Yes- my findings chapters are quite long and they are taking forever :( I have had a few days of not working as it has been my birthday so today I am back on with this final findings chapter, and my deadline for it is the end of April. What are you guys working on at the moment?

Not my experience but a peer who was provided with a university funded studentship heard after about 2-3 months. It's usually externally funded ones that take longer (mine took nearly 5 months it was torture!)

Congratulations! :D

I spoke to an old undergrad tutor of mine recently at a conference and she said it wasn't really an expectation that everything in the findings/discussion should link to everything in the literature review which calmed me considerably! You are right Chickpea- if one attempted this the literature review would me enormous! I have found myself sometimes (embarrassingly) scratching my head over some points in the discussion then realising that these particular points are in the literature review and that I need to refer back to them. I have found myself forgetting what I have written since I wrote it a couple of years ago!

I am right there with you Hugh! I set myself the goal of getting a discussion section finished in my final findings chapter today...but it is now past midnight and I keep thinking of extra discussion points to add in. I then enter a process of 'should I? Shouldn't I?' in terms of 'should I open this can of worms?' knowing that it will probably drive my word count incredibly high, but then finding good reasons why I do need to include it etc.

In terms of 'linking everything back' Chickpea, I have found that despite doing an incredibly thorough literature review, I have to include additional literature throughout my findings chapters and it would not be possible to include everything I have mentioned in my literature review. The literature review is going to undergo a thorough rewriting in a couple of months though (dreading that!)

It's odd that we are all very aware of the benefits of exercise and taking care of ourselves (I also do meditation Grumpymule but like you, have not done much recently) yet we are all here grumbling haha I think we all need to dust ourselves off and get some gym time in!

I used to use MyTomatoes but I found the 25 minute timer distracting so I have moved to 'timertab' and set my own countdown timer (usually 1 hour max or 30 mins minimum) which is usually helpful.

Chickpea, I am also well aware of my funding deadline looming and thought i'd have so much more done by now!

Hi Satchi,

I have had two friends like this. Friend A was needy but in a very immature way e.g. wanted ALL the attention, and would get incredibly moody and miserable if we were hanging out in a group of others where she wasn't getting all of the attention- I stopped talking to this one completely a few years ago after she ruined a social event by acting completely inappropriately. I made her aware before hand though why I was doing this.

Friend B is still my friend and is more 'needy' in the sense of how you describe one of your friends- constantly messaging, texting even when I don't respond. I basically take the approach that you have outlined in your solution- only responding when I have the time to which means not responding right away and then emphasising how busy I have been. If the messaging etc. becomes particularly intense, I respond and say that I have seen and acknowledge the messages but that I will get back to them properly when I have the time as I am very very busy. This usually elicits an apology from them and they cool off for a while.

Between 6-9 months. I submitted one in December and the status still reads 'awaiting reviewer allocation' so it is not even with the reviewers after 4 months. One journal took 9 months to get back to me with a 'reject' but it was returned with reviewer comments.

Hi Chickpea and Murtof, I do remind myself frequently of what you have said there. I have recognised it is when I think about EVERYTHING I have to do all at once is when I become demotivated and get 'brain fog'; when I just think about the task in hand, whether it be completing a chapter or reading an article, I am much more productive.

I have just come back to the PhD after 4 days off over the bank holiday weekend and it has been a wildly unproductive day :(

Murtof, I will be back on with exercise this week. I know I will feel better for it! I also think some form of therapy over tablets is a good way to go. I was recently put on sleeping tablets for a physical health issue, but they are apparently also used as anti depressants, and the side effects make it impossible to work; they give me blurred vision and a drunken feeling!

Hi Murtof,

I am currently in my final 7 months and I feel quite down in the dumps too. I am not sure what is wrong with me- I can't seem to sleep until late which makes me groggy and unproductive the following day. This has been ongoing since January. I slipped off the exercise band wagon and need to get back on I think! I think the reason I feel this way is I had a sucky time with health towards the end of 2015- I had an operation and was on LOA for 6 weeks. Since January I have had additional health niggles as an after effect of the operation I had.

I have not tried those forms of therapy, but in my first and second years I used to go to a hypnotherapist for anxiety and it was amazing. I am considering going back as I believe I am not sleeping due to worrying about the thesis.