Hi all,

I thought I'd join in this thread as I am (supposedly) submitting in ten weeks. This is the current state of things for me:

Intro - still to do

Lit review - done but needs a little bit of revising

Methodology - done but needs some minor edits

Chapter 4 (empirical chapter) - done and only needs some minor editing

Chapter 5 - (empirical chapter) - half done and pretty messy

Chapter 6 - (empirical chapter) - draft done. Currently rewriting

Chapter 7 - (empirical chapter) - draft done, awaiting feedback

Chapter 8 - (empirical/discussion chapter) draft done, needs some minor edits

Conclusion - to do

I am expected to submit on the 20th of June. Supervisors seem confident it will happen. Really hope I am going to make it!

Best of luck to everyone currently in the final stages.

Ok. Well hopefully people are not going to think that. As I said she is in her mid 20s and she is very smart and has a lot of life experience. We are at the same stage in life really.

All I can do is hope others will not have that view! Since most people here thought it was fine I am just going to continue being happy. I might have a chat with my supervisor about it anyway though to get a more senior perspective.

Ok. So what would be your worry specifically?

Thanks

Hi Artista,

Just to clarify - she isn't a teenager! We are both in our 20s.

Hi KB,

Sorry to hear you are having a tough time just now with it all. I have had heaps of ups and downs and self doubt throughout the process and can relate to what it feels like when it seems as though none of it is going right!

Two thing I have noticed:

1. The closer I get to the end the more pedantic my supervisors seem to be. My theory is that perhaps they are pushing me more because I am getting near the end. So that may be what's going on with yours, rather than what you have written being crap.

2. I also have found that the closer I get to the end the more I have been drinking, haha. Not sure how common that is in general. Maybe someone should write a thesis on that.

I have had a lot of up and down times and it always passes. When things have gotten really bad I have emailed one of my supervisors to say it would really help to meet up for a chat and that has sorted my out as she always helps me see things more clearly.

Take care and I hope things improve soon.

Hi,

Thank you all so much for replying - you have really helped put my mind at rest! I can try to stop stressing now and just get on with being happy. And yeah I am very, very happy indeed!:-x

I would never ever have considered it whilst the course was going on, but yeah 6 months has passed now and we are no longer in that situation so it's different.

Thanks again

Hi,

This is kind of embarrassing but here goes. I tutored a course 6 months ago and through mutual friends I became friends with a student who was on the course at the time. We didn't become friends at the time of the course, but around 2 months ago so 4 months after the course finished. Anyway over the past few weeks we have become really close and are now seeing each other.

I really like her a lot but I keep thinking that people are going to think it is dodgy because I was her tutor before, even though we didn't become friends until way after. She is 2 years younger than me and is now a PG student too. We have mutual friends which is how we eventually became friends. So it's not like I was thinking it when I was tutoring her or anything like that. I keep worrying it is going to look creepy, even though we are both adults and my friends who know us both keep saying how great it is etc. I never expected to ever be in this situation so I had never really thought about it before.

I guess I am just looking for some perspective from others who work in Uni settings because I am really happy but it is stopping me from being totally happy thinking that I am doing something wrong!

Any thoughts appreciated. If you do think it sounds weird I'll appreciate the honesty! :$

Thanks

======= Date Modified 16 Feb 2011 09:59:48 =======
I have been having quite a rubbish time with it recently. I just keep mucking around even though I have heaps of pressure because I am submitting on the 1st of July.

I think there are two problems. I have really struggled a lot with impostor syndrome right from the start and I think that is coming back as I am starting to get closer because I know that soon I'll have to give it away and have it scrutinised by someone else. The logical part of my mind knows it is totally illogical because I have already published some of my work and I even won a prize for that paper, but still there is this stupid annoying voice that tells me everything I write is crap, and that I'm never, ever going to get the PhD.

The other problem I think relates to me thinking that since I am about to finish soon I should be working all the hours of the day and if I am not working constantly, I'm not working hard enough Which is leading to anxiety and then leading to me trying to work all the time, worrying too much, procrastinating then worrying more about not getting enough done because of the procrastinating, then getting nothing done despite spending 12 hours in the office! It feels like I never relax for one minute and I wake up feeling stressed. Normally I just go for a run and then I relax again and can get focused but even that isn't working. If It's crazy because I am trying to work all the time so I don't feel guilty and lazy but I am getting nothing done so I just feel guilty anyway.

