======= Date Modified 28 Aug 2008 01:21:25 =======
Thanks Mira, your message made me feel better! and dont feel shameful about needing an extention. good luck with it. and i totally sympathesise about losing focus. i do many many times during the day! lol
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I second that, well done TG on getting those 3 hours of productive time done! i hope your afternoon/evening went well. how is chapter 7 coming along now?

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well done Armendaf for getting some exercise in! good for you
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Ruby - glad you treated yourself with some detective tv shows! i love crime american tv shows , at the moment watching The Closer. great stuff. my favourite is criminal minds though! :-)
good luck with your deadline!!
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well folks i am calling it a day. i have no idea how much "productive time" i spent today as i didnt keep track and worked rather sporadically with bits and bobs.

i managed 2 out of the 4 aims.

1. i've summarised the results from chapter 5: done
4. read through and made summary notes from the discussion sections from chapter 3 and 4, and realised just how much work they need aswell!! its never ending lol. and then realised i really need a paper from 1995, so not sure if i will get a chance to go to the british library to track it down, so might just rely on the abstract to get by and then worry about reading it for the viva or something. dont want to waste a day on one paper

so tommorow
i am spending the whole day reading through papers and making notes for discussion chapter 5, i dont know how many there are, but there are about 50 or so! but basically its all about methylation -i suppose most of the reading will come in useful for the introduction sections aswell.

see you guys tommorow, and i really dont know what i would do without the amazing support i get from each and everyone of you. you all are so great!!! :-)

i look forward to hearing about your day tommorow

night night

======= Date Modified 27 Aug 2008 21:06:24 =======
======= Date Modified 27 Aug 2008 17:48:42 =======
Hi everyone, Tractorgirl, Armendaf and Ruby!

I have to confess i haven't done anything so far today! i've been in one of my moods where i didnt feel like it. now i feel guilty that i've wasted the day and i cant catch up. but then i think i can still clock in decent number of productive hours and maybe get something done at least.

i just got an email from a family friend telling me to finalise chapter 5 and to send it to him asap and then move onto the next chapter. which has kinda motivated me now to finish this chapter and finalise it to final draft version instead of leaving it in 1st draft version

so i've set myself a deadline of finishing the entire chapter 5 by saturday in final draft version.

that includes: introduction, results, discussion.

results are in 1st draft version, which need to be transferred to final draft version.

discussion is at zero draft stage at the moment. need alot of work on this.

introduction - needs abit more work too.

--but i am just going to focus on today:

my aims:

1. summarise the results from chapter 5

hmm since i have to go through the results again, i might aswell take this opportunity to write up my results from my first draft scribblings and finalise the results section to final draft format at the same time.
so aim 2 is:

2. finalise results section and write it up onto word document, including figures.

3. read papers and make notes for discussion

4. make notes on the discussion section of chapter 3 and 4, so i dont contradict myself when making connections!

======= Date Modified 27 Aug 2008 00:29:01 =======
i am clocking out for today.
total productive hours today - 4 hours and 4 minutes.
i have done aim 1 (from the evening shift aims), wrote out all the interesting stuff from various emails for discussion. about 9 pages (one side only) worth of handwritten notes.

i am sleepy - off to bed in abit.

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how was your evening Tractorgirl? Armendaf? Mira? freeLouise, Ruby, bov2000 and the rest of the A-team, sorry if i've left someone out, too sleepy to think :p

======= Date Modified 26 Aug 2008 18:43:36 =======
======= Date Modified 26 Aug 2008 18:26:14 =======
faced with a blank page on writing the discussion section, i am feeling intimidated.

so i am going to declare my aims for the rest of the evening:

1. write out notes from various emails -on discussion points i can discuss.

2. read papers and make notes that i can use for my discussion

3. scan through the results section of chapter 5 and make brief notes what the results are showing.

