I have to hand in my master's thesis in about 3 months and I can't see it happening. I am still working in the lab, I don't have all my data, I haven't even started my data analysis yet and I have done 3 pages of writing. I am getting increasingly overwhelmed by this and other crap happening in my life. Lately I have not been able to get out of bed, I have stopped going to the lab, I have not been working at all. All I can do is lie in my bed and cry. I really want to get this done though as it would be a disaster if I didn't, and I want to carry on to do my PhD. I just don't know how to climb this mountain. I am feeling really bad and depressed and I feel like I'm letting everyone down if I don't get this done and I am a waste of space and time and I am in a foreign country doing my research and I have nobody to talk to. Please someone help me how to pick myself up and get my thesis done on time?

It seems that you need a break. Perhaps talk to the supervisor and ask for an extension.

Also, think carefully before deciding whether you want to do a PhD. Is it a must to do one? Are you mentally prepared for it? It's a huge commitment.

I have written about social insolation during and after PhD, have look before you decide to go for a PhD:

http://www.postgraduateforum.com/thread-34088/

Thanks. I have read that text about social isolation a few weeks back. It was a good read for sure and gave me a lot to think about. I have certainly thought carefully about the PhD and it is something I want to do, both for employment and personal reasons. It is a huge commitment but it is indeed what I need.

...if only I can survive through my master's thesis first. I think I might go speak to my supervisor. I think the biggest issue here is that I am in a country where I really do not want to be. I won't be doing my PhD here. My thesis is in a manuscript format, it's obviously the first one I've ever written and I am panicking whether 3 months will be enough. I am planning to stop lab work in 2 weeks no matter what, work with what I have and try and focus on the data analysis and writing. Is this doable at all? I have had very little help from my supervisor so far, he will be gone over the summer and there are no peers either I could talk to or relate to and I am just totally lost as to whether this is at all doable.

If you fail, it may also suggest your supervisor did not guide you properly.

I was worried about the quality of my master thesis...
But my supervisor actually suggested me to do the minimal. He commented, "This is only a master thesis".
Anyway, he became my PhD thesis supervisor later...

It is totally doable, just start writing the damn thing. Even if what you are writing is garbage and you haven't finished all the data analysis it will all fall into place eventually. Just start writing. An hour a day to start and then it will gain momentum. then you will be finished. Just write.

I've been there so I can easily understand what you are going trough.

I don't think asking for more time is a good idea, this procrastination won't stop! you'd be better at first, felling legitimate to stay in your bed crying, thinking how this situation sucks and eventually you'll realize nothing has changed.

So try to focus on what you'll be doing after completing your thesis, this should give you an input to stand up and then take some anxyolitic, it helps!


and.... are you sure you want to do a PhD?

I think you should definitely speak to your supervisor about it, but I also think that an extension may not be a great idea and will likely lead to further procrastination.

You can definitely write a thesis in 3 months, especially if you stop doing lab work. The best thing to do is to not think about it like writing a thesis.

Just think about it as making a title page, then a table of contents, then an opening paragraph of an introduction etc. Do the easy stuff first and the rest will follow. But you have to make that first start.

It's going to be a challenge if you haven't started your data analysis yet. That stage usually takes the most time. You don't have the luxury of trying out different approaches (trail and error, blind alleys etc), so you will need to make sure you nail it the first time.

As the others have said, start writing. Sketch out your introduction, get the literature review done while you do the analysis. Keep a detailed log of your methods and results so that you can easily transfer them into your thesis draft.

An extension would be worth looking into as well.

Thank you everyone for your encouragement. I am going to start with babysteps. Today's goal is to write 100 words. I'll try and stick to that every day next week. Then maybe increase the number to 200 words. Eventually to 300 words.

I think asking for an extension isn't going to help me, because as many of you said, it will just cause further procrastination.

I am not too worried about the data analysis as I think I know how to do this. I have analysed part of my data and presented my results at a conference. After that my supervisor asked me to get more data so that is what I am working on now and I'll have to analyse that new data. But the principle will be the same as what I have already done.

Ok. I am now going to go over my data and see what needs to be done in the next 2 weeks in the lab and I will write it down. Then I will write 100 words, no matter what. That should be doable.

Thank you so much for your encouragement.

(...And yes, I'm sure I want to do my PhD. I know right now it may seem like it's not for me, but that is my goal and thinking about it will get me through this tough time.)

Maybe you could get up every day at 9 and do 100 words before lunch?

Definitely talk to your supervisor. I went through something similar to you (felt totally overwhelmed, couldn't get out of bed) and when I finally went to my supervisor I felt so much better! I'm lucky because he's actually quite nice and reasonable. He told me that I was doing fine, actually better than most students he's had. And this helped to lift me out of my two month long stress fest. You never know - you might be doing much better than you think!
I really hope all goes well for you, little steps. Good luck!

Hi, underwater, another technique which might help you to start small is the pomodoro method. You do nothing but work for 25 minutes to complete a "pomodoro" (named so after the little tomato kitchen timers). there's a website which will log your completed tomatoes so you don't even need a kitchen timer. I have found it an excellent motivating tool, there's something really satisfying about completing a tomato that makes you just want another one..... good luck!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I did complete my thesis, it has been handed in, I will have my viva soon and hopefully soon after that find out my grade. Thank you for all your support, and everyone who is in similar situation - you can do it! Break your work into miniscule steps and keep going. Sometimes the steps have to be ridiculously miniscule, but it's all progress. Good luck!

Great job!