hey tractor girl how's it going?

i have a new deadline now. 9.20pm. finish results section.

*sorry correction

i was given the challenge to produce a first draft in 3 weeks. my deadline is tommorow.

trust me, if i can do it, i am the biggest procrastinator in this forum, anyone can do it!

and i have every confidence you will produce a great report!

hang in there pineapple! i too have had to suffer critisism, and was given the challenge to produce a first draft of my thesis in 3 weeks time. so you can do it! i know you can do it!! we're all here rooting for you and hope we can support you. the best way to show them you are capable is to prove it to them through action, ie the report. so make it the best report you can make it , more for yourself then for them! then they will have to eat humble pie!

good luck!! you can do it

pineapple, i know how that feels, to have your supervisor have such low confidence in you. i know what you're going through. its perfectly natural to have ups and downs. your experiencing a down. but i do commend you for picking yourself up and working through it. its not easy. phd is hard enough as it is, without having to fight through the feelings of despair. you sound like you're working very very hard. instead of having that acknowledged they push you even harder. i cant offer any advice. but all i can say is i have felt like you have felt, and i dont blame you one iota for feeling how you feel right now, if i were you, i would feel exactly the same way.

*bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz* sound of my egg timer going off.

okay i am now on the last section of the results section. i think i need another hour to finish it.

revised plan is as follows:

7pm - 8pm: finish results section

8pm - 9pm: discussion.

9pm - 10pm: final check and proof read.

10pm - 12pm : proof read and final corrections to the other 6 chapters.

going to take a 10 minute break now.

that is so true what Olivia and Smiloden have said. just because they are called a 'supervisor', it does not mean they have actually acquired the skills and know how to be a GOOD supervisor. i really think academics given the position of becoming a phd supervisor ought to undergo specific training and kept an eye on. i've heard too many cases of supervisors that are down right tyrants! what gives them the right to treat phd students like this! there is a huge difference between constructive critisism and critisism so harsh that it leaves the student falling into dispair. you seem like an intelligent and level headed person. sometimes people just dont know how to CONSTRUCTIVELY critisise. it is a great skill, unfortunately few have the ability.

Olivia and Smilodens comments are wise and comforting to all of us that have suffered from unjust harsh critisims from our supervisors.

i have personally taken comfort from the following comments made by them :

olivia

"Perhaps they only offer criticism because they have nothing else to offer--not as in your work is poor--but because they haven't a clue on how to do supervision"

how true that is !

Smilodon
"Just a thought - but maybe they are just overanxious and not entirely confident about their own ability....
Alas, academics are often lousey teachers and have the bedside manner of a starving vampire"

when i next undergo harsh critisism, I will keep that in mind

As Dale Carnegie says, no one kicks a dead dog. the reason you're subjected to harsh critisism is because they expect a certain high level from you. sometimes such harsh critisism is a compliment in disguise.

I think it was Eleanor Roosevelt who said, one can not avoid critisim unless one is a Doll up on a high shelf, and said as long as in your heart you did the best you could, that is all that matters.

you're damned if you do , and damned if you dont.

i know how it feels to have harsh critisim hurled at you, i am like you, i take it very personally. and it does hurt. no doubt about that.

*sorry i meant, if you do not submit your thesis, within one year of transferring to "writing up stage" you are then liable to a fine.

Thanks Ang for your kind words!

--

Janey, i believe its called transfer to writing up stage. during this stage, you are telling the university that you are simply writing up the thesis and are not collecting any new data. the uni then give you one year to submit your thesis and you do not have to pay tuition fees. you should have a form that states WRITING UP TRANSFER

if you do not submit your thesis you are then liable to a FINE. for my uni its £250. other universities have different fines and regulations.

contact your post graduate officer / tutor. about transfering to writing up stage and thus not paying registration tuition fees. i hope that helps

thanks tractor girl! i must admit its really nice to know you're working away. gives me inspiration and the will to carry on!

i just had a 5 minute break, got some coke! i dont drink fizzy drinks usually. but today i am desperate!

okay update:

just finished a sketchy version of the methods section. somethings are inaccurate. but its the best i can do in the time allocated. i've added a disclaimer to chapter 6: claiming it is INCOMPLETE.

now about to work on the results section.

next aim/target.

5.20pm - 6.20pm: complete results section.

*sets egg timer for 1 hour*

*glues myself to my chair until 6pm*

aims/targets:

3.30pm - 4pm: chapter 6: methods

4pm - 6pm: results

6pm : 10 min break.

and evaluation of the progress of chapter 6:

6pm - 7pm: discussion.

7pm - 8pm: tidy up/proof read/sort out chapter 6.

8pm *deadline for final chapter 6*

well thats the plan! lol

tractor girl, thanks

its me and you kiddo!! good luck with your deadline too!! it's going to be a longggggggggggggggg day/night ahead of us!! but just think once we've done it, we can relax on monday. yippeee partyyyyyy

we can do it!!

*hands tractor girl some extra strong superglue to attach yourself to your chair*

tokyorabbit, welcome!!! i look forward to reading your daily targets, always a pleasure to find a fellow fan of the JB book!! good luck with your deadline, you can do it!

Thanks Olivia! You're so right, a blank page is very intimidating. you're right, once you're on a roll its easier.

----
well today is my last day before the big deadline tommorow.

my aims today:

1. chapter 6
a) introduction
b) methods
c) results
d) discussion.

2. Final proof reading and corrections for chapters:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7.

3. create table of contents.

and then God willing:
monday email my Supervisor my first draft and then tuesday i have my day off!! yippee first day off in 3 weeks and going to the Alicia Keys concert!! i am going to be so happy when i email my sup the 1st draft. even though its an incomplete draft and needs ALOT more work. its at least *something*.