I reckon go for it too pamw, it might be a lot of hard work but if its only 3 conferences per year and its something you would enjoy dont let your supervisor drag you down. Having something else to think about than your PhD might even help you stay motivated! And as for not having the contacts they wouldnt have asked you to do it if they didnt think you could would they? Good luck!

In my office there are 5 of us, all with our own desk, shelves and half a filing cabinet. There's also a large open plan office for some of the other PhD students, which they say they like. I cant imagine not having an office, I thought the fees we pay were meant to provide us with an office?? Really feel for you poor folks with no/over crowded/hotdesk office!

Thanks for all your replies everyone. I must pay more attention to my diet, sleep and exercise patterns... Will make a concerted effort from now on, I know it will help its just so hard sometimes to take care of myself when stressing about the PhD!

For some reason exercise doesnt seem to be helping, I get out everyday at least for a walk with the dog, but somehow as soon as I sit down in front of the thesis the sleepiness comes back! Think its psychological... I had the same thought as you cc and planned to spend a while holed up at home working earnestly, somehow think I might go mad if I do that though!! Looks like I'll be shoving my face in cold water every half hour till I finish...

How can it only be 10.30am and already I am sooooo sleeeeeepy - the temptation to go for a snooze is so hard to resist! Writing up is so teduous. Any tips?

Reckon you should say something, you dont have to say you feel completely unconfident but maybe something more subtle - sometimes you find it a bit hard, etc... better to show a bit of weakness than drive yourself into the ground! you'll be fine dont worry

I think nearly everyone has this sort of crisis at some point. everyone i've spoken to has doubted themselves and thought they or their work weren't good enough in one way or another! maybe say to your supervisor you're feeling a bit lacking in confidence, you never know, he/she might give you a boost!

aaaaargh how is it May already? not enough time left to write so many words!!

glad someone else could get you these articles pinkneuron, i got here too late to help!

I'm in neuropsychology too - if there's anything you really need let me know and I'll see if I've got the pdf!

Hi PinkNeuron, know the feeling, I had that problem between MSc and PhD too. Other than paying for access, or finding the odd free issue of a journal at their website (or an occasional free article on google) I didnt have much luck. Any friends' Athens logins you can 'borrow'?

I got my PhD by emailing my supervisor, just looked into what her topic was, experience, what the dept was like etc. and thought it looked really relevant to what I wanted to do. She was keen to take me on, dept helped me sort out my funding, and its all gone really well (she does my head in sometimes, but what did I expect!). There's always the danger you wont get on with your supervisor, but then there's always going to be that danger. Even if you knew them from undergrad they can be very diff as a PhD supervisor! Reckon you should get in touch with people and say you're v interested in their work, its always worth a go and you can keep an eye out for advertised positions too. Good luck!

Well I'd have to say when mine has read chapters of mine over and over and made multiple comments each time, and then starts changing bits she wrote in the first place back to what I had originally written because she's forgotten what she has previously said, that really hacks me off! Thinking of sabotaging track changes on her computer...

What version of EndNote do you have? You've prob read this but here's info on Vista compatability:
http://www.endnote.com/envista.asp

I agree with adem and insomniac. Advice is just advice after all, you dont have to take it! I really value my non-phd friends' advice, a fresh perspective and all that (even if sometimes they might not truly understand!)