Well A1 I usually work on Saturdays but yesterday we went to a party and I drank rather too much - so I feel quite subdued today.

Supervisions - I'm coming to the end of my third year and I have had 7 rather short 'supervisions', very unevenly spaced. I once went 10 months and it's been 5 months since the last one.

Dh sometimes says he has 'bonked his head' which I find quite amusing.

It had better be because I'm in the same boat! I have 1.5 chapters and need to submit by Xmas. It just has to be enough. Work backwards from your deadline and divide the time up until you have weekly deadlines. I am just ploughing on chapter by chapter but do keep doing bits of analysis now and then to keep my motivation going. I've got family and holiday taking up a lot of my time until end August and then I intend to Get On a Mission with this and just Do Whatever It Takes. Yes I said it here - you can quote that back to me in September when I am procrastinating.

If only I could actually find my supervisor to read drafts - but that's another thread....

I can't even answer whether I'm white without getting into a long story - some would say I am - some would say I'm not. I always just put 'other'.

It does vary a lot by topic. Mine is interdisciplinary and very heavy on the referencing - I'm trying to cut it back a bit from around 500. I really doubt I will remember much about them even if I've read them!

That's bizarre if there's no reserve list - can't help but wonder if they are waiting in case someone drops out for some reason. I was on a list and didn't get funding until mid-Sep!

I have two very interesting cats...

Surely your actual project proposal could only involve one species? So that should solve your dilemma - pick your favourite genus! Research departments to see what kind of work is being done where and what would appeal to you and propose something that fits. Experience of working with animals is a very good way into a PhD of this type.

Yes - check your status. After such a long gap it's unlikely you would get a funded science project either - I think you will need a masters. If you are eligible for funding and get a good masters then you are better placed for a PhD.

MBAs are rather abundant these days but they still carry some wieght.

No that should be fine if he hasn't actually been involved with your work.

lara & LU - yup I'm just focussing on the finish line and hoping the external will be gentle with me

Hypo - I think our supervisor's have run off together.

Joyce - wish I were finishing in Sep!

I still have similar issues and had a bad spell during the first year of this PhD. I told my supervisor but we didn't really talk about it. I didn't intermit but I did need a little time out unofficially - did very little for about 6 months and had some medication. He has never seemed at all concerned - I guess this is really not uncommon.

I made a big mistake with my first PhD in not telling my supervisor's anything about what was happening until it was too later. They did not pass me to go on after my first year. When they were worried and wanted to find me another student told them I was with the psychiatrist and that was the first they new about it. They were good people and I should have told them what was happening. I probably would still have left - but it would have helped a lot.

Quite right very poor - just giving my own experience for comparison. But it was not just that it was the wrong topic (which it certainly was).

I see your point Jouri and that is a horrible example which one hopes admin would be alert to. But actually I have talked to a student in this position with the support and knowledge of a senior staff member. Other people's experiences will never be quite like your own - but you can sift through them and take away what you find useful.

For me personally I had to abandon bench work altogether. I have so little tolerance for work I dislike - and I like the theory but not the practice of lab-based science. What I do now is based in math modelling which suits me better. Weird - but lab work was really not for me.

Other factors (fogive me if I'm just repeating what you already know):
regular exercise, espeically in the morning (I used easyish dance videos); watch your diet and take supplements/tonics and cut the caffeine/alcohol; keep company - it's as important an effort as your work.

A therapist you click with is worth their weight in gold - stick with it!