======= Date Modified 08 53 2009 10:53:37 =======
hey..

this is one of those fishing-for-sympathy posts, trying to see if anyone else is/was in a similar situation..?

I'm just a bit concerned about my talent to distract myself from actual work on the dissertation by working on other (relevant but not immediately thesis-related) stuff.. At the moment I'm trying to revise a paper I had given at a conference for a special issue of a journal that the session organisers are convening. Thing is, the paper I gave there was not directly related to my thesis, meaning that the work I'm currently putting in for trying to make a journal article out of the paper is again not directly something I'd use for the thesis, although it's not completely off topic either. But it's still quite some work, which will have been even more "useless" if the paper gets rejected. I was lucky to have gotten to the second review stage with another paper, which, however, again does not directly relate to my thesis, and if I'm lucky and it's not rejected at this stage, it'll probably mean some more work to come -- which again doesn't directly benefit the thesis.

I'm enjoying all the work I'm doing, and I'm working relatively efficiently, but at the same time despite the relevance of this work, I feel I'm not making progress with my actual thesis work.. which sometimes causes me moments of slight panic.

On the other hand, I've got a relatively specific "battle plan" for work on the thesis, as well as a timeline for the steps required, which was approved by the sup. But I'm still rather in the beginning with the thesis, as I haven't done any concrete analyses yet. It seems from an existential point of view I'm quite safe now and no immediate pressures are imposed on me. As I'm enjoying what I do I sometimes think I shouldn't worry too much about this stuff, but sometimes I feel rather inadequate when others seem to make more "relevant" progress.

As I said, I haven't got a clear point really, just wondering if there's anyone feeling similar at the moment..

Thanks for reading this!

I'd carry on if I was you! As long as you meet your relevant PhD deadlines, it's all relevant to your research in some way in a broader sense, isn't it? I did that for years, meandered along with teaching, conf papers and other minor projects that were all related in some way or other to the PhD topic.... lots of lovely engrossing tangents that diverted me from 100% thesis writing!

It's fine doing that until you have to get serious and pull focus on the thesis at some point when submission looms, and then try to cut down on the peripheral activities so you can get the thing written up. I don't regret it at all. Someone finished their whole PhD amazingly quickly compared to me, but that was her not me, I just really enjoyed what I was doing and got the necessary bits done. I might have finished writing up loads faster if I had ignored the other stuff, but I loved those diversions because they kept me excited about my subject and some of them fed into the thesis in ways I never expected, or have given me ideas for bits to develop after completion. My advice (for what it's worth) is continue doing what you're doing, it all sounds great! :-)(up)

Hi Ruby,

thanks for sharing your experience with this situation, I found it very comforting to read! It's great that you managed well to combine some side-projects with work on your thesis. I think you're right and as long as the external demands are met, some delay with the dissertation project doesn't necessarily need to be such a problem. It's also comforting to hear that the "scenic route" in your case was sometimes quite unexcpectedly beneficial for the dissertation and your overall development as a researcher. I think I sometimes need to more confidently remind myself of these things, thanks for giving me some perspective!

It is odd the way some things all fall into place near the end of the thesis, even time I spent procrastinating by reading various blogs turned out to be useful for a contact and an idea!

Having said that, if anything dreadful happens in my viva then maybe anything I say should be ignored - I'll let you know! ;-)

I totally agree with Ruby. I'm a part-time student but full-time lecturer and although my teaching has only a very tenuous link with my research, the time away from the thesis has helped to put my ideas into perspective. Rocketing along at break neck speed doesn't help me at all because I find that not thinking about the PhD is often more beneficial than thinking about it! I've known some PhD students who have completed in 3 years (less than 3 in one case) but they worked every day for about 10 hours a day. That wouldn't suit me at all. Provided you are making your deadlines then you have nothing at all to worry about. :-)