PINE

PANS

dawn to draw does not work--you cannot change the position of letters...
so word is still

DAWN

just shattered the world record and won the 200 meters, going away! Amazing! Well done Usain Bolt!

dawn

I think that this round has spun into circularity--I am about to repeat a word in answer.....so........lets start a new word to keep it fresh and interesting!

LARK

flop

slow

flaw

Howle ( a village in the West Midlands)

plow

pled

FLEA

There is a delightful way I hear some people pronounce the word "no"--I could never imitate it in a million years, but its something like the O sound being lifted up underneath with a small e sound...it does not add an extra syllable to the word, but the O/e sound is stretched out a bit somehow. This sounds daft, but its how the only way I can think of to describe it. Does this sound familiar to anyone?:$

I have both problems from time to time. They are both frustrating. Its hard to do good work when you are tired, I think that being tired makes everything feel worse! Everyone is different of course in their sleep needs and habits, but think about how much sleep you need and whether you are a night owl or early to bed/early to rise sort, and stick to that the best you can. There is a lot of advise out there about not working in your bedroom, so you think of it as a place of relaxation and sleep. Easier said than done if you have student accommodation--but its something you might think about, can you make sure your sleeping area is free of books, etc from studying?

Procrastination I think can set in when you feel overwhelmed--at least it does for me. I feel like--I simply cannot do this, so I DON'T!!! What works for me, as the others have suggested, is breaking the task down into smaller bites, and then finding a reward for myself for completion--like, work on this for two hours and then go get a nice coffee, or long walk, or take the afternoon off, etc...sort of like coaxing a stubborn mule into taking a few steps at a time! I think if you make your work day an 8 or so hour marathon its difficult--thats a long time to do the concentrated work of a PhD. Can you break up your work into two or three hour chunks and take some time off between work sessions?

And sometimes there is no answer but to simply force yourself and say DO IT! ( and then I end up on the internet faffing around!) 8-)