Hi All,
I am in the last stages of the writing process, but I have been running out of steam lately. No accountable progress last week, I don't have much left, but I feel sometimes that I still have a lot to do!!!! I want to share my progress with the lovely people at this forum. Your similar stories and struggles remind me I am not alone, which is by itself a great motivator.
I have 7 chapters and two appendices in my thesis. My supervisor is happy with my writing quality at last and he is being supportive. But he expected me to finish sooner. I feel I don't have enough energy left, I am tired most of the time, not eating or sleeping well. I try to remind myself I don't have much to go, but it seems it is not working anymore.

As of now, I have written all the Chapters, the front matter (Abstract, Acknowledgments,..) and 1 appendix. I still have to do the following.
1) Write 1 appendix
2) revise three chapter 2,3 and 4. I have written them a while a go, so they require updating.
I will keep you updated on my progress, wish me luck.

yeh!!! another diary. i love reading other peoples writing diary, i find it comforting

wow well done you, sounds like you've done loads!!! and you're nearly finished!

what you're experiencing is what Joan Bolker describes as hitting the wall.

she quotes to say that on more than one occassion she's heard a graduate tutor that has only 5% left of writing to do, say "i've decided not to continue with this project".

i totally sympathetise with the not sleeping well and feeling tired all the time. i am always tired, and i have no energy. feel low at times aswell.
i understand.

diary and this forum, and the accountability thread started by Antropologa, are a great help!

that's really great your supervisor is happy with your writing quality. sounds like you're doing so well good luck!! i look forward to hearing your writing progress and your updates

*sorry i'm half asleep, correction. thats meant to be graduate STUDENT not tutor lol

Thanks Lara for you kind words.

I took some time off, and I feel better now, more energy to work.

I have started with the appendix, hopefully it should not take long. I have it in my mind so I need to write it down.

you're welcome K! good luck with your appendix!

Good news everyone, I managed to finish the last appendix which talks about my developed software. It is 6 pages and it took me around 5 days to finish. Now I need to start revising Chapter 2, 3 and 4. I will start with Chapter 2 tommorow. Wish me lots of luck!!!

well done on getting your appendix done! good luck with the chapter refinements!!

I panicked when I started to refine the background, so I spend few days doing more reading which was unnecessary because I didn’t find anything new. Revising is taking more time than I have expected and I feel less motivated than when I was writing new stuff. I am setting the coming Tuesday as a deadline to finish revising.
Good luck Lara in your work as well.

sounds like a good plan! its always wise to rethink deadlines and change them according, good luck with the sprint!

Hi Lara,

The sprint failed, I have stressed myself so much the last few days, that I have not done much work. I need to find the right balance now, I had more motivation to work before I started revising. I am hoping tomorrow will be a good day. How is things going with you?

Hi K, aww I understand how that feels, I too have panicked and stressed so much that i have not been able to do anything.

what i found useful is to set aside a "worry/panic" time.
say for example, at 9pm-9.15pm. that can be your "worry time" until then during the day, you are not allowed to worry, think or panic.

anytime you start to worry or feel anxious, tell yourself STOP and tell yourself that you will worry or feel anxious at the designated time at 9pm.

and then at 9pm, sit there and do all the worrying. i know it sounds absurd. but it actually worked for me. try it out.

also anytime those thoughts creep into your head and affect your concentration whilst you are doing a task , just make a note of it quickly and then remind yourself again that you're schedule to worry at 9pm.

also work in very short times. i work in 15minute spurts. i then take a couple of minutes break, and also take a break for 10minutes for every hour you work. just stretch out on a couch or something for 10minutes.

just do a little bit at a time.

try downloading a mindmap. (they let you use it for 30 days for free mindjet.com) i've had lots of fun making mindmaps and tracking my progress during the day, for every 15minutes of work i do, i can make a note of it, and add it to the my "productive time".

also concentrate on ONE task at one time. dont think about anything else in your thesis. remind yourself you will deal with that later.

you can do it! you are so nearly there!!

but this is the time the demons can catch up with you.. as Joan Bolker states. she writes how on more than one occassion with a person who has less than 95% left to do of her thesis states "i've decided not to carry on with this project" what you're feeling is completely normal.

so dont beat yourself up . forget about the past few days. today is a FRESH start. start from today onwards.
just do 15minutes of work. and take a break and continue this way until you get the momentum going.

its completely possible to writing scared. you dont have to get unscared to write.