Come on!

you shouldn't be feeling sick before a meeting with the supervisor! I think you should communicate your emotions with them, so they change their attitude. The most important part is that you enjoy your PhD! It is completely unacceptable to feel physically sick... But you also have to ignore how valuable their feedback is and you are really lucky to have high quality feedback.

Just to make you feel better, 3 years ago it was my first attempt to write a lit review-I wasn't a PhD student yet, I was a research assistant- my sup sent me *terrible* email feedback and threw the paper in the bin when I went to his office! I didn't even blink, I went back to the library and kept working on the bloody paper. However, everyone reacts different, and we all come from various educational backgrounds so in a way I have developed a thick skin.

Same here!

I have a massive problem structuring and organising information I collected from literature/ fieldwork. I am also at the end of my 2nd year and dyslexic too which I believe affects the lack of structure. There is not an easy answer, not an easy solution to the problem. Some people just don't think in a linear way.

One advice I got but never tried it is to make a mind map. I generally write everything I know about everyhting :) down. It makes me feel better as at least my thoughts are on paper not in my head !! In the beginning it is a real mess but then I edit heavily. When I ve done everything I could, only then sent it to my supervisors for comments and they always improve the structure further.

A good way to think the writing process is like telling a story, start with the general and guide the reader to the end. Easier said than done, it can be helpful at a later stage. I write questions and try to answer them in each paragraph. Why this subject? Why is this important? What do I know about x?

DON'T get panicky, just start writing paragraph by paragraph. Good luck !

Excellent advice from Nick1 ! Group things together so each paragraph talks about one thing.

So say that you found 5 papers that found a weird relationship between eating ice-cream and getting taller. So you group all these researchers together with the expected outcome (rather than mentioning each one separately). Then you say who disagrees and try to find an explanation (a flow in the methodology). And finally you back it all up with national statistics that prove that taller nations eat more ice-cream.

I think I redrafted my lit review more often that I was showering :)

I agree with Mackem_Beefy, it seems like you have a typical studentship. Fees are covered and guess what? Sometimes a few extra money for a conference and a laptop/ equipment/expenses are included too! Hooray!

I have recently attended a ' how to write a paper' course. The guy adviced as to target for a specific journal. Then analyse 5 or 6 published papers. I had never noticed, but all of them had the same number of words in the title, the same structure and similar amount of words in each section. Agree with your senior where you are publishing and stick to the journal's template.

Good luck ! :)

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Hi Bluespace,

and here is the perspective of a boring science student!

As long as you write in a clear structured way then it is fiiiiine ... Sometimes I take time to think alternative verbs to "reported" and it almost makes me feel like a novel writer!

I have long ago accepted that my PhD can be used as an alternative fatal weapon - no one can survive more than 2 sentences. It will be on the headlines:
"external examiner dead. His wife critically ill. Doctors believe she skimmed through the open document. What did the primary supervisor say?"
*picture of my supervisor hiding from paparazzi*

Hi Beth,

I only wanted to let you know that you shouldn't feel weak. In the UK universities bullying is treated like a very serious issue, and treated very strictly from the uni. Generally, it might not go out of the department, because it is in the interest of all staff and higher ups not to hurt the reputation of the department. In a very recent case the whole team made a joined complaint for bullying against a person, who was kicked out of the uni regardless previous status.

Chin up!

Hi Dave,

I am sorry you found yourself in such a hard situation. I can hardly imagine how stressful it must feel having to do do much work in such a short time.

Firstly, I hope you do not have to work with other projects, and you have a few money aside to get by the next few months. Once this is sorted you should try to get an extension for a few months. I wouldn't put it in the grounds of bad supervision, as the last think you want is tension between you and your supervisor now.

Then try to lock yourself in the house and start wrapping everything together as good as you can. I believe that because you have quite a lot of experience as a researcher and your work is already peer-reviewed you can do it. It is just a few months of hard work until you get your PhD and move on with your life.

Good luck. You can even participate in some accountability threads here setting daily goals and achievements.

Hi!

First of all producing a methodology chapter in the first 3 months looks already like an achievement!
Take the comments and see how you can improve the draft. I normally submit more than 5 drafts before my supervisors are close to satisfied. You are really lucky having supervisors that provide feedback so fast and so detailed.

I also felt like I was not working hard enough during the first months although I was the first to come and last to leave the study room. I also often felt overwhelmed by the amount of work. It seemed reading and new information were never ending, every journal had 10 more references I should read. And then I was feeling like missing the bigger picture.
The first few months are hard and confusing.

Moreover if you have colleagues that study on a similar topic then you will have a friendly ear. I was very often feeling isolated as I had no one to talk to, even my supervisor could not follow some parts.

The summer before I started I worked in a few projects ( not related to the phd) and put money aside, I travelled with friends and did some preparation (but not as much as I wanted). I mostly focused on general skills like scientific writing and statistics. I assume that these are generic skills you will need regardless direction. Finally I allowed myself time to sort out practicalities - moving to a new place etc.

I ll start waving my hands in 8s just in case people in the PhD room don't think I am weird enough....Thanks!

My first few months in the UK was more or less like Bejasus describes it especially regarding all the time lost for practicalities.
On top of that I am a person that adjusts slowly, I love my routine, and I hate when it gets interrupted. Moving in a new unknown environment was the definition of hell!

But I agree, you need to take advantage to hang out with as many different people as you can. On top of everything you will get to try everyone's cooking!

Hi,

my ethical approval was such a stressful experience as my research involved medical tests on children.

You will be fine.

Hi
I don't socialise much with colleagues (like to keep personal life separate), and new boyfriends are high maintenance as they take a lot of time away. I enjoy spending a lot of time alone studying. I enjoy loneliness. I normally work weekends and holidays, but I might take a month off to go back home, see friends and family and get some sunlight :)

Hi,

I personally don't suffer from this problem, but I have a friend who does. Her main income comes from producing consultancy work for companies. I have noticed a few common things:
1. She is a perfectionist too
2. Throughout her academic life she got away with working hard, because she was smarter than average and had a strong background.
3. Up until now, she leaves everything for the last minute, and then goes for a week without sleep trying to meet the deadline

So, first of all you need to realise that you cannot complete a PhD in one go like a 10 page report for an assignment. If you feel that you have plenty of time to complete your PhD, it is an illusion, you have very little time for the things you have to do.

Since you know that you work well under pressure and deadlines, break the PhD in smaller parts. Literature review in 3 months: Write exactly the topics you will cover. Case studies: when, how long? Make a timetable and hand it to your supervisor after explaining him your problem. Ask him to abuse you everytime you fail to meet the deadlines.

Alternatively, you may book cheap holidays -nothing fancy really, and try to meet the deadline so that you can go away for a few days (if reward works better for you).

I use both techniques (reward and abuse) alternatively because I am a perfectionist too; I am capable of working for a month on a finished paper, I cannot let go.

Finally, allow yourself procrastination time and don't feel guilty about it.High expectations also lead to increased procrastination, surprisingly.

Finally, if you think that you cannot self-discipline yourself, then it is better to go back to industry than to waste 3 years procrastinating online doing nothing. Or go travelling (or anything else that gives you self-fulfilment) life is too short to waste time.

All the best