I've got 3 months of funding left in my final year and I have lost all motivation!!! I've got a presentation for a conference to write, my supervisors want me to write a paper and I haven't even finished my lab work or started writing my thesis yet. With all this to do I can work up the motivation to do it!! I know that I should break down the tasks into little pieces etc I was just wondering if there were others out there who felt the same as it would help to know that I am not alone.

You are definately not alone! I'm currently going through something similar. Like you i've got 3 months left, a paper which needs writing and the 'T' to write. The lack of motivation I have now is really frightening! Especially as i'm so close to finishing! I wasn't even this bad in my 2nd year dip but currently i'd give anything to just pack it all in and get my life back.
I'm sorry that I have no words of advice to help you out of the rut, but I can truely say, you're not the only one!!:$

I second that. I am in the same situation too. I was panicking a few weeks ago at the thought of what I need to do to finish. I am really dreading writing the thesis and there is not long to go- I hope to get an outline this week and show it to my supervisor.

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Hi Stressed 17

Just wanted to say that I'm in the same boat as you! I'm in my final year with 3 months to go til funding runs out and it's a very scary thought indeed!

I've got to cut down about 90,000 words of my literature reviews and methodology chapters by half to include my results and discussion chapters and I'm dreading it!! I'm still working on my quantitative results and will need to get cracking with my qualitative results chapter. I'm struggling to keep motivated and the onset of July tomorrow is making me slightly panicky!

I'm also late by nearly 7weeks so there is a high probablity of a potential pregnancy although I'm hoping that this late onset its all stress related as the two pregnancy tests I've taken are both negative !! (but I'm too chicken to go to the doctors) :$ The possibility of a pregnancy and coping with the final few months of a PhD would REALLY put a spanner in the works!!

Anyway, I think struggling with motivation with these last few months is totally normal.

I'm in the same situation as you, even down to attempting to write my conference presentation, which just keeps coming back from my co-sup with comments of changes all over it. I'm struggling to get motivated, I've written and re-written my lit review, but I'm still not sure if i've done enough lab work, whether the work is finished yet and if its good enough for a thesis. Comparing what I've done to my office mates who are 3 months behind me just makes me feel wreched as their projects are more biology based and seem to generate loads of data. My stuff seems paltry in comparison. I'm just trying to do little tasks at a time, overlaying 3 graphs and mastering the chemical drawing software was my morning's achievement. :-) chin up you aren't alone.

Thanks for the replies!! It reassuring to know that others feel the same. I know I'll get these things done but probably at the last minute!

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oh i definately can relate to the no motivation part. i'm feeling so lazy these days when it comes to studying...i blame the hot weather hehehe. i just kinda force myself to do a little bit each day, even if its not alot. the key point is to do something each day. i also have set myself small tasks. at the moment i am summarising each page of my thesis, into a few sentences. that way i am reading through the thesis and familiarising myself with it and doing something active with it.

I am also at the end of my third year, with three months funding left, and a massive headache from trying to work out what to do. I have not enjoyed the phd from the start, but, like most people on here, am not the sort of person to give up easily. I wish to God that I had given up much earlier, and my advice to those hating it in earlier years is to leave while you still can! Like you, I have no motivation left at all, but for me, this has been the case for at least six months and in that time I have produced very little, and seriouslly disappointed my supervisor. I am now considering downgrading to mphil, and submitting the work I've already done as a thesis. But I can't seem to find any information on this pathway (probably because it is not what the uni wants students to do), and I'm worried about my sponsors demanding money back as I have not attained a phd. Does anyone know anything about this?