I think it might partly relate to someone having asked me if i have a full draft of my thesis the other day when I told them my submission date. I don't. I wish people wouldn't ask these questions!

I think I know the answer is to stop being irrational because I am so close now and I would never have got this far if I was as stupid as I think I am. And my supervisors seem confident I can do it and submit by the date I have set. I know I should just set myself manageable tasks so I don't get overwhelmed. Really I am not sure why I am telling you all this but I guess it helps to write it down!

If anyone relates I'd appreciate any words of wisdom
(turkey)

Wow - well done for sticking it out and massive congrats for submitting! I am having a super rubbish thesis day and this is just what I needed to read. You have inspired me to keep going.

Hope you have lots of great things planned to celebrate such as not thinking about one topic every waking moment! Have fun, you deserve it :-)

Hi all,

I am due to submit my thesis on the 1st of July and so now am hopefully on the home straight. What I have to do in the next 5 months is totally manageable and so hopefully all should work out as planned.

As I am getting close to the end I am of course getting all the typical questions about what I will do after I finish. I do want to stay in academia ideally but to be honest I just can't bring myself to apply for stuff while I'm still writing up. I know I probably should because otherwise I'll have nothing to do. It is just so hard to see beyond this thesis.

Anyone relate? Do you have a plan for when you finish, or have you started applying for positions?

Cheers

Hi,

I am overseas at the moment and will be presenting at a conference next week. i still haven't finished by paper and have been having trouble doing so as I am just so nervous. I have presented at conferences before but this one is specific to my field and everyone there will be very knowledgable on the subject area. There is also quite a bit of interest in my research as it is exploring a relatively new area and i feel quite a bit of pressure to do it justice.

I should be seeing this as a positive since I can build up my contacts and get some really informed insight on my own research. But my impostor syndrome has kicked in and i have this overwhelming worry that they are all going to be thinking what utter rubbish I am talking and wondering how on earth I got to do the research in the first place! I wish I could just get over it and get on with the presentation. It's so silly as I have been looking forward to this all year.

Any words of advice are welcome. Really I think someone just needs to give me a slap!

======= Date Modified 07 Nov 2010 05:18:57 =======
I transcribed forty interviews of between one and three hours before I cracked. I got a grant to transcribe the final ten because I just couldn't do any more. I won't lie - it was terrible. Although I think it was helpful because it did force me to start thinking through the data at an early stage. I used to keep a word document open called 'cool ideas' and would make a note of anything I picked up on as I went through transcribing. So it didn't feel like a complete waste of time, but there were times when I really just wanted to scream and throw the laptop out the window! I used a programme called express scribe that can be downloaded free online. It was really helpful.

For my research it wouldn't really have been all that ethical to have someone else transcribe some of the interviews as one group were talking about particularly sensitive issues and I did say on the information sheet that only I would get to listen to the recordings. The ten I got done were really not sensitive and the information sheet was different for them. So I think that's something to keep in mind too.

It is do-able but if you are really pressed for time and don't need the money for anything else then you might be just as well getting them done for you. I don't think it is essential to do them yourself unless there are ethical issues, but it certainly isn't a totally pointless exercise from my experience if you do end up doing them.

Good luck!

======= Date Modified 07 01 2010 05:01:05 =======
I have had some really great news and wanted to share since my threads are usually pretty depressing! Plus I know you will all understand how excited I am.



The first isn't exactly news as such but it's still really exciting. I wrote a chapter for a book at the end of last year/start of this year and the book is finally officially coming out next month! It is on the publisher’s website now and it was just so amazing to see my little name in print amongst all these amazing academics in my field.



The second thing is actually news. I have been awarded a rather prestigious prize in my Uni for my research! I did not expect for one second to have even a small chance of getting this award so I’m just on a euphoric high really! I will officially get it at an awards dinner next month. I still can't believe it. Yay! I've had so many difficult times during this PhD, and now I’m feeling so motivated to get it finished. This had really made me believe that I can do this. Now - time for a glass of wine!

Just thought i'd update this. I had the operation and spent two weeks in pain, which was horrible but I finally got the results of the biopsy yesterday and it was all totally normal! It was just some benign growth. I am so relieved. Now I can actually get on with work after three weeks of chaos.

Thanks again for the supportive replies :-)

======= Date Modified 07 Oct 2010 06:16:54 =======
======= Date Modified 07 Oct 2010 06:16:00 =======
Sorry not sure why this posted three times - I must be impatient!