Not so much done today as hubby is one leave and we took a trip into town as kiddies were with childminder. That meant giving up a study afternoon and a trip to the gym, ho-hummm. Anyway, this evening Ch 3 is all read through and 'post its' applied as necessary. Now onto ch 4.

Sneaks, you will have your full draft soon, you can do it!

I have just a few pages of ch 3 to finish reviewing today, then onto the easier read of ch 4. I think I am actually rather happy with how chapter 3 reads, I have few post-it notes and am confident of this chapter (wow, never thought I would say that!).

Ady, that is great news that you are on track for submission in september! I also had to merge two chapters where the experiments were very similar and the conclusions were the same so it made sense to avoid repetition. I too added a small chapter just on data handling, taking out several repeated sections from each of the methodology chapters. The comments I had were constructive and definitely improved the overall flow of my thesis. I know it is hard to muster the motivation to write again, but remember that you are so close to submitting. Just another few months and it will be done. (up)

Hi Pineapple, I am still working tonight on reviewing my thesis for my viva, although I have four weeks left.  What a laborious task re-reading your own work again! It is a much more critical eye post submission and we can all find issues with our own work.  I am sure you will be your biggest critic because you know the work better than anyone else. Enjoy your hotel stay and try to relax (I am planning a trip to the treadmill, pool, sauna and jacuzzi for mine lol).  You will do your best I am sure, but just remember the decision is already made prior to walking into the exam room. Good luck with your viva .(up)

Star-shaped it is fab to see you are progressing to a full draft thesis, well done! Submission is just a short journey away.

My aim tonight is to finish reading ch 3 (which is a very laborious method validation chapter).

Well I managed to get a good understanding of my equations from ch 3 last night (this was worrying me a little). Just got to finish reading the results/discussion today. Luckily, not many errors found last night, phew!

Viva date all sorted for first week in july. Have to say I am feeling rather apprehensive and anxious about this, just like all of the other pre-viva posts! So 4 weeks to go, action plan devised and hoping to get working on this efficiently.......no more sitting with feet up in the evenings lol.

Hope the sups feedback goes well Ady, Slowmo and Pink Numbers.

I would echo what Ady has already said really.  The first year (FT) or two (PT) are very hard going with the feelings of not being academically able to do the research and not knowing what needs to be done and when. You are learning so much at the moment so it will feel overwhelming.  Part way through my PT PhD I had one baby closely followed by another two babies (oops, lol) so I know how difficult it is to study when the little ones go to bed or at weekends when my hubby will take charge! This for you coupled with the type of work you are doing is bound to leave you feeling stressed and de-energised.  I reckon that I was managing 15-25 hours a week on my studies and this fluctuated depending on the phase I was in, ie writing up has taken a more concentrated effort of 25 hours a week but my motivation mirrored this. With regards to your job, it may be that you need an outlet for the stress it generates, some exercise or going for a walk?  If your child is 2.5 years old will they be eligible for some free childcare hours (15 hrs) at nursery/childminder (if in the UK) at 3 years which may help the financial situation in just a few months time. Maybe you could reduce some of your working hours or increase your child-free study time?

Don't worry about the academic life, I certainly didn't partake due to work or family commitments.  There will be times that you can get to seminars etc so there is time to gain some experiences there. Having the responsibilities that you have will make you a very effective project manager!

Wow Sneaks, great news about your hubbys viva! Good to see your thesis is coming on too.

Ady, good luck with the sups 'chat', sounds promising if he is looking forward to it. I know the nerves of waiting for the sups approval, very worrying time! Yes, just as worrying as the viva I would say. You see your sup is your peer and mentor so their approval has huge weight and respect. Your examiners are the gatekeeper to your success too so both are anticipated very anxiously.

I have four weeks to prep for viva and I have chapters 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 to read through, tag and make notes on. Then a list of prep Qs to answer followed by re-reading of key papers. Doesn't seem much time with lots to do. Have made a plan for my evenings over the next four weeks. Tonight I plough on with finishing ch 3.

Wow, congratulations! Hope you enjoy your PhD journey. Can you send me some of your good luck as I think I could do with some for my impending viva lol.

Hi Pineapple,I am awaiting my viva too and am going through lots of positive and negative thoughts along the way. It is easy to be drawn into the negatives by reading too much about the perfect thesis. You need to focus on the viva prep books which are passive and full of lots of useful advice. You have done much work on what can be done to your thesis to improve its overall qualities and flow, but you need to put that aside and concentrate on the key questions that may be asked aswell. The examiners will no doubt have their views on what needs changing, if much at all, so really you need to focus on composing yourself for the viva. Don't go in and give them a list of major changes, wait until (or if) they ask you about it and know that you are armed with a resolution. In the meantime, some excercise and fresh air will do wonders and a chat to someone about your thoughts too.

Just to update, my recent telephone conversations have resulted in a viva date offer. Just got to get leave for hubby and my hotel is booked! Looks like the game is on!!!

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Ady, a trip to Paris with the lovies sounds fab, I am very envious!  My post submission was two weeks away at my parents with the bambinos for some respite while hubby was away working, not quite the same relaxation as your trip. Glad you had a fab time and some much needed time out.  Those niggling doubts will be with you until after the viva i am afraid. This is what I am going through still.  I think your sups feedback should be fine especially if they have already seen some of the chapters. They will have a feel for the standard of your thesis just by those chapters they have already read.  But I know how on edge I felt waiting and waiting lol. In the meantime, let the brain have a rest and perhaps work on some menial tasks instead.

I have spoken to the academic office who don't give too much away.  They confirmed receipt of the theses back in early April but one may have got lost in their internal mail system to the internal ex. They suggested that they have photocopied the chairs bound copy in previous occurrences (no confirmations here at all about mine lol) And the chair has a non-bound photocopy.  I did offer the PDF just in case as printing would be far easier. Either way the external has suggested some dates in July but the internal cannot match them.  Some more dates in July are being offered by the internal.........I guess I will hear about this soon then (maybe). Am thinking about getting some more viva prep done if dates are being suggested.  Don't want to peak to soon but will kick myself if I don't have enough time. Either way the outcome has already been decided and as a 'self-funder' I shouldn't think too highly of my efforts .  :p (Sorry that was a little dig at a previous thread by a naive and pretentious post).

Done!

Hi Slowmo, my very first draft of the thesis went out to sups on 25th dec 2010. My final draft was sent to them beginning of feb. Further sups and proofreading comments were all in by mid march and submission occurred on 1st April 2011. So really it was about three months from the initial draft to submission. Also note that I am working part-time so I only study about 15-25 hours a week. Oncce the first draft is in, it shouldn't take long to submission provided your sups don't take too long over commenting, mine took 3 days and 5 weeks.