Hi Eska, and Lindalou, hope you get lots done today! (And fresh air is a good thing...)

I didn't come online yesterday but was working away. I'm working through my data analysis at the moment - it's going slowly but I am making progress, so as long as I can keep going and make up some time at some point I think it'll all be good.

Goals for today
1.) Write poster abstract for upcoming event
2.) Keep plugging away at the analysis - if I can be ready to start writing hypotheses from this analysis next week then I'll be happy

I agree, unless you have other work actually lined up or a very clear idea of what else to do, I'd take the job. It's 12 months so not forever, but it allows you to earn a living - definitely no bad thing in the current climate - and get experience of employment at PhD-qualified level. I think even if you went to some unrelated work afterwards, a year of actual employment will add hugely to your post-PhD CV. And it's also very true that it's far easier to find a job if you're already in employment. Even if you don't enjoy it and decide academia isn't for you, it gives you some post-PhD breathing space to think about what you'd like to do long term.

I live on my own too, have done for years and I really can't imagine living with other people (though I did share with people when I was younger). (I'd love to live with my partner, but he's in negative equity on a flat that's too small for two people, so that will have to wait.) Living alone is expensive, and I find I do have to make an effort to socialise and meet up with friends to avoid complete isolation, but the freedom to work my own hours and make my own mess is so worth it! At the times when I'm working 14-16 hours a day I like being able to just get up, work, eat and sleep without worrying about what time it is or whether I'm disturbing someone else or whether I should do housework. And when my time's a bit more free it's good to be able to play music or spend a day just watching DVDs or whatever without worrying about disturbing someone else.

New day, fresh start. Going to finish off the coding/analysing I didn't do yesterday. If I can get caught up this morning that will feel good (I'm out all afternoon so won't get much more done today).

Gah, coding this one question is taking me far longer than I wanted it to. Not sure I'll get onto my other tasks today now. Oh well, just have to work faster tomorrow!

Good luck Sneaks, sounds like you're making good progress already.

Been swimming this morning so only just about to start work now. But I feel good for the swim and am ready to blitz it again today. Goals:
1.) Code responses to one open question
2.) Analyse what frequencies/histograms tell me
3.) Sort out claim form and booking for training course
4.) Read some journal articles (if time)

Ha ha Eska, scoffing the chocs you bought - that's the sort of thing I do if I ever try to be over-organised!

Goal 2 might look technical but it really isn't. Anyway, I couldn't face that one when it came to it so I swapped it for a goal I was going to do tomorrow - coming up with coding categories for an open question. Which I've now almost done. So, I'll finish listing the coding categories and then spend a short while writing up notes from previous reading, and then I'll be done for the day. Yay! I'm achieving my daily goals at the moment, it feels good!

Hi Eska, sounds like you're getting lots done too - and I do that start work early, break for something (I watched a re-run of Location Location Location from my home city this morning!) then get on to the next thing. Makes the day feel like less of a slog - I just have to watch I don't end up getting distracted by TV!

And Sneaks - good luck with the thesis, I hope you do manage to get to the discussion chapter in between all the huge number of other things you're trying to do!

I've achieved my first and third goals for today, so on to goal 2 next.

Heh, yes, I have no idea either! Does it mention hacking or is that some other spam, I can't remember. Anyway, very weird. Just wish they would p*ss off!

Blimey, we're getting a lot of spam on here at the moment. Very annoying!

Anyway, hope everyone's going to get lots of lovely work done this week! I'm feeling positive and geared up for powering through.

Goals for today (I'll see how far through I get):
1.) Read a couple of journal articles
2.) Look at what's revealed by frequency data
3.) Assemble the writing I've done so far for the thesis
4.) Write up some notes from previous reading

Hello anyone who's working today!

Work's going a bit more slowly today but still making good progress. Spent this morning going through text responses to an open question on my survey - far more involved and complicated than I anticipated. Oh well!

Remaining goals for today:
1.) Figure out how to recode a set of variables in one SPSS file
2.) Run frequencies on recoded variables
3.) If I have time and energy, look at some reading (probably won't get to this)

Goal 1 almost finished - yay, far quicker than I expected! Feeling happy.

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Heh, I like to pretend I'm number 6 but there's definitely a large part of 2 about me!

Congrats Emmaki, good going Eska, and good luck Sneaks!

I'm going to hammer out some analysis stuff today - the aim is to get a bulk of stuff that doesn't need too much brain power done today and tomorrow, so that I can do some proper thinking about what I've found on Monday. I really need to feel like I'm making progress!

So, goals for today:
1.) Run frequencies and descriptive stats on remaining 2 SPSS files
2.) Finish coding text answers for one question
3.) If I have time, start coding text answers for next question

Hello Emmaki, good luck with the work (and parents really can be annoying sometimes, lovely as they often are...)

I've pretty much achieved all my goals today. Just have to write up notes from my meeting with my supervisor and I'm done. Going to meet friends at the pub for a very short while this evening, and be ready to get more work done tomorrow!