I've not been around for a while as life has gone from busy to caotic. Not great for my revising (not done any!) or my paper (still not finished).

I've not had managed to catch up with all threads, but I hope you all had a good Xmas and wish you a great New Year.

It's unlikely I'll be able to come back for another couple of weeks (although I'll try!) so I just wanted to say good luck to all who are submitting soon, you're almost there!! And wish everyone who's got a viva soon the best of luck and let us know how you get on.

'See you' all soon.

I'd say me too but I haven't got a date yet:-s

I'm still trying to write my paper though;-)

ps.: are you sure you're leaving us? You don't really HAVE to... one of the many things I like in this forum is that there are people in all of the stages and some who have gone through it all. This way regardless of the stage where you're at there'll be someone who's been there before to help you out8-)

Oh no! Sorry to hear that. I'm really hoping you'll get something soon.

By the way, all is well my end, still working in a 'normal' job and trying to find the time to write my article and revise for viva. No dates yet.

I don't think you have anything to worry about! Quite the opposite, celebrate it!

Nothing wrong with your situation, it's great that things are going well and that you're enjoying your phd without stress.

The only advice I can think of is: enjoy it and enjoy life;-)

No luck here either. Sorry!

Don't beat yourself up. I didn't know the website either, I just did some searching.

Yes! Good guess :)

From http://www.thefreedictionary.com/

go to the wall Informal
1. To lose a conflict or be defeated; yield: Despite their efforts, the team went to the wall.
2. To be forced into bankruptcy; fail.
3. To make an all-out effort, especially in defending another.

Sorry to hear you've not find a job still. Like you said, at least people are letting you know and giving you feedback ;-)

Congratulations!

I think it'll depend on your field to be honest... For example, in my field, I have to add grades for everything from GCSEs! But in my brother's he doesn't. Employers are quite happy just to know he has a degree and this and masters in this and this etc.

So I'd say just follow your past experience.

Age is certainly not a barrier and it may even be an advantage as you may be seen as more responsible than younger candidates;-)

I didn't get what I expected at all and let's be honest, if you hadn't conducted your research, then the field would still be thinking your methods to be best for the topic ;-) so what have you learned that can be passed on to others? Do your results make any sense at all? Do they contradict previous research? What could they possibly mean?

It sounds like you've already identified issues with the methodology and, as long as you're able to justify why this was found to be the most suitable method at the time, you should be fine.

I agree that remodelling aims is not the best solution. I've not had my viva yet but I'm prepared to be true to my research and say 'I can't be sure why my results came out like this for certain but I have a few theories bla bla' and 'more research is needed to further investigate why bla bla'.

I've had time off in terms of not going to uni but I never really took more than a few days off work throughout the PhD (I'd take 24th-26th and 31th-2nd). I don't recommend it but I knew that I had to do it as my sups are perfectionists and I've had loads to do throughout so I've been running behind since I started.

The way I justified taking time off to myself was that, if I worked some days, I could enjoy the others. I wouldn't be able to enjoy time with my family otherwise.

I believe that having time off is important but when you have so much to do, it's really hard. Like you said, it depends on deadlines but also on how much work you have going on. If you're pretty much on schedule, then, personally, I'd recommend having a couple of weeks off. I definitely would have benefited from it!

This year, I have to prepare for a viva I still have no date for and finish a paper. Not a lot in comparison to previous years so I'll finish on the 23rd and come back on the 2nd.

I think you'd need to work out what's best for you in your circumstances as you'll definitely know yourself best. I've always found both the uni and the sups very supportive with everyone's issues but people have normally approached them with 'this is my problem, I think doing bla bla will help, so can I do it?'.

If you're able to build a strong case for it, I doubt they can say no as it'd probably be considered discrimination.

On a more practical level, have you tried to do small goals? (These needn't be uni related 'I'm not going to be in bed past 11am' or can be 'I'm going to read this paper/chapter/write 100 words') Personally, I've found the one goal thread really helpful but you could just do it by yourself.

Utilising the uni's counselling service has been helpful to some as well.

I think the 'I'm not good enough' feelings happen to most of us so you're not alone there. It can be frustrating to find a topic when the one you planned on is no longer available. But it is through a lot of reading, thinking and discussions with others that we find gaps in the literature.

It sounds like you've been coming up with lots of ideas but none of these have flourished into suitable topics. Maybe you could go back to the sup and have a healthy discussion about ideas and/or ask for them to share some views on the area? Maybe this will help you to think through other possibilities?

Good luck!

Lindalou83 - sounds like you have a good plan already! Have a lovely birthday!

Sounds like everyone is starting to 'pack up' for Xmas already. I have so much to do still! Well, I 'just' need to finish one of my papers and I'm not even halfway through. Better crack on then.