I have to get a document in (transfer report) by this Friday 5pm but found this morning that I have to make major changes to get it in and I have gone into what I call 'meltdown mode' or the 'paralysis of panic'. My supervisor thinks she is giving me too much help, (she is helping me a lot) but this statement has knocked my confidence. How do I get out of this state? What are your top tips?

Hi anon007

I had to prepare my transfer report some 2 years ago. At that time, my hubby was not around ( he was working in Middle East), and I was stuck with three small kids. I was freaking out big time ! After a few icecreams and coffee, I decided on a plan of action...
What I did was to take care of the kids during the day and really focused on the transfer report at night, when the kids were sleeping. Lots of cut and pasting, Googling, referring to the thesaurus, that kind of thing. The references at the end were a bit of a pain because I initially followed one format and my Sup wanted another format. Phew...Thank goodness I got through to the end.
Above all, remain calm at all times. Good luck !

Hi anon007
I find that the best thing I can do when I am so overwhelmed that I cannot even think is to have a shower or a cup of tea/coffee and then make a list of things to do. Then I prioritize and assign a period of time for each thing, work on it, and then move onto the next thing when the assigned time is over. I might not finish absolutely everything I need to do, and I might not be as perfect as I'd like but at least that way I get over the panic and stop wasting time on things that are not essential (which is something I have a tendency to do). Alternatively, is any chance that you can delay the submission date until Monday? If your changes are so big it might be worth to have a go and ask. Good luck!

Dear Charliebrown and Mohana

Thanks for your replies. You have given really good advice. Yes, I think I am succeeding in remaining calm at all times, which you say is important, so that is good. I think the changes are too big and I will ask for an extension to the deadline of a couple of weeks, which according to my tutor isn't that big a deal. The faculty office are more concerned about the Viva date which we won't move. I am also quite philosophical about it, I have changed discipline and sector (from history, humanities to social sciences) so it is a big achievement for me to get this far. I wouldn't mind doing an MPhil if it came down to it, I just don't want to give it all up as I've done so much work, I don't want the work to be wasted. Is there anyone there who did an MPhil and then went on to do a PhD later? How did it work - did you always wish you had done the PhD in the first place?

A