======= Date Modified 02 Oct 2008 10:28:02 =======
Thanks Pari, that is REALLY good advice!! I was actually feeling depressed! thinking oh no , i had to redo my entire thesis and rewrite everything cause i have a month extension, and had no motivation to do it! i felt oh great, another month of jail time to serve! and felt closed in. but i like your idea, of treating it like a job and just work 10-5 or something. thanks so much Pari. that's really made me feel better :-) You're a star!! Thanks so much for your message, amazing how you knew what i was feeling and thinking!

I agree the weather is lovely today. i hope you have a good day Pari.

Ruby how are you ? you back at work now? Armendaf, not heard from you, hope you're okay and you worked things out with your sup.

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my aims: lots of sorting out things today!

sort out reference file

sort out papers into collections
sort out chapter folders, putting aside really old drafts that i dont need anymore
sort out loose papers

======= Date Modified 01 Oct 2008 23:47:23 =======
Thank you so much Ruby, Armendaf and Pari, for your lovely encouraging and kind words of support and advice, really really appreciate it! you all are just so great!

Sounds like you three are rearing ahead well done!

well i've been naughty! monday i did some work - i started to sort out my reference file and noticed one reference i accidentally missed. and i sorted out my files of the latest chapter versions, so i know which is the latest one. and i also backed up my work on another external hard drive.

but then tuesday was a family day, my brother came over, so i spent time with my family and didnt get any work done.

and then today, i was planning on starting work again. but i did absolutely NOTHING today. i felt so tired, mentally and physically. i just ate most of the day lol and just watched some dvds had a nap. i dont know why but i just felt so tired.

but you guys are right, i shouldnt be so hard on myself, and should slowly get back into it. tommorow i am going to start a regular routine. i am going to wake up by 9am. and work during the day eating light snacks and then have a heatlhy dinner around 7ish, and then relax in the evening. i think it would be good for me to have a regular routine.

see you guys tommorow! thanks again for the support, really really appreciate it!

Pari, sounds like you're doing really well in the lab! Ruby well done on your hard work, you are being so good! And Armendaf you're doing really well, i hope you have heard back from your sup by now about the extension?

this thread is disguising itself as a "i am procrastinating".....

next time you log on and post a message, add a little line of what you *should* be going.

i'll go first. i *should* be sorting out my computer files, but instead i am watching scrubs in the background and obviously writing this message! okay now i feel guilty, i better sort out my files!

Don't worry Bellaz, 3 months is nothing in the grande scheme of things, but i completely understand the fear. I didnt contact my sup for about 6 months! sure he had a go at me, but i just had to take it.

people usually take it easy over summer months anyways, regardless of the fact that phds dont stop. but i know august is a very slow month for academics, your sup probably wont even notice.

just drop him/her a quick email. saying sorry i havemt been in touch, just had a few personal issues (no need to describe what they are! let his imagination run wild) but i have started writing my thesis, and in a few weeks time, when it is convenient for you, i would like to show you my thesis plan, or whatever.

how about you take one week and do some writing and plan your thesis that way when you contact him you wont feel like you've done nothing. trust me, when i say this, ALOT can be accomplished in just one week, if you put your mind to it and work really hard as many hours as possible.

good luck!

oh and how i got back into swig of things, everyday i set myself a specific task to do, whether it was something like
"read 10 papers about X subject" or write about "methods currently used to detect X"

just set yourself a nice easy attainable task, and get to it! dont let yourself off the hook until you get it done. even if it means glueing yourself to the chair, if you're really having a hard time, work in 15 minute short bursts and take breaks.

======= Date Modified 29 Sep 2008 16:36:22 =======
ooops sorry for spamming. i have a teeny tiny brain, that when i start writing a message, i forget the certain points i want to address that appear in everyone's messages, hence why the *quote* feature is so usefull! and why i wrote so many messages
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okay so holiday time is over. back to the grind! :-s (battle face)

my aims for today (thought i would ease into it): i am including the aims i have already accomplished, just so i can tick them off lol

1. email graduate officer saying thanks for the extension *(done)

2. order extra print cartridges (*done)

3. sort out ALL my papers and put them into seperate *subject* piles. at the moment they are in a mountain!

4. sort out all my paper folders, and take out all the old drafts that i dont need anymore, and put them away. so i can have easy access to the new relevant stuff.

5. sift through loose random papers pulling out anything that may be relevant for additional info.

6. sort out my computer files: backup to external hard drive and cds. and sort out all folders i have created that all say FINAL! ahhhh. i am such a messy person, so need to organise all my files and folders. I will write down where all my files are in a book. need to get rid of files i dont need anymore,and instead back them up. and delete all my old drafts of my chapters and just back them up. that way i can free up some space on my laptop aswell as its slow.

7. sort out my reference file.

8. print the pdf version of thesis.

okay i think that should keep me occupied for today!

planning on having dinner at 7pm, so will work on those things until then.

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how is everyone doing ?

======= Date Modified 29 Sep 2008 00:28:16 =======
i find it boring to go to my bedroom to go to sleep. is that really bizzare?

i like falling asleep in my study room listening to the sound of tv as background. and then falling asleep with the comfort of background noise. then in the middle of the night around 4ish i drag myself to my bedroom. i dont know why i find it hard to go to bed to my bedroom. i am tired right now, but i dont feel like going to bed, as i am worried i will just lie there and be bored lol and worry about things and all the things that you dont think about during the day, at night time they all come popping up.

i'm like mulder, haha didnt he always used to just fall asleep on the couch infront of the telly, never was in his bedroom

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i usually have a tv show (dvd) on in the background and fall asleep watching it , i sometimes close my eyes so i can hear the dialogue and its like an audio book so im just thinking about that, and not having to think about anything else. i think one day i might get one of those mini dvd players, those really small tv dvd player things.

and on cue, will watch a House episode, till i end up sleeping.