BurgerKing:
nope, he really wrote up his own PhD in three months before his first child arrived:)
About 5 hours, it is reasonable if you work regularly, have effective working habits (e.g. do not read everything 7 times from A-Z) and are in social sciences, and it does not include breaks.

Lazy Bastards!

Now then, I have to write a reply because this was a questtion bugging me for the past three weeks as I didn't do anything or anything that could count towards my PhD probably since x'mas. By the way I'm in social sciences. I am absolutely terrified that my supervisor is going to figure this out. Everyday after x'mas I thought it would be that day I would start working, actually I did read half a paper and made some notes but thats about it. Got the motivation to finish this Phd somehow, but the last few weeks has been a nightmare and everyone around me thinks I'm having an easy ride, which bothers me more. OK thats it I am going to start from TODAY, even though half the day is gone already, but there is plenty of time in the night. It's the weekend..I know! but this is freaking me out....I need to get back to my work

Sheena, I'm doing a weekend of work for the same reason...trying to chase away the late-night waves of guilt that I'm not doing enough

Well guys. Im glad people are being honest. Just to update, I have managed to work quite hard since xmas break and have re-submitted my proposal for updrade.
However, I do think that you go through peaks and troughs on the work front so dont be too hard on yourself. The biggest and most important thing is when you dont do work, do some thing constructive with the time i.e. something you enjoy (golf, theatre etc). Then when you return, you are motivated. It works for me at least!!

Good luck

So true!

I took all of Christmas off! I think I deserve it for working hard the rest of the year. My PhD is realy important to me but I also want to keep my sanity!

Verdy, I think your supervisor's taking the piss.

Its nearly four days since I last tried to talk myself to work BUT I have become such a lazy person, it makes me so stressed. Tomorrow is another hill to climb, so hope I can get something done, really guys this is getting out of hand and I am in big trouble when I see the super.

um, November would be the last time i did work...

Burgerking - I think Verdy means actual write up not experiment and data analysis!!

It would be physically impossible and against the rules to finish a phd in 3 months!

I think i've wasted about a year, (i'm in my 3rd)i have hardly done a thing for about a month and a half. i just sit and look up celeb gossip (girl porn) all day i've got to the stage where i have no motivation at all and am totally depresed with the whole thing. I need to write a chapter a month to finish by oct and i can hardly write 500words! All my field work is done (2 ethnographies)and i've written up one but i have a serious case of workorexia. any ideas how to fire up the motivation again?

Hi, lilliput, if u read the posts I have been in that black hole and doing the same thing (reading gossip columns in interent). So, maybe we both should get are lazy backs off the chairs and start to do somethings, I'll keep in touch to see how u got on. I started on reading and making some notes today and looked over a draft chapter that I should have finished nicely a month ago. I think if we manage at least 500 words a day probably there would be something in the end.

Does staring at the same partially-finished paragraph for a month count?

Can empathise there... been doing that for the last week, but finally got the revisions done and chapter sent of today, yey!! Maybe use the feeling of how good it will finish to get it done as motivation?