4. scan through the discussion section of chapter 3 and 4 and make brief notes, to see if i can make connections between the chapters.


wow i really am feeling overwelmed as to what to write for the discussion section. but the only way i can do this, is if i first write like a madman and produce a zero draft.

i've already forgotten what my results have shown... so better make notes on what the results have shown. i feel like at best i will only be able to produce a page for the discussion :$
i will just try my best and see what i come up with.

i am putting a limit on how long i spend on the discussion, so my deadline is: thursday:

so i have 1 and half days to get cracking on it.

okay first thing, will start with something easy to get over my 'fear' - which is to read through all the emails and copy out interesting points (notes) that i might be able to use for discussion.

======= Date Modified 26 Aug 2008 18:38:26 =======
======= Date Modified 26 Aug 2008 16:51:44 =======
======= Date Modified 26 Aug 2008 16:19:23 =======
Hey Tractorgirl, thanks for the message. I am sure the interviews went better than you think, as we can be our own worst critics, and its good practice aswell. And good luck for the next interview!!
Not sure what to advise about interviews, but what i've heard is to act confident and enthusiastic, and then highlight what you've done and how that can be applicable to the job you are going for.. like use examples from your real life phd life ...
Good luck!!

And that is a great idea, about unwinding before you start work on chapter 7! i am about to take a break now and then start working on the discussion section.

I finally finished my 1st draft of the results section of chapter 5. lol i spent a whole week on it!! but its done. thank God. it's mad scribblings on paper though! so i need to tidy it up and bring in the grammer experts, and convert the text to a more scientific way, instead of the babyish stuff i have written! but as JB says, write messy! because the content is there, and its easier to convert the sentences, once you have written what you are really wanting to say.
but i am happy that its done. as it was a real pain. and i was very strict today and just kept it to "good enough" level. as i didnt want to spend another day on this. as its time to move onto the next section! so deadlines and time constraints are good.

now i will be joining you and doing the discussion section of chapter 5 -which is harder, but the more interesting bit.

see you for the evening shift :-)

And don't worry you got plenty of time to get it done by friday - you can do it! - 2 whole days and a half. you can do it!! i have faith in you.

i am going to try the zero draft format for my discussion section. write very messily and write in no particular coherent order.

but first will read papers and +notes to get ideas on what i want to say about data

======= Date Modified 26 Aug 2008 13:47:35 =======
Good question Neena (up)

i pretty much wake up and say to myself, right i am going to write all day long ... which doesn't always turn out that way.

so instead, i say to myself, okay work for 15 minutes and then take a break. usually the 15 minutes turns into an hour. and then i take a quick 15 minute break and then get back to my desk again. and i also keep track how many hours of "productive time" i am spending on my thesis, by using an online stop watch. i press the go button everytime i am working, anytime i am procrastinating, i have to hit pause.
http://www.online-stopwatch.com/full-screen-stopwatch/

but i do try to get most of my work done during the day time, so that by the evening around 9ish i can slow down and relax as my brain wants to rest..

the only thing that works for me. is really telling myself, to work for 15 minutes. even if i hate it or am stuck. and then if i've accomplished that. i can then take a break or continue working for another 45 minutes or so, and then take a break after an hour.

i never was a believer of taking breaks. i thought i should just be working all day long, with NO breaks whatsover. but i found taking short breaks every hour or so, does actually help in clocking in more productive time.

this is a great website also, http://davidseah.com/tools/ett/alpha/

to track what you are doing all day. you fill in the bubbles for every activity you are doing, whether its working on your thesis or procrastinating.

what really works for me, is to set myself a small thing to do. and just concentrate on that for the 15 minutes. if i havent accomplished it in 15 minutes, thats okay, and i continue working on it.


how are things going now for you Neena?

Tractorgirl thanks for your message and good luck with your job interview!!!

i once read that the way to excude confidence, is to "act" literally act like an actor that you have confidence, fake it ;-) and then real confidence will flow through... i am sure you will do great at the job interview, as you show such enthusiasm, which is what most employers are really seeking, as job skills can be learnt on the job. so positive aura and confidence is the way to go.

let us know how the job interviews go when you come back

and that is great about aiming 3 hours of productive time when you get back(up)

chat to you later !