I am not seeing too much of a difference but I am rushed off my feet so maybe missing something. All i know is my sup read everythign with a microscope and was my harshest critic and while my 1st draft was a very polished version, it went through the microscope again and then again so my final draft was No 3 of the full compiled thing which means sup had read everything like 4 times or something! yikes!

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By write write write for 1st draft - I meant you must have written wrtiten written throughout and got feedback. My sup read 3000 words essays every fortnight in the first yr and a chapter in each in the second year and then the "first" draft which was actually really compiled revised chapters - so my first(technically 2nd) draft came exactly the way yours came, after chunks had been fed back on - my point was - get it all drafted as soon as you can. Of course every chapter in my 1st draft had already been read by sup once at least, through year 1 and 2.

Yes - I have taken great care to thank every single person who contribvuted to me and my life in these 3 years in my acknowledgements -everyone who heard me speak, sustained me, read my work, worked with me, heard my silly gibber-gabber - everyone. I have even thanked those who turned away from me later, let us say, pre-viva, - but that doesnt decrease what they had already contributed in the making of the thesis :) I will forever be thankful for their friendship!

Thanks Mak and Cinderella!

Yup - I was earning and paying corrosive central London rents for a tiny slice of a room which had a narrow bed and a desk so I didn't have other options! My office space was a desk as well so, I wrote my entire thesis on uni H drives for which I am ever thankful!

Hi all - Having just finished my minor revisions, I thought I'd share some reflections/tips on what I have learnt through the process - shaped as Dos and Donts :-) They are in no order except for as they come into Bug's brain.

1. Keep your friends close, but share your burdens amongst a few not one or two i.e. ensure that you have a support net at all times but do not burden any one node in the net too much. My "net" was spread across the country I am from (an old teacher or two, a school friend or two, on Skype), this country (some PhD friends), an aunt or two - at the end - not all of this net survived the process, but overall, the net supported me. These are different from 'hang out buddies' - they are real nodes of strength.

2. Bad moments pass. Avoid sending emails, or having conversations - with anyone - when the day looks blue.

3. Produce a first draft as soon as you can - be it rough, be it dirty. The sheer confidence that a finished draft (albeit replete with errors) gives you is unparalleled. This is my THE most important tip.

4. Conferences. Put yourself out there. It is hard. But do it. And as my supervisor said - no confernce paper needs to be a finished thing - but with every conference ensure that your thinking has gone ahead - by one extra argument, or one extra rethought point. this worked WONDERS for me.

5. Keep all of this writing. It will contribute towards your rough and dirty first draft.

6. When "life" happens during the PhD - bad moments I am speaking of - deaths, separations, broken relationships, suddenly changed friendships - have faith. Things get better.

7. If you are blessed with a great supervisor - engage, engage, engage. They will listen as you muddle through. If you have a bad supervisor - invest in external support - a colleague, teaching and learning centres, a peer you can trust.

8. Peer review - give feedback to others. Offer to read their stuff. You will learn SO much. Even if it is not in your area. Take feedback. Ask for criticism.

9. Contribute to departmental life if you can - committees, meetings, pub outings. it gives you a boost somewhere.

10. Write, write and write again. Whether 500 words a day or 10,000 words in a week in a sudden burst of energy - all towards that Rough and dirty first draft.

11. Focus on the finished product from the beginning - I accumulated almost no notes, photocopies or books - all I wanted was 80,000 finished words and would just stack up anything I wrote.

12. Back up. Free online drives - Dropbox, Idrive, Log Me In back up regularly.

13. Things will be emotional and turbulent sometimes. Sometimes, you will be misunderstood. At other times, people will change - but the PhD monster will not stop and wait. Be kind to yourself at moments such as these. They too, will pass.

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Tad drunk.

But - left it for good recently.

Join academia.edu if you wish, it'sjust getting going, but honestly as far a s facebook is concerned I left after I had 500 "friends" there and have had no reason to regret leaving. What a joke it is.

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1. I have learnt that I give off an air of relentless, fast, competitive performance.

2. I have learnt that people almost never look deeper to see a tremendously emotional person who forms attachments, grieves their losses if they are lost and fears solitude.

3. I have learnt that I feel pain deeper than I ever knew I could feel.

4. I have learnt that somehow my 'performance' overshadows points 2 and 3.

5. I have learnt that Point 4 hurts very very deeply.

I am also known to do things quickly, as regrettably I have always been that way :( and whenever I hear these things i feel everything from guilty to apologetic to even throughly ashamed of myself.

But that's just me.

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ARe you sure she takes these/ If she does, it is her business though. I never heard of these.

Perhaps offering help is not beiong competitive. I have used colleagues and friends like a lot for my own work and I regularly offer my time to anyone who might need it. My chapters have been read and critiqued and I have sought this myself, and others have offen offered. I too offered my time to someone today who seemed down a bit. The fact that I defended yesterday I hope does not make it look like I am poking them and doing some weird competitive thing.

Please step back and try to think if there is the remotest chance you are misreading her?

Edit to Add - seemingly competitive people, who do things fast and on time are often the targets of great resentment, but sometimes they have their own burdens, thats just the way they are built, and they too need some slack cut to them.