I'm in the 4th year of my PhD, I have 4 yrs cos they gave me an extra year's funding due to my heavy teaching commitments. My funding runs out in Sept 08. I still have some experiments to finish cos I couldn't get participants last year, I have the whole thesis to write by Sept, 2-3 research papers to finish, loads of data analysis, as well as my teaching commitments. My supervisor has told me to rewrite my literature review and double the length, this has to be done within 3-4 weeks before my final annual review, and I just can't get motivated. I still don't have any participants for the final experiments and I'm beginning to wonder if I'll get finished before the funding runs out. I just seem to have a mountain of work and time is running out, and I can't be bothered to do anything, I've sat all day and stared at my screen rather than tackling the lit review.

so your finding runs out.... get a job and write up whilst working either full time or part time?

This happened to me, after 3 years full time, my funding ran out so I started work and wrote up / edited for a whole year before submitting.

It's tough, granted... but it was necessary. I would look at it like this, you can't write up.. without getting your experiments done.. so try and focus on them and your literature review. Perhaps divide your day into two halves.. and spend the morning working out experiments and the afternoon working on the literature review.

Identify the main problem areas of your lit review if you haven't already and break them down into areas, have a clear structure and tackle it in chunks.

I'm in a similar fix. I've had a terible time getting participants for my study and I'm doing my last recruitment drive this month. I'm also due to submit Oct- Dec this year so have the analysis and write up ahead and of course every time I try to get more data the analysis starts over again. I'm also royally ******* that I was coerced into more teaching this year that I just don't have time for.

I have had to cut my losses in that I just do not have enough participants to do exactly as planned - i'm just trying to get as much as I can from what I can get.

What motivates me is that I REALLY REALLY have to submit by the end of this year. With regard to journal papers - I'm submitting my thesis as papers (hopefully) so I will not be bother writing my thesis and writing papers (except for an overall intro and discussion wrap-up_. Could you do the same - would that help?

How about this ...

The sooner you start, the sooner the PhD will be over!!!

GET ON WITH IT!

am in the same fix. i wouldn't say that my motivation levels are low. i have decided just to finish the PhD and get my life back. am due to submit in Sept. i've got only one good chapter and two drafts of other chapters that need a lot of work. in total they are five chapters. i gave up an empirical approach and chose to change my research to a theoretical approach making the whole thing look like a lit review.

currently, the most pressurising thing for me is to start applying for post doc positions and i have no publications or a first draft of the thesis. am planning to have two publications and a first draft of the thesis by april so things are tight. its hard - and i emphathise. but what else can one do but get on with it. stop worrying about funding and cross that bridge when you get there. only make sure you have done as much as you could before your funding stops. it's not the end of the world if you're not funded. i agree with the rest - you can still finish.