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Not moving forward is causing me great distress
Hi Dodo
My best advice would be to write something, anything. It doesn't have to be amazing, you can always go back and edit it but a blank page can be very intimidating.
I also know that sometimes you need a break. From work, from your studies, and sometimes from both. Maybe take a few days to not worry about study or work. I've taken some long breaks in studies, which might not work for you but I found took some of the pressure off and allowed me to move forward.
Most of all it is a marathon not a sprint so pace yourself.
I am getting ready to write. Each time I think I want to start, I come up with ideas that I probably don't know enough to start writing yet... But maybe that time will come - and hopefully soon. Thank you for your advice!
Focus first on the literature review as your supervisor suggested. So if I was you I would breakdown the steps you need to get the literature review done and set deadlines for each step: 1. read the papers and make summaries of them, 2. use the summaries to make paragraphs, 3. edit the paragraphs so they flow 4. proof read literature review. This is how I did mine but my PhD is a science one so it may differ. The biggest hurdle for me was starting to write, so I would set a timer for 20 minutes and get rid of all distractions and write. As you get over the fear of writing increase the length of each session.
Thank you so much for this, and for believing in me! :) I will try to pace myself and follow these steps, so maybe I will finally move on. Even though my PhD is in a different discipline, this plan might actually work - I tried to do it myself but hearing it from someone else is very reassuring!
Not moving forward is causing me great distress
Hello everyone!
I recently joined the forum and read several topics before posting this thread.
This month I started my third year of part-time PhD (five years in total) and I constantly feel that I am not making enough progress. I feel like I'm not moving forward at all and it causes me great anxiety everyday. To fund my studies I am working in a hospital environment, although my thesis focuses on politics and sociology so the two are not connected at all. I keep trying to secure funding from other sources but seem to be getting nowhere. Working takes a lot of my time so there isn't much left for research itself, although I am dealing with it and doing as much reading and work as possible in between my regular job.
I am itching to move forward. My supervisor tells me not to rush and to take my time - he is a really great one and previously he had been right when giving me advice. I have done so much reading over the last two years and now my supervisor wants me to write literature review as this is supposed to clarify my focus on what I really want to research, and it should help me develop ideas for future empirical research. He claims that I could complete my literature review by April, then I could do some interviews, questionnaires and other stuff I could find useful, then write it before Christmas so that maybe I could finish my PhD by June next year. I know this is possible and I really want this to happen, but I keep doubting myself. I always think I don't know enough, I don't know where to start; I want to publish, but do not have results yet. I want to have a good non-academic job, but without publishing I am afraid I won't get one. I want to start writing, but I don't feel I know enough to do that. I feel very stressed all the time.
Please, any advice?
