just wondering what methods people use to get to sleep, when they are stressed or anxious about exams or interviews, etc.

Why not offer to mark their exam scripts in return?

Lecturers normally find this tedious and reading your chapters might look fun by comparison.

I tried the bribery route myself, but lecturers don't do it for the money.

It's all part of the training... to become a fully autonomous independent (depressed and lonely) researcher.

I learnt that it's all about you, the examiners and the publications reviewers/editors. No-one else gives a damn about your work.

My supervisor dissappeared after 12 months and my replacement was always abroad. I saw him every 6 months.

My lab/office was like the starship enterprise, except everyone was a 'spock'. "It's totally illogical captain".

When you take everything into account,... all the pain, frustrations, politics, low pay, bleak prospects, and the few highs,... was it all worth it?

Stop procrastinating...

...get on with your work.

The harder/quicker you work now, the sooner you'll be enjoying the wonderful euphoric feeling of handing the damn thing in.

And the sooner the viva will be over, and then the whole lot can be put on a bonfire, and you can start therapy to remove all the previous 3+ years trauma!

Why stop at 1 year?

Why not 6 months?

If you work hard, 3 months may be possible?

It took me 4 months full-time including weekends, but I had most of the results pre-processed and had been writing bit 'n pieces since the beginning. At least a month of this was re-re-re-reading drafts and improving.

It sometimes helps to have a submission deadline, eg. running out of funding, to ensure you put the hours in.

This 4 months I found was very painful as it's almost entirely 'active' thinking. No watching TV allowed until it's done

IMHO, I would advise finishing you current PhD in economics, and then getting a high paid job in finance.

Two PhDs concurrently is impossible, and having two PhDs is pointless.

Maybe an MBA after the 1st PhD.

Full-time PhD plus part-time work could be possible and healthy, but would keep the part-time work to say 10 hours a week or less.

Many PhD students where I'm based do this just to survive, but would prefer to dedicate all their time to the PhD.

Feeling isolated and going Mad is all part of the learning process

Working full-time plus full-time PhD is not possible.

Working full-time plus part-time PhD is just possible, but don't expect any social life.

I used to work full-time from 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday. I worked on my part-time PhD 7pm to 2am Mon to Fri and the whole weekend. I did this for one year but couldn't manage any more than that.

Realistically if you do a full-time job with a part-time PhD, it will take 4 to 5 years to complete, and you will be so exhausted at the end of it, you'll need another year to recover... seriously.

I think the healthiest way to do a PhD (in hindsight) is to get it done in under 3 years full-time, and keep a healthy social life with other PhD students.

Criticising others' work because is has errors or is wrong or can be improved upon is fine. Criticising because we're in a bad mood is wrong.

Also you have to get your facts right. If someone publishes E=w*q^2 and I come along and say it should be E=w*q^3, and the research community agrees with me, then I'm more respected, but if I'm wrong I look silly.

I know we think we're better because we have worked hard for a PhD and possibly many high quality journal papers, but in the world of commerce, a PhD means nought. With a PhD and no experience, we are effectively on the same level as a BSc graduate, but maybe worse as we're 3 years older/behind.

Unless you want to be an RA or lecturer, in industry you are competing with BScs. Maybe after 5-7 years experience you will earn promotion above a BSc but that's not guaranteed either. I have met crap Drs and brilliant BScs in industry.

Just choose your field you are best suited to, and go after graduate jobs. Your PhD's in psych? What do most grads do with this subject?

Good Luck.

Most PhD student friends at Uni worked as a Sales Assistant in a shop, restaurant, etc. Pay is minimum wage, but keeps you in the black, and you meet with normal people

What worked for me...?

For me it was the thought that the more work I did now, the less I had to do until it was all over.

Also I tried working on bits that were more interesting or fun when running out of motivation.

Also I found I was more motivated at night - in fact most of my thesis was written between 11pm and 6am