Thanks Jojo that's nice to hear.

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BB , you're alive! glad to hear you're okay. yah i understand about you being busy and the forums taking up time..

hope you get the book soon, and good luck with your work. thanks for the message

update:
9th june till 6pm friday 13th: zero progress on thesis. (aside from reading up on viva questions and thinking about my thesis map).
mental and emotional breakdown
-----------------------

Friday evening (6pm - midnight) started my thesis map.

i got so carried away, i started writing up sections for my introduction(ended up like 3000 words).

today woke up at 9.15am! which i never do. i think stopping at midnight and sleeping at 2am really helped. instead of working till exhaustion like 4am

today:
i am continuing with the thesis map, which i am actually enjoying.

so far 989 words.

Great to hear from you Lara. I think that most people that use the forum all want to support each other. Don't listen to people who want to knock you down.
I have had so many ups and downs whilst doing my phd (so far 2 yrs) and I'm sure teh worst is yet to come but we all need to support each other.

Hope you continue to make good progress.
xx

Hi Lara,
Good to hear your update, sounds like you have got lots out of your system and maybe are starting again much more refreshed? Be careful working to 4am if it is exhausting you...that won't be productive for 3 months (such a Mum thing to say!). You need to get enough rest to support your positive outlook.
Sounds like you've made a really good start last night and today. That's brilliant!

Thanks Omega monkey
for your kind and supportive message. it means alot to me

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Thanks cakegirl

yah you're right, i think i just had to get it out and start afresh.

you're so right about not pushing myself too hard , because it affects the next day. you're so sweet

thanks for your encouraging words!!

okay it's midnight, which means time to clock out.

still working on my thesis map. it's actually good, cause it's helping me to organise.

so far...

thesis map:

total words so far = 2048 words.

total pages so far = 17 pages.

hmm i might be going a little bit overboard. but my sup did say he wanted a detailed thesis map, summarising each section and what results i want to put in. so i've put little minuature pics of results, to make it easier to "visualise" hence why the so many pages bit.

i will probably get into trouble for going over the top. and giving them too much of a huge map to go through, and wasting their time. but oh well.
i will try not to make it too long.

*clocks out*

*clocks in*

didn't do anything related to my phd. had a lunch thang with my family. and my dad's friend's son, came over to advise me on how to approach my thesis, so he offered me loads of advice. about doing a good thesis map and table of contents etc, and helped me think about how to introduce my chapters in my introduction chapter. so that was very helpful.

will start tommorow on my table of contents. and make it good.

he also advised me not to worry about word count per day. but instead focus on what sections to do, just do it section by section. and not to put in extra results just for padding as will take time to refine that. so just to concentrate on the essentials.

i know someone else on this forum also said to just concentrate on doing section by section. so that's what im going to do and not worry about word count anymore

*clocks out*

also he said to make sure i have a good understanding of the fundamentals. and to think of my introduction chapter and general methods as if i am trying to explain it to a layperson. and that i dont need to worry about knowing the intricate details of stats that the statician did, but just understand the basic fundamental idea behind it. and that in the viva, they will question you on your basic fundamental understanding. in science, you tend to be so focused, that you sometimes forget the bigger picture and fundamental. so that was good to find out now.

Evening Lara,
Sounds like a good day - and sounds like it was thesis related as you got heaps of advice and spent time thinking about and discussing your thesis
Thanks for passing on the words of wisdom...hope you have a good day tomorrow

Thanks Cakegirl!

I did like 30mins or so working on my table of contents last night. so i started being more methodical and organised.

in the words of Joan Bolker, always leave writing on a downhil, so it's easier to get back to it the next day.

also remember:

"do some work on your thesis EVERYDAY, even if it's only for 15minutes"...

"everyday is more important than how much time you spend, or how many pages you produce or the quality".

"if you begin by working on your thesis 15minutes everyday, you will dramatically increase the odds that you will finish"..

i know i've said this countless times before.. saying it for me, rather than anyone else.

**********DEADLINE**************
********1st of July*************
Full draft of my entire draf.

I have a deadline of a FULL draft completed by first week of July. That my graduate tutor has told me to meet. In order to prove to my supervisor I can submit by end of september.

I have exactly 14 days to meet this deadline
and 6 chapters (i am leaving out chapter 7 for the time being the conclusion and future bit and concentrate on the 6 essential chapters.

okay really gotta get cracking on getting the sections completed now in a methodical way, instead of a crazy haphazard manner.

gotta get my table of contents completed by tonight.

it's 1am, and i am tired and productivity had definately plumented, so heading to bed and getting a fresh start tommorow.

i have to submit a full first draft in 2 weeks, so today was the first day i am writing a proper 2nd draft. started on my chapter 3. from a combination of my paper and my earlier rough drafts.

words done today = 2092
1 table
2 figures.

did table of contents for the chapter and for tables and figures.

congratulations on the hard-work Lara. i haven't read all the posts. only the last one and looks like you're achieving something. well done!!