the best thing to do is stop being disorganised :-). Get yourself some large pieces of paper and a wall calendar, oh and some floor or table space. Next write a rough list of what you have to do (titles only at this stage) once you are sure you have everything, put some columns on your paper, one for each thing you have to do. Then you will see how much is there. Leave some space at the end to add things later. divide the columns into rows and then give each row a title. It won't matter if there is no overlap at this stage. for example one column could be something like collect apparatus / learn skill X(what you need to do obviously depend on your subject, so you decide!) then in the appropriate column put a date when you would like/need to have done this. cross ref this on your calendar. Details can go on another list with a number on it, you write the number on the chart, and if you want on the calendar as well. This should get you going. that way each day you can check what you have to do. It won't be set in stone, its your thing so you can change it if you need to. do something similar with the data, if you can put it in piles of similar stuff and then sub divide it this might help. Also if you do need someone to help you, if you have made a stab at sorting it out they will be more willing to give you a hand than if you just give them a big pile of bits - even if what you have done isn't quite right you will get points for trying. Oh, and don't panic, mistakes are part of the process, the only time mistakes are wrong is if you don't learn from them. think positive 8-)

get that report in, motivate yourself to do it, this is important to give yourself some breathing space. don't brings things to a head until YOU are ready to make this decision, whatever you decide will be right for you, but you must give yourself the time you need to make sure you have explored all the angles and taken them into account, don't rush this process, you don't want to have any reason to regret what you have done. As I said before, write everything down, put it in the right columns and treat it like a piece of research it will help you look at the things objectively.

This is a very big step to take, so you do need to think carefully, and it may be worthwhile to get some paper and write down the pros and cons of leaving straight away. I agree that you should think about when to go, now isn't a good time to do anything really, with the summer on the horizon when everything including job opportunities slow down, and of course at this time you will be competing with a large number of recently qualified people - this may not be a problem, but may be worth considering. The thing is PhDs are different from other courses, and it takes a while to get used to the difference. You need to think why you feel this way, and if you can actually do anything about any of them, your supervisor can be 'trained' so that you get out of them what you need. The other person can be befriended and maybe able to help you (if she says she can help you, let her, you have nothing to lose and it might make your work environment less stressful. As for the workload, I have always found that you have to work extra hours sometimes, but if you can find something interesting in the job you are doing it makes it OK. If you feel the need to go, set a mental date, but don't burn your bridges so keep it to yourself, and then work to make the time you decide you have left as productive as possible, you will then be able to say that you worked on X and got it to Y, you may even find you get involved enough again to want to stay. :-)

Thanks for that, I've posted on the site, I hope I can get it sorted - otherwise others may want to use MY computer and I need it !!!

I need some help. The main computer in the house has lost its internet connection. It appears to have lost internet explorer or this has been corrupted in some way. It had been turning itself off from time to time for about a week, and went off suddenly when someone was doing a norton scan. I've downloaded IE8, put on firefox and taken off norton, but none of these processes has corrected the problem, although sometimes I now get local and internet conncetions indicated in the icon on the systems tray but it doesn,t actually connectand still says IE has stopped working. I'm loathe to do too much to the computer, such as a rebuild until I've explored all avenues as I haven't really got the tme to do it now. Anyone got any ideas?

I'm not that bothered really. I think they had to raise the level because it appears to be transmitted human to human. There was a good programme about this on Radio 4 yesterday about 4.30. They also said that as we in the north are at the end of our flu period whilst those in the south are entering theirs, they may have more to fear. I wonder how many of the people who are phoning NHS direct have actually had any contact with anyone who is remotely likely to have been anywhere near anyone who has flu of any kind, let alone this one.

First of all, remember that you have been doing this since September, so you have been through the winter, now the weather is getting better, things tend to improve on their own.

The feeling of isolation is not uncommon, I guess most of us have been through that at some stage, its basically because all our work is slightly, or majorly, different to that of everyone else, so on the level it can seem as though we have nothing much in common, however at a deeper level we can find things that we share, even if it is only our problems.

getting people to join in things is never easy, over here I am chair of our local community centre, and although lots of people want things done, they never turn up to AGMs, we usually have one person and a dog- and that is only if its raining!:$ - its mostly because they think they might have to do something (they are not wrong there!) you might want to try again, or even widen your offer to other people, a notice in your library might do it, or an invitation to something where people know what will be expected of them, It is hard to enter a room of strangers, so something non- threatening is good, an individual thing that could result in co-operation, a quiz or something maybe, nothing to do with work. At this uni - I'm part time by the way -we meet up some Saturdays because some information sessions have been set up, looking at different areas that are common to most PhD work, so we get to meet people from different disciplines. Perhaps you could suggest something like that. Maybe something along those lines would help

Again at this uni we can join in masters courses if we want, if you could do that you might find other people to be with, and with whom you can associate.

