that sounds like an interesting book Olivia. maybe you could post the precise title sometime. i'd love to read it.

you're not alone olivia. just don't let them get to you. my working friends and everyone around me always asks if am sleeping when they call and its really annoying!!!! a lot of the time i work late into the night and get up in the afternoon. to them it looks like all i do is sleep and because am not working by nine like everyone else am just being a lazy student.

i just think most of these people are unsupportive and prefer to convince themselves that our 'hard work' won't amount to anything. the way to get back at them is to keep your cool and in time when you're done, the equilibrium will shift and reveal their most feared reality. you'll be a Dr!!

thanks everyone for your continuos encouragement and support.

BB - i make no apologies for my work patterns. am confident in who i am and i don't need your affirmation to feel confident about my progress. secondly, i have not asked you for any advice on how i should go about writing my PhD or when i should write it. your advise is therefore unsolicited. if am correct, you completed your PhD a while ago and you're posting on this forum on a Saturday assessing people's progress. Don't you have life?

Update: Yesterday's working hours - 1.30pm to 4.30 am with thirty minute break every two. About 12 hours. I managed to finish the chapter i should have finished last Friday.

Today i worked between 1pm and 5pm. I managed to proofread the chapter for submission to supervisor next week.

hi omega monkey. am feeling better and getting back to work today. thanks for checking on me.

the sad part of things is that i'll spend Easter at my desk making up for lost time when everyone else is away having fun.

thanks Olivia and SillyBilly.

am still unwell today, maybe tomorrow... fingers crossed.

you'll be fine Chris. just get a good night's sleep and get up early, read through your paper and go to the panel meeting. before you sleep today, take your mind off things by doing things you enjoy. a lot of it depends on what's already on paper, not what you are going to say tomorrow.

all the best.

jojo's taking the day off - she's still unwell.

today i wrote up from 1.30pm -4.30pm. couldn't concentrate because i was feeling unwell. i decided to take the day off.

thanks Jayney. am glad it inspires you.

i went to a class this morning - 10 am - 11 am and then wrote up between 1.30pm and 3.00pm. i didn't do as much as i had planned because i began to feel unwell in the afternoon. i decided to take the day off. hope i'll be feeling better tomorrow.

yesterday i managed to complete a literature review.

i worked from 1.30pm til 6.30 pm and then for an hour from 8pm to 9pm. 6 hours in total.

am considering taking some time off soon, to recover from the hardwork and publications.. maybe in a week or two i'll take a weekend away.

Update for JoJo's diary since last week:

Friday the 7th - i managed to get much done on Friday but not as much as i had hoped. i worked from 1pm to 2.50 pm then between 4pm and 7pm. about five hours of work. (5hours)
Saturday the 8th - I worked between 1.30pm to 3.30pm and between 4pm to 5pm. (3 hours)
Sunday the 9th - I did a few hours of work in the afternoon. Can't find the record of precise times but i'd say about 3hours.
Monday the 10th- I worked between 12.30pm and 3.15 pm, then from 3.30pm to 4.30pm. I also worked on a paper between 5pm and 10pm.(about 8hours)
Tuesday the 11th - today, i finished a paper i was writing. I worked from 6am - 9.20 am, then attended a class between 10 am and 12 pm. Went of for lunch and ran some errands and then worked between 1.30pm and 4.3Opm. about 8 hours of work.
am working on handing in work towards the end of the week. that explains the drastic increase in hours. so til tomorrow, good day/night's work everyone!

thanks guys. the comments are from a guy in industry, so i'll wait and see. if they are happy with it i'l leave it at that.