but there's also usually something that I should have been more vigilant about - hopefully that develops with time, it's one of the things we're learning on our PhD after all.

I've made some progress on the journal article, but got sidetracked by email exchanges about data analysis with another PhD student and our shared supervisor, and having to read some bits to contribute my thoughts to the conversation. All useful stuff, so I'm not really annoyed that it's delayed the journal article writing. In fact, it's made me more determined to finish this today so I can get on with the data stuff tomorrow!

I agree with both of those suggestions. I use the one goal thread to commit myself psychologically to what I'm going to achieve that day, and then to be accountable for it, and I find that really works. But it's important to be realistic about the goals - it's really demotivating to keep failing to reach the day's target - and also to try to break down the work into small steps, they're much more manageable. And the mytomatoes method keeps me at my desk when I have a particular deadline to meet - I can't use that method every day but it is good for forcing me back into a working routine if I've been struggling to stick to it, or if I have to have my head down more than usual.

It sounds like you've been working hard for a long time, though. Do you perhaps need a short break to recharge your batteries? It's a hard thing to judge when feeling demotivated (it's so easy to persuade yourself to take the time off because you feel demotivated, and then feel guilty about not working) but sometimes I find it's hard to work precisely because I've been doing too much. A day or two of doing something completely different (something physical, like hill-walking, or anything really) can jolt me back into wanting to work again, and is sometimes more beneficial than just sitting at my desk avoiding getting on with it. But that's a hard call to make sometimes!