Hi everyone. Sorry for the moaning thread, just really need to vent to people who understand. I'm meant to be working on a piece for my supervisor but I'm getting nowhere. The problem is I don't know exactly what the hell it is I'm trying to say! I've got all the data in front of me, and it's just a big blur. I keep having botched attempts at starting it, then get disheartened and abandon it for days. My body aches all over from sitting at my desk, and I'm so knackered. Blah, blah freakin blah! I'm having one of those despondent days where even taking a shower seems like too much effort. Anyone get what I mean?

Oh yes,I would guess any of us here could relate. There are always going to be days like those. Having just shoved out another major draft on something this morning, my brain felt fried. So I have not really pushed myself to do a whole lot--have read some articles, posted on here, caught up on some emails...etc...I think that writing can be hard, esp. if its not something that really grabs your attention or imagination. In that case, sometimes just doing a paragraph or two a day until you get something that resembles a paper is the best to hope for!

Hey eddi, i'm going through the exact same thing at the moment. So much to do, and so hard to focus. The only thing that keeps me awake is the intermittent shot of adrenalin that goes through me everytime my supervisor walks across the office. I've tried taking a break/doing other things but that only makes me feel more guilty, and i return to the 'real' work even more stressed. Hope we both snap out of it soon!!

Cheers guys! I'm one of those all or nothing sort of persons. I can honestly say that it's a 'nothing' period for me right now--there's nothing happening in my brain! It's like I'm collating data, and taking notes on it, and just not engaging with it at all! At the moment, I'll finish a text, and then have no idea what it was about, like I'm reading it in zombie mode. I thought I'd write a synopsis of each text when I finish reading it, but I get to the end and simply can't be bothered!

I am so unproductive this afternoon to the point of being bored. I am just waiting to meet some people to socialize after they finish work for the day. I could tell this morning that I just was not going to get my head round a thing once I got the paper draft done, so I just accepted that. I have worked several days in a row, including weekends, to get it done, and am keenly aware of my own sense of DONE!!!! at least for a day or so. So...I am just watching the clock and relaxing. Tomorrow hopefully I will be back on task!

I am so unproductive this afternoon to the point of being bored. I am just waiting to meet some people to socialize after they finish work for the day. I could tell this morning that I just was not going to get my head round a thing once I got the paper draft done, so I just accepted that. I have worked several days in a row, including weekends, to get it done, and am keenly aware of my own sense of DONE!!!! at least for a day or so. So...I am just watching the clock and relaxing. Tomorrow hopefully I will be back on task!

I am so unproductive this afternoon to the point of being bored. I am just waiting to meet some people to socialize after they finish work for the day. I could tell this morning that I just was not going to get my head round a thing once I got the paper draft done, so I just accepted that. I have worked several days in a row, including weekends, to get it done, and am keenly aware of my own sense of DONE!!!! at least for a day or so. So...I am just watching the clock and relaxing. Tomorrow hopefully I will be back on task!

I am with you on this one eddi. Today, i can't seem to concentrate on work, plus i just got a very bad news from my supervisor (very long story)

I can totally relate to the 'nothing happening in the brain' thing you're on about eddi. I get those periods too, like you're just mindlessly moving from one text to the next. I'm sure I'm going about my research the wrong way. I think I'm treating it like a race to see how many texts I can get through, and don't even realise I'm doing it. This means I'm not taking anything in, and getting them all confused! Arghh! It's quite amazing if you think about it, just how much reading we'll have done by the time we finish (or, if we finish I should say) our PhDs!!!I'm sure it's not normal having all this information stored in your brain

Its NOT normal to have this much stuff shoved into your brain!!!! And sometimes the down time can be very productive...swanning around I just FOUND THE ARTICLE I NEED!!!!!!!!! something to look at tomorrow coz right now I am OUTTA HERE!

Yes, I too am sitting at the screen with the first coffee of the day and wondering why I bothered to catch the train in this morning. Half-heartedly read a report that I should have read when it came out 8 months ago and now I'm checking this board rather than putting the finishing touches to the draft section of lit review due on Friday. Problem is there IS no draft section to which I can put 'finishing touches' because I've been doing this for the last week...eek!!! I understand about the all or nothing thing and this is definately a nothing time. Still, it is weirdly comforting to know how many others are in the same(rapidly sinking)PhD boat.

Eddi, are you having a better day today? It looks like I'm having the day you had yesterday today. Writing a summary of a text is actually quite a difficult thing to do, not to be underestimated. I'm finding it quite difficult to integrate all of the information I've collected so far, and I can imagine it's only going to get worse!

Join the club - except I think I'm not just having one of those days, but one those years!

Cheers for asking xeno! I'm doing PhD admin today, so it's a bit lighter. I went to bed last night feeling so tense, had to have a couple of glasses of wine to chill me out a bit. My back is always in pain, particularly my shoulder muscles. They're in constant knots. I jokingly asked the librarian for a massage today...didn't go down well

Hey Cryo, feel free to share your story, if you like. Sim, do you find working in the same office as your sup makes you work harder? Olivia, you deserve a break after your write-up, well done! I wouldn't feel guilty about taking the day off after such an accomplishment. Bellaz, I'm certain I'm doing it all wrong too, but I don't think we'll realise until later. Sorry if I left anyone out, difficult to reply without seeing the thread as you're writing your response!