As others have said, at lower levels your targets are more likely to be set for you whilst at this level there is a lot of self setting. This is not a bad thing really as only you know your subject, so you should be the best one to do this. Set yourself some small targets to start with, to read and comment on a couple of papers for instance and when you are comfortable doing that, you can move on to other things. Don't rush to be ultra productive, that will come, just take your time and go with the flow. :-)

You should, i think give it a bit longer before you make a decision about what you want to do, but if you do decide to do something else, don't go out on a negative note don't think ' I'm quitting', think ' I have decided to make a positive move to another area which I feel will be a good move and use my talents well'

good luck

there might be some information on their website??? What is the subject?

although I can see that if someone has submitted without the say-so of their supervisory team, then failure might be an option, if that team think the work is of sufficient merit to pass, then there must be something wrong somewhere with the system. Having said that though, I had a second go when I was taking my fellowship viva, because one of the people on the examining team was deemed out of line and I got a phonecall the next day, before any results had been announced, to say that I would be invited to sit the viva again as he had been, shall we say, trying to prove how good he was (he wasn't) but that isn't quite the same. 10% seems very high, and rather strange. To have got that far, and done that much work, under what is supposed to be a system that is geared to guide towards success only to find that it appears to have a built in failure factor seems, well, silly.

My guess is that the masters is really designed for those who are already town planners, and as already said, those jobs are not that common. I think you need to sit down with some paper and write down all the things you want out of a job, just as they come into your head, and also put down any job that you think would give you that, say for example you wanted flexibility, then you might decide that a job with deadlines, but no rigid 9-5 aspect might suit you (writing, journalism maybe?)and then you might be able to sort out what it is you want and maybe it will also have a few ideas on it too! If nothing leaps out I expect there are some career guidance things on the web where you can fill in what you need out of a job, and what you can offer and that might come up with something. Then you can look to see what qualifications/ skills are needed and perhaps find a course that will give you those skills. :-)- of course that doesn't mean there will be a job for you, but you may have found an area that suits you.

well I like it. It is a useful quide, on the research process and the approaches that can be taken, on chapters, including how to structure them, the planning that you need to do even before you start to write in earnest, relating the word count to the chapters you want etc. some of it is obvious...when you think about it, but you can easily get carried away and write loads with no direction. It gives a good foundation of the mechanics of the process and it is therefore good to read something like this before you start when you have a bit of time rather than when you have started. Once you have read it you can dip in when you need to so you can confirm you are keeping on track. That isn't to say you can't deviate from it, it isn't a 'do this or the whole thing is doomed' kind of thing, but you can make informed choices and it gives you a base to work from.

Read 'Authoring a PhD' by Patrick Dunleavy (2003). It is well worth it and will help you from day one.

At this university, although they imply part-time means you don't have to go to things, what they do have a week long 'induction' which is compulsory, and you can't get through the first hurdle without having done this. There are also training days run by the department that so far I've not attended as I can't get the time off, which are not exactly compulsory, but they do like you to go to them and the expectation is there. I do however go to the Saturday sessions and evening sessions that are run by the post grad school as I said we needed something like this, and so I feel kind of obliged to go to them. They do seem to forget that many people are part time because they can't do full time and think that everyone is able to attend things at the drop of a hat. Luckily I don't live too far away, so I have been able to attend some of the masters courses suggested (and run by) my supervisor, and of course thay are once a week for 6-8weeks. It might be a good idea to check how much they really expect you to be there.

Play on the internet :$ at the moment I have three things I absolutely have to get going on, one has to be done by Monday so that I can finalise some practical work for pupils for Tuesday. I've got a report to write that should be done by Sunday so it can be e-mailed to others and then I've got to get on with a couple of chapters for the week after. (I also had 4 books to review for the school library, but I've done those. I was so glad that I went on a speed reading session, 4 books in two and a bit evenings, not bad going I thought :-)) however at the moment I'm having a bit of a break, I deserve it!!!

please don't worry about your proposal being 'trashed' as you put it. That is probably not what they are trying to do at all. Some proposals do take longer to get through than others, one of my fellow students has had a proposal rejected a few times,  -but my supervisor said that everything they suggest should be viewed as a positive thing, and that it will just make their work stronger. The admin person also said that they are trying to help, not just being difficult so think of it in that light. You can't make a supervisor have an initial interest in your particular area, especially if it isn't absolutely in their field, but you can get them interested. If you want feedback on a particular area, then ask them, if you want them to read a large piece of work, ask them when would be a good time to give it to them, they may be particularly busy at certain times, but if you indicate you want them to read something they will be able to timetable it in. If you think they might know some books or articles you should read in a particular area tell them what you have read so far, and ask for any further titles. Oh, and remember to take a bit of time off thinking time is very important. when you are doing other things your brain will still be processing stuff in the background, and sometimes that is when inspiration strikes - so don't forget to keep a notebook to hand for that eureka moment!