That should work butterfly20 - and should be in your favour for the feedback side of things too, as you're clearly going out of your way to do this when they should have attended.

Do you mean it isn't a compulsory module?

All the best Crabtree; giving it a bit of time sounds a good idea : )

Responding to loads of individual emails is annoying and time consuming. Can you email them saying that they should have attended and please forward any further queries by X date and you will do your best to answer them all in a collated response? That could work.

Hi Crabtree

It sounds like you want to quit... if you were in your final year, I would say stay - just for the sake of finishing what you started. But since you are early in, it seems like a good place to stop. That is unless you believe things will get better.

If you were to "quit", it wouldn't be failing and needn't appear like that in the eyes of your relatives, on CV etc. You have a possible publication coming up - so by the sounds of it you have done enough to register for an MPhil (if you are in the UK - don't know what it is like elsewhere). Deciding to change your direction and pursue a different avenue in life with an MPhil and a publication under your belt certainly doesn't sound like failing to me. It sounds like being pragmatic by pursuing something that you will hopefully enjoy more (feeling like sh*t for a prolonged period isn't great). Have you identified any possible jobs that you would be thinking of applying for? That might help in your decision.

That all said, if you're reading this and thinking, "hmm... no", then maybe you deep down do want to stay on and finish your PhD? Bottom line is, you have to do what you want to do - not minding about your boss or your family. In the course of a lifetime, what they think about your decision does not matter (although it might seem to at the time).

I hope this helps your reflection a little.
Tudor

I think there is a misunderstanding here. Deadlines can be set for you - or imposed (in addition to the things you describe pm133, a micro-manager might also do this or it may simply depend on the level of responsibility you have in your job). Deadlines can also be jointly negotiated. Mine were jointly negotiated to enable me to get timely feedback from my supervisors who are all very busy. Without deadlines (set for you or jointly set), the world would probably fall apart!

Your grades are good. You may struggle to get funding (up against people who got distinctions). That is the only potential barrier I can see based on what you've stated. But I know several people who got awarded funding and didn't have an overall distinction.

Thanks, and I read on your thread that you're now on the final grammar check! Congrats and all the best : )

THANK YOU everyone. I considered all of your advice. I had a week or so of not doing any work and just thinking I couldn't and would pick it up again after my trip (regardless). But then (after the break) I began to see things more reasonably again. I met with my supervisor yesterday and we agreed to move just one deadline till after my trip (and it wasn't framed at all negatively - I just explained about certain problems I'd encountered and how I'd decided to take more time on it - and she thought it was a good idea too).

So this means I am working on things again now, and will be working a bit during my trip too (on my thesis). I think I can handle it as long as I don't get myself in such a state again. Frequent breaks and a not too demanding plan for me over the next month or so. Your comments were all so helpful. : )

Tudor

Thanks both. I will consider whether to include it or not then. It was interesting but went a bit pear shaped. I would certainly mention it in my viva and perhaps even put the protocol in my appendix with notes on how it should be improved for a future study. It would be amazing not to write it up.

That's exactly what I wanted to hear and at just the right time - thanks pm133. :-)

I still don't look forward to telling her on Monday though... :-D

Ps. The deadlines are for my benefit / so that things will work well - they mean that if I submit a draft on X date, supervisor A will read it on X date, supervisor B will read it on X date, and I will have it back on X date. And it should all work out in time for me to submit my thesis on X date. I am not opposed to this - it is helpful (especially as I hear so many people waiting weeks and weeks to get feedback etc). But I am no longer in a position to meet them as planned.

I agree with rewt. Unis are nearly always late getting back about things like this (I recall it was 2 weeks past the deadline that they told me I had got funding). And as for the other opportunity - yes, you just have to go for both to increase your chances of getting funding. If you don't get the first one, it isn't necessarily that you weren't wanted - it is just a pragmatic matter - maybe someone else was already on the cards or something - or they had more experience than you - or maybe they even know you have applied for the other and plan to give you that (often the same people are sat on different boards). Your supervisor knows how it all works, which is why they've advised you to go for the other funding as well. It's all pragmatism.

Best of luck - hope you get offered one or both!

Tudor

Hi experienced PhDers...
I've got myself in a bit of a mess mentally... I am so sick of my work - I just can't face it. In 3 and a half weeks I go away for 6 weeks on a study visit (funded). It is a great privilege and I'm looking forward to it. I want to spend the next 3 and a half weeks preparing for it, instead of writing up my thesis, which I am getting NO WHERE on. It will mean having to move a whole series of deadlines to when I get back in mid June. I am in my final year but I believe I am entitled to a write up year (self funded). Is it up to me if I choose to move my deadlines like this? I know my supervisor won't be pleased but I really feel I have no option. I just feel SO demotivated about my thesis right now, and just hope that my trip will breathe new life into me (if I am prepared for it - that is having read up properly on what I'll be doing etc in advance of going).
Any advice? Is it ludicrous to tell my supervisor that I want to do this (i.e., move deadlines till after trip and just forget about my thesis for a while)?
Thanks
Tudor

I've been feeling so demotivated, even though I have so much to do in such a short space of time (in fact, I think that's contributing to it). I'm having to write up the most boring study that didn't find anything and was just utter rubbish anyway. The other two studies I've done are probably enough data for the thesis. Do I HAVE to include this? I so cannot be bothered to write it up. There is NOTHING interesting about it and it is driving me insane.

Cheers and keep us posted!
All the best : )