Hi Caro!

Sorry to hear about the tech troubles with your data - annoying when things like that happen, but good for you for not letting it mess with your head - something like that can totally kill my productivity... Hope you got it sorted.

You're lucky that your supervisors are open about where exactly you are and what still needs to be done. I have some major work left on the one hand, and on the other hand I'm "fixing" things back to what they were before they told me to change them the first time... It's starting to feel a little circular and subjective. Oh well, I guess we have to jump through their hoops and hope for the best with examination. :-) I'm still really benefiting from the Tomato Timer - whenever I have to do a section that I'm really dreading, I tell myself I only need to work on it for 40 minutes before I can have a break - it works every time! Can't thank you enough.

But wow, another three weeks of this... It's so difficult to stay motivated! But one day at a time, right?

Best of luck to you!

Hi Nautilus!

I think "knowing what to do" is an important half of doing it - it sure beats having no clue. You were lucky to get an extension, though! But it sounds like you've made good progress.

My deadline is to submit my thesis to my supervisors for approval, but I won't have a lot of time for their corrections to meet my uni's final date for submission, so I have to get it as closed to finished as I can before I submit to them. It's gotten to the point now where I look at certain changes and just think "nah, would be nice, but I don't have time for it" so I'm just doing the essential stuff... Or at least, I'm hoping some of the suggestions are non-essential. =) I figure I can always come back to it if I have time left at the end of the month... Not likely, I know!

I guess I could ask, but it seems a bit vague... Maybe I will do what I can before I submit to them, and then see where things stand after I get their feedback.

Good luck, hope you have a very productive day!

Hi Ellebelle! I remember someone telling me once that when your supervisors start sending you in cycles undoing and redoing things that pretty much means it's done! Just choose the way you like the best and stick with it.

I'm sorting my data slowly, it's a lot of cutting and pasting several documents together it took me 4 hours to do one months data yesterday, I have 4 more months to go...so I'm preparing myself for another 16 hours of cutting and pasting, yipee! But it needs to be done so best get on with it =)

Good luck everyone!

Hi Ellebelle. Thanks for your wishes! Though, I am not sure if I get the extension yet, as I have been a PhD student for a long time.
I believe you are on a right track. Sometimes I have these feelings like "what if" they don't like what I have done too :)

Good luck!

Hi guys!

Just checking in to find out how you are coming along? Caro, how is he data analysis going?
Nautilus, have you heard anything re your extension?

I have a week and a half left - where did the time go?! I had a slow week for the most of last week, but I'm feeling pretty motivated again - hopefully this is the final stretch. I have loads of small things left to do, but I'm pretty much getting to the point where I feel I will send it off with a "come what may" attitude.

Good luck!

It just depends on your learning and working style. I have to get in a flow and I find that easier by writing in blocks so I can easily knock out 10k words in 2 or 3 days. I get into 'the zone' and literally do 7 hours straight with no breaks.

I can't work the pomadoro way because I loose my train of thought.

There is also something to be said for just getting it all down on paper, you can add your quotes and citations later.

For some people their work looses precision and clarity in the edit and writing style becomes more academese by over editing and overworking it so sometimes for some people their first drafts can be their best drafts!

The idea is to get to know which way works best for you. I'm coming to the end of the second year and I hope to have a first full draft ready by Jan 16.

Hi Ellebelle! nope, I have not heard about it yet.. and I have no idea if a few months will help. I agree, the time passes by very quickly. I am happy for you that you are getting closer! Good luck with finishing up! and let us know about feedback.

wowzers, that's impressive! so you can write a paper in a few days? When I was an undergrad and Master student most of assignments as well as thesis writing was much easier. I did all of them on time!!! and with PhD all I do is delaying and extending (and getting depressed). I feel like my brains are frozen. Currently I am finalizing a chapter, which is about 14k words, including ~100 refs. My writing is so slow, because I am not confident with my interpretations (and I change concepts very often), I do often revisit my data and I am using too many classification parameters, which I need to simplify (just got this advise from my supervisor). The chapter took me sooo long to write it up, but it is getting closer. I have got revisions from my supervisors a few times, I need to fix a few things and move. I wish I could write 10K in a week :)

A couple of months ago I found a strategy of 90 mins work and 20 mins break. I like this one, though I do not follow it precisely. Also, I like to work during evenings. It does not happen every day, but if I work late for some reason it is more efficient. I do not have breaks and I want to finish things before I go to bed. I guess it helps me to make decisions faster, do not hesitate, because the day is almost over. Also, during the day at uni or at home there are too many distractions.

All the best, guys!

Oh don't get me wrong Nautilus that's not of finished quality. I do write, leave, come back and refine. I go by 'a finished thesis is a good thesis' so just get it all wrote, don't be too precious about it at the first write then refine, refine, refine. But some people prefer to plan and bullet point etc. I can't work that way, I think through the process of writing. I too find I work best with a focuses time. I have a set time window of 9-3pm for work after that I pic the kids up so I'm forced to get it done!

wowzers, thanks for sharing. It is good to know writing strategies of other PhDs :)

Hi all!

Just a quick update on my progress - I have 1 week left! Thanks Wowzers for sharing your writing strategy - seriously impressive! I agree that sometimes too many breaks can make you lose your train of thought, but I have found it an incredibly useful tool to help manage my procrastination habits. Sometimes (not often) I would become completely engrossed in something and work on it for a few hours straight, but mostly I do little bits and pieces. One bad thing about this is that I have A LOT of editing to do - when you're working on small sections of the dissertation at random times, you don't notice repetition as much - which means I am now cutting out large sections of work. But hey, at least I got those ideas on paper and can now move things around. Basically that is all I will be doing this week - along with double checking some of my references and improving (or at least trying to improve) the general "flow" of the argument. Despite my panic a month ago, I will at least have something semi-complete to submit next week. I didn't get every little thing done that I wanted to, but hopefully I get some constructive feedback and can finish this up asap - I need my life back!

Good luck to you all!

I did it! I submitted my first full draft yesterday! It is only submission to my supervisors, so it's not the real deal yet, but I was so stressed about making this deadline - can't believe how quickly the month flew past. So happy I made it! I didn't do everything I planned on, but in the end I'm glad I prioritized and got the important stuff done. And luckily I can do another round of language editing before I submit to the uni. Thanks to everyone for your kind words of encouragement and I hope you all are making good progress. xxx

Congrats Ellebelle! I also submitted a week ago so here's to a more relaxing summer!

Thanks so much! :) Excellent news, Tree, and well done! Keep us posted on your progress regarding the examination process - all the best!

Well done :)

Congrats Ellebelle and TreeofLife! Let us know how the things go :) Good luck!