My second paper is starting to look quite good. It needs maybe another day's worth of work but I'm too tired to carry on with it now. I'm ready to give up for the day but will spend at least 2 more tomatoes inputting references into Refworks as I've been really bad at keeping up with it recently.

hello :$

I've been AWOL from my PhD recently. I've been SO busy doing other stuff, RA work, family issues, I also had my annual review - which is stupid, because preparing for it distracted me from actually getting on with my PhD! I think I've had at least 2, maybe 3 months out.

So I'm back. I really am in the last months now and need to get on with it. My thesis so far..

- chapter 1 Intro- drafted
- chapter 2 Lit review - drafted, but all in the wrong order with no argument
- chapter 3 Method - complete
- chapter 4 Study 1 - drafted for publicaition - need to re-wrte and expand in length
- chapter 5 Study 2- same as chapter 4
- chapter 6 Study 3 - done the stats, know the argument, just need to write the intro and discussion.
- chapter 7 Discussion - not doing until sup has read the rest

My goal today: To re-plan lit review so I have the argument sorted so I can then re-write for the rest of this week, therefore meaning I will have completed 3 out of 6 chapters :-)

Hey Sneaks, really good to have you back onboard :-)

nice to see everyone! how are you all progressing?

I'm going full into work tomorrow - mytomatoes and everything!

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I'm having 'the talk' with my supervisor tomorrow when he tells me what he thinks of my draft and if I can submit this summer. Am starting to feel physically sick about it so can only imagine how those preparing for their vivas must feel :$. He emailed me today to confirm our meeting saying he was 'looking forward to our meeting'. Gulp:-(

ah, its best to get moving with it though Ady! You'll be pleased when its all done :-)

My news is that my hubby has passed his viva! (and his sup NEVER read his thesis!) actually come to think of it, this is largely the reason MY PhD has been put on the backburner haha!

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.

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!

Well I did my plan AND I've got all my RA work out of the way, so I now have 3 days to complete my lit review re-work.

Goal for today: Re-work 1st section (whichis about 2000 words, I need to re-scope it really).

Welcome back Sneaks! I had wondered where you'd got to! It sounds like things are coming along for you and that you have a clear idea of what is left to do.

I'm not feeling too great today after a sleepless night. Now that I am starting to pull together a full draft it has hit me that I'm finishing soon and I'm pretty terrified. My supervisor emailed me yesterday and told me there has been a delay with the grant application we put in and we might not find out until the end of September if we have been successful.

But I can't get things get on top of me. My first goal is to make an appointment with the careers advisor and then to write 500 words of discussion.

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).

ooh I want a full draft :-( I'm starting to feel like the whole thing is way too difficult.

Anyway, I'm trying to get this section done, and I want to get it done before the apprentice!

Hi Sneaks, welcome back!

I see you all approaching the end and I'm not surprised the Fear occasionally hits - I know I'll be petrified when I get to that point! (Yikes, only another year to go!) But you can all do it - you're all clearly very intelligent, committed and focused...

I've spent the last few weeks rushing around trying to meet some crazy deadlines, and it's looking like it might all work out, maybe. Paper written and submitted to journal, abstract written and accepted for conference presentation, poster designed and presented at university award evening, poster abstract written and accepted for another conference. And now it looks like the first bit of my main data collection will be going ahead in the next couple of weeks, assuming the first host organisation approve the final version of my questionnaire. Phew!

Goals for today:
1.) Prepare for this morning's supervision meeting
2.) Ummmm.... dunno. Look at the work I need to do and plan out the next stages I guess!

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!).

Morning all.

Thanks for the encouragement Dunni. I have been having a bit of a wobble the last few days but I think I've got through it now!

I haven't done much at all this week and I'm taking tomorrow off to go to Download festival so need to make progress today! My first goal is to tidy up the rubbish I have written for my discussion and to increase the word count by 500.