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Thank you, Jepsonclough and Ailicec, for your helpful feedback. I was imagining something which would work for all my PhD documents, rather than just what I'm immediately working on but that maybe that's not a good idea. I'll have to give this more thought!

I'm just wondering if anyone uses Dropbox and can explain it to me? I'm copying files back and forth between a laptop and desktop computer at the moment and it's a really awkward system. Something like Dropbox seems like it might be a good idea, but I'm not up on this kind of thing at all and can't really get my head around how it works and if it would be right for me.

(P.S. I do back-up my files on an external hard drive and usb drives as well. Just looking for a more sensible, efficient way of having the same, up-to-date versions of documents on both computers.)

Thank you in advance!

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I think everyone struggles with this to a greater or lesser extent - you don't sound so bad at all! I think this is just a question of practice and experience. I get very nervous speaking to a room of people - almost moreso if I'm asking a question from the floor rather than giving a paper - and I find I can't formulate sentences on the spot because my mind goes so blank. I have to plan what I'll say, write down the question or notes on my notepad, then practise saying it in my head beforehand. Perhaps writing down some notes on a notepad will help you.

I also heard a tip from somebody whose face and neck blushes when public speaking that wearing light colours, like white or pastels, and avoiding black and red beside your face can lessen the effect. But to be honest, this just happens to some people and I don't think anyone really cares. Also, your face might feel hot but not actually be red.

Can I join in...

My one goal today is to re-read 5 primary sources

This is an enjoyable task but for some reason I've been putting it off, so it would be great to get it done.

Hi Agniparbon,

You mustn't be feeling good at the moment - like Estie said, you should really seek out support from your uni health centre, GP, counsellors, a friend, a family member... There are lots of people who would like to help lessen the load on you if you make that step. It will all feel less overwhelming. I think that definitely should be your priority and if you are in a period of bad mental health then perhaps you can take some official leave from studies and get yourself well again.

As for your work, it's never ever to late to start. I have the same problem where I seem to forget my work if I get distracted from it for a while. But if you sit down for fifteen minutes and say you will read some of the notes you took a few months ago, and keep going in small chunks, you'll be surprised how much it will come back to you, and how much you can get done.

This idea of sitting down for just 15 minutes at first is from Joan Bolker's 'How to Write a Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day' which is a great book to have a look at. If you set yourself a goal of 5 minutes reading and then do that, you will feel much better. And even if you think it sounds like too short a time, it's much better than nothing, so try it!

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You can do it. It's the final, final stretch and you'll be there soon - best of luck!

Well done for getting to this point - keep pushing on and very soon you can rest. Good luck!

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Well I finally finished what I set out to do (two weeks later), but I spent a lot of time procrastinating by reading things that weren't helping me do what I needed to do. I also avoided checking in here because I felt guilty, but that means I missed the point of accountability I think... I've sent the revised draft of the chapter off to my supervisor, so in the next week or two I am working on revising my thesis outline and writing a paper for a conference, and I will try to check back within a fortnight about those aims.

I hope everyone's work is going well (and that I didn't kill this thread by butting in!).

Just want to say hang on in there and add a voice of support. From the accountability thread you sound like you've got so much going on and are doing really well at building a good cv at an early stage. Getting an academic job is going to be tough for anyone, but I really don't think your age and uni will hold you back. And I definitely don't think this one rejection will mean you won't get any other publications. But it's horrible to feel like this, and overwhelming, so know you have some virtual good wishes.

Hi everyone,

Keep_Calm you sound like you achieved a lot, even if not everything on your list. Hope last week went well.

Sadly I'm still working on my aims:

Re-read chapter DONE
Sketch out a new outline/structure DONE
Edit theoretical part - in progress

I'm trying to wrap the last one up as quickly as I can and send it to my supervisor for feedback as I'm a bit stuck. So the structure and the draft will no doubt need huge amounts of work but that might at least get me moving. I'll report back when I've done that with some new aims hopefully.