HELP!

I have just 12 days until I submit my PhD and I am still working on the Discussion chapter and still have the conclusion to write. I work full time and have two children. You would think that the adrenaline would have kicked in and with the end being in sight, I'd be off and running, but my writing is slow, my words are clumsy and my insights are dull.

I have just applied for unpaid leave for next week in the hope that I can salvage something.

Did anyone else start to slow down rather than speed up at this point? Why is this happening?

Any advice at all would be sooooooooooooooooooo appreciated!

Thanks
Cody

I have found a similar thing at points with my PhD when I thought I'd be writing like a demon and was instead dragging my feet! Maybe you just need to break what needs done into chunks, write it out even if it feels a bit uninspired, and then spend some time editing? I found it easier to see where I needed to go with my conclusion once I had something written out and could edit it with the other chapters. Good luck - the late stages of thesis writing are stressful and you're probably reacting to that.

You can do it. I wrote my discussion in less than a week. I think it was like 7000 words.

I was still writing my conclusion the night before I gave it in - asking around, it seems that this is pretty common. My usually super-organized husband was still writing his conclusion the morning before giving it in! Ha! You can do it. (Also I am sure you have already done this but have you factored in printing times? If you have to get it printed and bound by a specific supplier that might also take longer than you expect).

I'm in exactly the same spot and have yet to write my conclusion. We can do it!!!!

I think sometimes there's a fear of finishing, in case it's not good enough. Or just that the final tasks remaining to do are the ones you're (subconsciously or otherwise) been putting off because they're difficult or boring or you feel uncertain about them.

Or you're just tired after working so hard for so long - obviously you can't spare much time with only days to go, but sometimes taking a short break/having an evening off can help you come back to it with your mind refreshed and make faster progress.

Oh, I have been there. I passed my viva last month with minor corrections. A month later I am still struggling to finish up things which under normal circumstances can be done within a day or two.

Well I am sorry to hear that others are/have been in the same boat but at the same time, it is very comforting. I just need to get a grip of myself and do it. I think pretty much all of the above reasons apply to me.

timefortea - yes printing times are factored in - as I am in Malaysia and my university is in England, I just send the PDF to the copy shop a couple of days before submission and they will deliver it. A bit worried that the PDF might be too big for email but that's a worry for later.....

Good luck to those of you in a similar situation and well done to those who have done it!

If the PDF is too big for email (as is mine) then get a free Dropbox account and put it up there. You can then send a link to the document by email and your supervisor can read it either directly online or can download it.
I had to do this and now I use Dropbox to store regular backups of my thesis.

As for slowing down? I have had quite a few periods of that but fortunately I am now finishing the last 17 comments from my supervisor and am flying. Hoping to keep it together and be ready to submit next week. Oddly I have feeling pretty gutted that it's almost all over. I certainly didn't feel like that for substantial periods of time though. 2nd year was very tough.

Did you finish??