Well done, Ellebelle! Hope all goes well today and definitely do something nice once it's submitted!

Is it possible just to get a final chat with your main supervisor and get their agreement about submitting? I would be tempted to do that at this stage, so you and the main supervisor have a plan for moving forward without the co-supervisor at this stage.

Hi Shack

You sound completely overwhelmed by things. I would recommend speaking to someone about your stress and anxiety (maybe someone at the university student support services, or your GP). If I were you, I would not make any decision about the PhD just now, but would prioritise getting help for your anxiety. In terms of the PhD itself, it sounds like you are quite close to being finished, but please get some support first - stress and anxiety can be completely overpowering, and I think it will be easier for you to know what to do if you can get some help to reduce your anxiety.

I am just going into my third year, but also wanted to say good luck. Ogriv, you sound very self-aware and nothing like an arsehole :) I am questioning whether to apply for any academic positions in the future, for much the same reasons you described - there really is a lot more to life.

You'll probably remember a lot more than you think you will. Take your time when answering the questions. My viva's a long way off, but my supervisor told me that if you get a question that you just hadn't anticipated/can't answer in the moment, it's likely that that question will be incorporated in the suggestions for minor corrections (ie they won't fail you for not answering everything perfectly!). Good luck!

I've experienced this kind of system in other jobs (not academic ones) and agree that it's infuriating - the worst case was one job in which we had to put a certain code in to indicate when we went to the loo! However, I agree with Dunham that you shouldn't feel you have to be 'productive' all the time - studies of human productivity generally show that we reach something like 60% productivity at our best - ten minute chats are nothing to worry about.

If you are unsure about any journal, it's worth checking the lists of predatory journals/publishers here

http://scholarlyoa.com/2015/01/02/bealls-list-of-predatory-publishers-2015/

I echo what others have said about considering doing a Masters. Four of us are on scholarships in my department, and we've all done a Masters with a large research skills focus.

Hi claira

I'm so sorry to hear about your cat - as a fellow cat person, I have been there a few times and it is awful. I'm sorry to hear about your spell of unemployment as well. Although it might technically give you more time for your PhD, it sounds like emotionally your needs are somewhere else just now. Are you due any time off? Maybe even just taking a couple of days would help to re-set things a bit?

As glowworm says, it does sound like you're managing more than you think at the moment. My advice would be to go easy on yourself, accept that this is a difficult time for various reasons and take some time out to de-stress.

Are there any existing theories or models you could compare your research to, eg to say whether it seems to support existing models or shed new light on them? My research is very much applied and practical too, but I have also been concerned about the theory side of things so I am going to incorporate some stuff about current theories and say how my research fits. I'm not really sure how much this matters so it might be worth talking to your supervisor about it?

Oh no, Ellebelle - how frustrating. It doesn't sound selfish at all - it is just one of those things, and a shame for your co-supervisor, but a shame for you too as it has completely disrupted the momentum for you. I hope you don't have to wait too long for your feedback.

Interesting to think about! I would certainly gravitate towards (a) given the choice, as I'd think it would be easier to be in the frame of mind for fixing the whole thing (and keeping terms etc consistent), rather than polishing individual chapters which then might need a lot of work just to make them fit together. Thanks for the tips, Ellebelle - especially the one about writing properly from the off!

In addition to the advice you've had about taking a break, one thing I found really helpful in my first year was to attend some PhD workshops at the university (general skills development workshops on things like academic writing, critical thinking and so on) - is there anything like this for PhD students at your university? I found it good to attend these and talk to other students who were at the same stage - it helped motivate me.

I agree with others here too - you've had two big shocks right at the start of your PhD and you probably need to deal with the emotional side of that. You haven't lost too much time, so don't beat yourself up about the things you haven't done - you can get it on track from here.

Hi Alanine

I found that after accepting my informal offer, everything went very quiet for a while. I eventually chased it up, as I was working and had to give a month's notice, and I wasn't happy to do that until I had something in writing from the university! I think this is quite normal - the academic staff do the recruitment and the admin side doesn't happen until later. Well done on your offer!

Well done Anz - it sounds like you have done all that you can and once you submit, it is in someone else's hands - I am not sure anything will stop this time from being stressful for you, but try to remember that you have done everything to give yourself the best chance, and stressing will not add anything good to the experience. I can only recommend looking after yourself and doing some things that you enjoy - start to re-connect with the life you have outside of the PhD.

JStanley - that sounds like a complete nightmare and well done for coming through it all with your PhD and the will to go on and publish your work as it should be!