Just celebrated my 32nd birthday last week! He he! I'm actually starting to regress as I get more childish everyday... I look at photos of me in my 20's though and am glad to have left it behind - too many chips and far too much beer took its toll! Age is definitely a state of mind. People should respect you for who you are and not what age you are and remember that even if you feel like the youngest, everyone else will probably just wish they were your age again!

Thanks deiseal, I really appreciate it and feel a lot calmer and hopefully more able to sleep. I am going to have a nap as my brain is fried and I didn't sleep last night. Until I wrote this I didn't realise how stressed I was feeling - it just suddenly creeps up on you. But with all the words of reassurance I don't feel so alone which is nice! Hope your second year is going well and hi to everyone above - hope you all have a good day and thanks again for taking the time to soothe the nerves of a newbod!

Thanks! That's a really good tip. I too have been adding up the hours, and I spend most of the 30 hours in front of my computer, but I could see a way of extending this just by spending some time thinking about the subject and writing notes. I think part of the problem has been feeling like I need to be reading or writing in those 30 hours and when I feel unable to do either anymore, I just stop. So thanks, I'll try that today and just start writing my ideas down as they come to me - that way I might get more done!

LOL. Thanks aliby! That's great - I really like the idea of embracing my not-knowingness! He he - feel better already. Thanks again for making me laugh.

Thanks Piglet! Sitting in front of the computer at 12 at night trying to work in between checking my ebay summary probably hasn't helped my state of mind. I appreciate your kind reply. Hope your day is going ok and maybe if I wallpaper my ceiling with your reassuring words I'll actually sleep tonight. Best wishes - Sassy

I just started my PhD this year and after 10 weeks I'm trying to work out what it is that I've been doing for the last ten weeks! I'm wondering whether I'm doing enough work (averaging about 30 hours a week and very worried this isn't enough) and am just not sure what I'm supposed to have achieved at this point. Most people seem to have spent their time on their literature review. Whilst I've been getting to grips with this I've also been doing some primary research (I'm in history) which means I've felt pulled in two different directions. In other words I don't really feel like I've got a handle on either. To top it off, when I'm asked about what I'm doing it all seems incredibly vague!! Am I
a) Normal
b) A slacker
c) Paranoid
d) All of the above
Would appreciate any help from anyone for a newbod :)

Wondered if anyone has any tips for writing a PhD proposal for the AHRB? I am struggling to outline exactly what I'm going to do when I haven't started the research yet. How detailed should it be? How important is it to show that your work will add to a current area of research and how do you demonstrate this when you don't know what your findings will be?! Any tips on how to plan a proposal would be gratefully appreciated. I know what I want to say but it's just how to present it on paper> Aaagh!