I can do 10 to 12 hours a day if I really, really, really have to. Otherwise, it tends to be about 8 hours a day. As Bonzo says, it's quality and not quantity, so sometimes you might get an awful lot achieved in a hour and other times virtually nothing in 3 hours. I suppose it depends on mood, focus and concentration span. Generally, I'll work for half and hour, make a brew, work for half an hour, go to the loo, work for half an hour, procrastinate on the internet and so forth. Things do get done, but often not within the time scale that I'd like.

Well, while transcribing my data I've just turned into a 29 year old. I've only been 29 for just over an hour now and I don't much like it. For the vast majority of you younger baby forumites, let me give you the benefit of my experiences so far. It doesn't feel much different from being 28 physically, but mentally, well...here goes...

Shxt in a bubble bath! I'm going to need to be responsible now, so no more of my rock and roll lifestyle.

I'm going to have to start listening to classical music and watching Heartbeat on ITV 2.

I'm no shrinking violet, but maybe I need to start looking into a pension plan.

Hobbies will have to change, so I'll start learning to play dominoes and crown green bowling.

Being 29 and single makes me the male equivalent of Bridget Jones, so I'm going to have to get a haircut, buy some new jeans (not the Asda George 'Dad Jeans') and begin a PR campaign. What can I say though? 'Hi, I'm Walminskipeasucker and I make questionnaires - yes, no, maybe, maybe not',-) Might have to go to charm school :$

Adopt an air of professionalism, so no longer wear trainers and never go to nightclubs just gastro pubs.

Actually decide what I want to do with the time I have left.

Only read broadsheet newspapers and never tabloids.

Buy some cufflinks for my shirts and a leather belt to make sure that when I tuck my shirt into my pants it remains there. Probably stop using Lynx deodorants and use something manly and mature like Brut, maybe even buy a smoking jacket and elasticated pants, for comfort and functional wear.

In conclusion, I can state that turning 29 brings with it increased mental maturity, a greater sense of responsibility and the realisation that you're, well, a proper grown up. I still get asked for ID when buying beer though, so it's not all bad!

:-)(up)

You can buy an acoustic tuner for a couple of pounds off Ebay. It's what I use for my guitar.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Guitar-Tuner-Acoustic-String-Tuning-Digital-head-clip_W0QQitemZ390165414419QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Guitar_Accessories?hash=item5ad7abc213

I went to a comprehensive and it was a lot of fun. Didn't do very well but made a lot of friends, learnt all about the dangers of drugs and alcohol and decided that I'd better put more effort into learning when I left. Then I started A levels at a Grammar school 6th form, felt really inferior because I thought everyone else must be extremely clever, so dropped out after one day and started my GNVQ at a college.

Thanks Sneaks and Jepsonclough. It ended up as 12 slides for 10 minutes in the end, so roughly one slide a minute.

No it is not fair to judge peoples' academic performance on the basis of their A level results. It's snobbery for one. I never did A levels and I manage. I did a GNVQ (generally not very qualified) and I've managed fine. You also find that mature learners that enter university based on access courses do extremely well in their degrees.

Hello Ragingwitch, I'm not trying to balance a full time job with my PhD - not yet at least. However, I haven't done anything on my PhD for a while now - a few weeks so far. I'm too busy with stupid conference presentations, having to review a paper I don't really understand and teaching. I'm finding that longer I spend away from actually doing my PhD work, the more inclined I am to not actually bother with it and the less motivated I feel. I've also invested too much of my time catching up with friends and trying to normal stuff, like have a laugh. I'll be having to get a full time job in a few month's time, so I'll let everyone know then whether I manage to actually juggle it or not.

Jepsonclough, I have some books on research philosophy, research frameworks, designing a research proposal, mixed methods and such like. I'd be happy to send them to you if you think they'll help? Sorry, I can't be more helpful in giving you specific advice.

Thanks very much everyone. I'll definitely get it cut down then.:-)

I've tried looking for examples online but have had little luck. Does anyone know whether, when you do a conference presentation, you include the references in your slides or not? It stands to reason that you should, I think, but I haven't seen any online that actually do. Oh, and do you think 20 slides (2 a minute) would be fine for a 10 minute presentation? Thank you.

Sorry you had to withdraw from the conference, Chrisrolinski. It's not your fault though (so try not to feel guilty), and if he's a good mate he'll understand. The fact is you just didn't have the money, plain and simple, and you would have if they'd have given you a concessionary rate so there was nothing you could do about it.
I've had no experience of having to withdraw from a conference, but I've had to let a lecturer down over some lectures I promised I'd do for her because I was just too busy. I felt very crap about that because I'd gone back on my word.

First of all, your supervisor doesn't sound like he was very good at all. I wish I did, but I don't really have any comments that will be constructive or helpful. What I can tell you is that you're the expert on your subject, probably a perfectionist at heart, so you're going to see every minor flaw and typo in your thesis. Awaiting the viva is a time of high tension and you're going to be thinking 'what if?' and 'I could have done that better'. A thesis has to be a high quality, well written original piece of research. It doesn't have to be perfect and very few of them are. Of course you're ultimately accountable for your thesis and you'll have to defend it, but nobody knows more about it than you. Supervisors always make comments on any work you submit - not because you're necessarily wrong - but perhaps because this or that sentence could have been written better, or maybe because you need to mention this or that a bit more...but you're still the expert. You can bet you'll probably have a few typos, maybe you've omitted a few references or something. However, don't think that you've made dreadful mistakes or omissions as this is very unlikely and you'll torture yourself right up to the viva. Good luck. You'll be fine!(up)

I was right to be worried that I might not have much to say. I've just read the proof of it and I don't. I don't because I don't actually understand it. Bugger.

I can't really add to what everyone else has said really, other than to emphasise that typos are common in most theses. In my actual research documents there are typos, which I find to be embarrassing. In fact, my supervisors are more like primary school teachers for me, teaching me how to write proper sentences.
I actually have quite a few theses from other people. Let me tell you about one of them I have that passed with no corrections. It has quite a few typos and also references cited in the text that are actually missing in the bibliography. You remind me of myself in that when I've submitted something I always notice little mistakes and things I'd like to change afterwards. I'm sure you'll be okay though, so please try not to worry yourself too much before the viva, and send the list of typos to your examiners beforehand.