I am feeling very overwhelmed with work at the moment. I am starting a 1+3 on 4th October, and I know I need to get 65% or more on the MSc part overall to get the PhD funding for the following 3 years.

Unfortunately I am still finishing my dissertation from my current MSc at this point, and I am sure it is going to overlap with the new MSc. Writing up my current dissertation has turned out to be unexpectedly mathematical due to the methodology I used and I think it might take quite a while to get my head around it. I do actually have until March to finish this, but I don't want to jeopardise my performance on my new MSc as my funding is contingent on those marks.

I fell behind on the current dissertation as I was working full-time doing shift work this summer and it was really hard to accomplish much each week. Luckily my job ended as of yesterday, as my funding is soon to kick in.

I am also chair of an academic society and we on the committee must organise a conference and a few other events by the end of the year so the pressure is on there.

And also over the next month or so I must write up a report pertaining to the finances of my elderly mother as I am her Deputy for the Court of Protection. So that is a little time-consuming.

We also recently had bedbugs at home and sorting out that problem used up yet more time.

I feel overwhelmed and I think something has to give. I can step back from the committee work a little. Some others have suggested I just write up a really cr*p dissertation for my current MSc, as the rest of my academic career is not dependent on it. But to write up something badly would feel awful to my self-respect and I do want to use it as a learning experience. And I also feel that to do that would be disrespectful to my current supervisor who is such a good teacher and supporter.

But I think that maybe something has to give. I am trying to use breathing exercises and keep calm, but am finding it difficult. I don't know whether I can get through this whole thing based on breathing exercises or whether I will have to withdraw from some of my commitments. I also don't want this to impact on my relationships with others too much. Erk. I am confused.

:-((sprout)(down)

I think this is just a matter of time management...the commitee work isnt necessary, so my advice would be to take a big step back from that. An Msc thesis should really not be as time consuming as you anticipating. If you set aside 1-2 days a week, I am certain you will get it done before March! Of course you dont want to write a crap one...but with 5 months to go before it's due in, you really don't need to be thinking in terms of desperate measures yet!! I have just finished my MSc thesis...I was working as an RA all summer and got the 15,000 words written in 10 days. And it got a good mark. Its not about how long you spend on it, but the quality of thought that goes in to it. So maybe aim to get the thesis written by December, and set a couple of days a week aside to write it. then you have the rest of the week to work on your current MSc and socialising, relaxing etc....no worries!

Hi Luci

Thanks for your reply. I am aware I must come across as something of a whinger. I think it is about time management, and also managing my anxiety by focusing on the tasks. Pulling back from committee work is sensible. Basically these kinds of time management dilemmas are frequent in academic life and if I want to be part of that scene I'd better get used to them now. It is reassuring to know how quickly you managed your own writeup and it helps me to believe that similar timescales might be possible for me too.

Thanks so much for your words. (up)

No, I didnt mean that i think you come across as a whinger at all!! I sympathise with the anxiety; I remember 2 months ago sitting looking at my mountains of papers, spreadsheets, journals, applecores, coffee cups spread across my study and literally I couldn't breathe with the anxiety...but now I'm done I can see in retrospect once a thesis is broken down into its constituent parts, its really not too big a task! and when you do your PhD, you'll look back at your masters thesis and think how small it seemed in comparison!!

I think if you're going down the academic route you have to realise that not all your work can be excellent; sometimes it just jas to be good enough. so dont be too hard on your self xx

I second this. I have been the world's worst procrastinator (I mean REALLY bad, to a devastating extent) brought on by perfectionism and my debilitating fear of all the flaws my work will have. I know your post isn't about procrastination at all, but this is an important lesson that I have absolutely had to learn to get anything done. Seems like yours is another situation in which "the perfect is the enemy of the good".

Thanks, Luci and Bleebles.

Yes, some of this is about perfectionism and procrastination actually. I'm a lot better than I used to be (I use the Pomodoro technique), but I am very torn between wanting to get this particular MSc over with quickly and actually doing it well. The resulting indecision has cost me in terms of time, but now I am just trying to focus second by second and not chastise myself. The moment you start chastising yourself you get stressed and it's a whole new waste of time. I am going to attempt to do this dissertation reasonably well, but not perfectly. To try to do it perfectly would interfere with the 1+3, and that and the associated funding will have much more impact on my life long-term.

Luci - I had to laugh about the 'apple cores' detail. I remember a particular nadir in my life a few years ago when I realised I must be depressed as there were about 15 empty taramasalata tubs piled up on my desk which I had failed to bin. My desk is much tidier these days...