Is anyone else doing a PhD just because the alternatives are so unappealing? That basically sums up why I’m here and possibly why I’m struggling to do any work.

The last two months have been awful, it’s been a real struggle to get myself in to the office. When I’m in the office my time is split between bebo/facebook/this site. I just have a real lack of motivation for it all and I don’t know how to change it. Before I started my PhD I was so sure this was the perfect career for me. Now I feel like I’ve ran out of options. Anyone else feel like this?

Hi picchu_flower. I started my PhD because this is what I always wanted to do, so I am not sure that I can relate to you in this respect. However, we all have periods when we lack motivation or we struggle to make headway for whatever reason. I think that you need re-assess the very reason why you started in the first place. If your reason is solid enough you will get through it by setting short-term goals. Long terms goals are necessary, but do not have an immediate outcome - and that is what you need in order to nurture your self-confidence. Self-confidence will help you to keep motivated. So, if after the reply to the big question -why am I doing this? - you are still of the idea of going ahead, write a list of tasks as soon as you enter your lab in the morning and do not leave until you have ticked all the boxes!

Hi Pichu Flower,

Sorry to hear that you are so bored. Have you not got other options, maybe to do something aside of the PhD?

I work and do the research, but get bored from the waiting and the lack of progress. For example today I had a message that there are some changes to my research proposal, which is OK and I will work on that, yet the supervisor is now away until end of August, as a result obviously a lot of delay. I hate just waiting, I want things to move on!

Take up some sports and other interests to keep you sane, constant thinking about your topic with no variety is unhealthy. Go away and do something exciting and hopefully you can come back to it with a fresh mind.

Vary your work eg spend your morning in the office and the afternoon collecting data in the community, observing children schools, marine mammals..whatever your PhD is in or related to.

Go to confernces. Talking to others may inspire you with their enthusiasm and you can bounce ideas of them.

Relate your work to things that interest you. i.e. if your are not very interested in the physics of how dolphins communicate, think about how useful it is to man's understanding and conservation of dolphins.

Are you altruistic generally speaking? If so, how can your research help people and in what way?

Do you want fame and status? Think of your work being published in say 'Nature' magazine or 'Science'.

Hi Picchu_flower,

I've just been through the same thing. I was really motivated when I first started my PhD and was sure it was what I really wanted. Then about 6-8 months in and with no results I started to question why I was putting myself through this and lost all motivation for just over a month. Then I went to a conference (even though I didn't really want to) and had a brilliant time. It really sparked my imagination again and things definitely picked up after that. I think I was concentrating to hard on the overall goal and forgetting to set things I could get done in shorter periods of time. I started writing down goals for each week and now I feel more like I getting somewhere.

Hope that helps! Good luck with it all

hattie gives great advice. i understand your position exactly. im pretty sure research is for me although ive found my first year rather boring and de-motivating. i have to drag myself out of bed to get into the office every day.
ive found going to the gym is a great stress reliver or just even going out to the cinema/pub. spending all day thinking about you project is enough to stress/bore the hell out of anyone.

my supervisor sent me to a conference( its about all he has done for me) and it did me the world of good to see what other people were up to around the world

its also importnat to think about your reasons for doing a phd. if its a case that youve made a bad desicion and choosin a wrong phd topic, maybe there is a chance of doing a masters instead. it also might me worth looking at the kind of research areas you could work in after getting a phd in this feild. ive been told people can end up working in very different research areas

Have you tried the prospects planner, and doing some careers planning?
Or been on GRADschool/tried the new wave articles?
I've found a nice potential career after having no idea until a few months ago (4th year of PhD).
I decided early on I hated my PhD, but was determined to finish it, rather than giving up. It's been a huge struggle and not a pleasant experience.

Though it helps to be passionate about what your doing for your PhD. I think you can get though just by being determined to finish it on time. From very early on I knew that the area my research was in was unlikly to generate a career opportunity. However a PhD is a bit like a passport to research, it says you can do it. The research you get into after that is up to you, Ive known a number of researchers produce a paper or so after their PhD in an area where there was a shortage of research or avalible funding and move into that area on the strenth of that paper.

Tiggs

same position pucca!i took this cos i didnt want to come back to my own country.asked the same thing to myself.however,i try to focus on the achievements that'll be big boost for my motivation. noone can still feel bad after achieving something terrific. i believe ur a high achiever as well. so make something out and be more determined to be a result oriented phd stud. dont feel the boring feeling. just do it like zombie, it s only temporary. after you got the results (publications or just a small compliment from supervisor), you'll crave for more. dats what keeps me going.