September sounds brilliant to me, Ady! Good for you for getting your sup's agreement on that. Everyone feels so far ahead of me on this but I do find it useful so will keep coming here... even if it depresses me.

And chuck us a bit of your chocolate cake when you're done...!

Hi all,
Goal 1 = coffee and shortbread is done, done and done again :$
Goal 2 = paper read in about three shifts while cradling feverish babies!

Next goals may have to wait til later, lol.

Ady, I would also love some chocolate cake, can we all 'virtually' have some as today seems a chocolate day!

Clarabelle - how far along are you? when are you due submission? Well done on the book reading.

My goal of formulating plan for revision and new writing completed, sort of!

Dunni, sorry to hear babies are not well. I remember those times all too well, though I wasn't doing a PhD at the time so my hat comes off to you. Mine are beyond babies; my challenge is raging teenage hormones (theirs, not mine!). One in particular is trying to enter a world for which he is really not ready but he thinks he is. Cue lots of door slamming, mobile phone confiscations etc, "everyone else in my class is allowed..." The other guy just wants to play over 18 games (twins are 13) on his X-Box all the time. However that actually is easier to handle!

Consider everybody served a [virutal] slice of chocolate cake;-)

Mmm, virtual chocolate cake is nice :-) Mind you, I've been eating chocolate eclairs (sweets, not cream cakes!) all afternoon so probably need to stop and eat something more sensibel/healthy instead!

Work is slow today. I keep hitting the same point of difficulty in my questionnaire and realise this is the same issue my supervisors are having with it, so I need to put some effort and time into solving this issue. Frustrating! A fairly late night beckone, I think...

Ady, I will relish the thought when mine are at school but this will be long after I have completed my PhD (I am being optimistic today lol). Meanwhile chocolate cake is yummy and Batfink, I too have been partaking in a few eclairs :$ (how odd is that!).

Hubby is cooking, toddler is about to go to bed so I shall try to finish my goals for the day and some more if I can! Going to be a late one for me as usual.

ahem, I also exchanged virtual chocolate cake (lovely though it was) for real Maltesers. They are the lighter way to enjoy chocolate so I don't feel too bad, since I also got in an hour-long Pilates class today!

I'm only in my first year and theoretically, I'm a part timer, so think my submission is set for Oct 2016 at the moment (OMG - I try not to think about it like that very often!). I'm trying to crack on quicker than that, though, and am considering changing registration to full-time if and when me and my sup think I can definitely submit in a shorter timescale. We'll see!

I finished the book by 4pm! It was a very easy read in all fairness! Another goal needed for Wednesday's PhD day but moderating and thinking about next semester's lecturing tomorrow.

Ok, so not much done due to ill babies (x2) but with hubby holding the babies,
Goal 3 = Add new refs into bibliography - almost done, just 5 to add.
Goal 4 = sorted out another few papers on my desk and have cited/added to ref section!

Will finish ref list additions tomorrow, shouldn't take long. Hope to finalise editing and a few minor updates aswell.

Oooh it seems I missed the virtual chocolate cake yesterday, damn it!

Hope everyone is okay. I had a fab day yesterday with my work, so this is usually followed by a not so good day! But I'll try my best;

Goal 1- finish interview schedules
Goal 2- look at what needs doing re approaching participants
Goal 3- theory

Morning everyone.

Today I am waiting for my supervisor to email me some stuff, which she should do this afternoon. My first goal is to send a few emails and to upload everything else for my applications.

Hello everyone

I have lots to do today because I'm off to a seminar tomorrow and Thursday (well, the seminar is on Thursday but I can't get there in time by train on the day so my partner and I are having a nice day out tomorrow in London (museums, restaurant - yay!!), then I'm staying in a cheapo youth hostel overnight and going on to the seminar on Thursday morning). Hmm, that sounded like a complicated explanation!

Anyway, it'll be nice to have a day off and do something fun, and then the seminar should be good too - lots of very eminent professors, all of whom I've cited frequently in my lit review, and one of whom my supervisors and I think would make a good external examiner....

So, goals for today:

1.) Go swimming for the first time in ages! - DONE - that felt good!!
2.) Write and send application for PhD student event that's always over-subscribed - DONE
3.) Print off all directions, reservations, paperwork for next 2 days - DONE
4.) Email both organisations I'm studying about scheduling preliminary interviews
5.) Finish final bits of draft questionnaire and send to software person
6.) Make notes on sensible things I can say to seminar presenters, especially potential external examiner (yikes)

I am having such a horrible day.

I just met with my supervisor who will be making comments on my application this afternoon so that I can work on it and get everything uploaded this evening.

I thought all of the stuff for my other application was sorted. I even rang them up last week to check something and they told me not to worry about it but today they emailed me asking me about it and also asking me to send them back forms which I haven't even heard of.

My goals for the rest of the day are
1. Lunch
2. Do everything I can to sort out the mess which has happened with my first application
3. Go to the gym
4. spend the evening sorting and uploading my second application.

Oh Star Shaped, what an awful day! I hope it gets better for you. Batfink, I am envious of your fun day out tomorrow. Have a great time at the seminar (thurs) and make the most of meeting eminant people/potential examiners - how exciting!

I have had more thoughts this morning on my thesis from the further reading last night, had to jot them down until now! I need to create (from my data) a graph for interest, and check another theory from last nights paper. I think my brain is being very analytical in these later stages.

Tonight I plan to check refs all included and further edit/clarify the last discussion.

I hope everyone is having a better day than I am. Application number 1 is missing one piece of paperwork which I thought was sorted out internally (I even asked to make sure last week and was told not to worry about it). I have now requested this and I'm trying not to think about it not being done in time. I had a moment before when I lost it a bit but I am trying to keep my head up now.


My supervisor has started sending me some stuff through so my goal for the rest of the evening is to go over everything and to upload application number 2.

Good luck with it, Star-Shaped. Hang in there. I find it's very easy for me to lose perspective when I'm under pressure and end up making myself even more stressed, so I hope you're coping okay. Sounds like a horrendous day - but don't panic, you'll get there!

And thanks Dunni - I'm really looking forward to the day off! And I've now achieved 5 of my 6 goals for today (unprecedented!!) so won't even feel guilty about it! (Or not very, anyway. I am going through a stage of waking at 4 am in a panic about how much I have to do!)

I alos hope my brain suddenly gets analytical at some point in my PhD...

Just my final goal for the day - preparing for Thursday's seminar - to do now, and then I can go home.

Morning all!
Well last night I managed to sort out the refs missing from the ref list and edited/clarify ch 6 discussion. Word count is under the max limit too!

Star-Shaped I hope your applications went well last night. Bet you are looking forward to finishing those off. Hope today is a better day for you.

Today/tonight the plan is to address adding the figures now that the text of the methodology/results chapters are complete. A very tedious job!