hi there, i love this forum but have simply been a reader so far. i need some help so i thought that i should write too.
i have been doing my phd for too many years- the exact number of years is embarassing, though it's been part-time. jobs, grieving, babies all have all contributed to making it last so looong.

i REALLY want to finish before the end of the year but still have major corrections and some more data analysis to do in most of my chapters. and the last one to write from scratch. i also need to get the whole thing edited as english is not my first language. i'd love to submit by dec,20 and -as you know- would have to inform the postgrad office 2 months before.

is it do-able? have some of you been through a similar experience and succeeded -or about to succeed- in submitting by the due date or failed in doing so? and if failed, why? What would you advice to do?

a zillion thanks for any reply!

It might help just having a date to stick to. It depends how focussed/motivated/quick you are. I've spent about a year writing up and was aiming for July but my supervisor took 2 months to read some chapters and I now hope to submit this Friday (my 4 year deadline is the end of this month). A prof I know claims he wrote up in 6 weeks as got a cash incentive.
Someone else I know has taken about 6 years (including work after 3-4 years) for various reasons and is happily now a Dr.

thanks cc! it is a matter of really wanting it isn't it? i know i need to be more focused and to be more committed to my own set mini deadlines but it's never worked so far. i have done the 'big push' thing but it looks like i need another one...and need some encouragement!! hence these posts.
bluelife

Can a supervisor or someone else read work at intervals to help meet your deadlines? Sounds like you might need the real deadline to motivate yourself to finish.
When it has gone on a long time it can seem a bit aimless, and like it will never end.

cc, i like the suggestion of getting someone to be my writing manager.
yes, it's gone on for too long and for the last 3 years, i honestly thought i would finish by the end of the year. and never did for various reasons. so you see, my lack of time management skills is pretty severe when it comes to my thesis...

now, i feel that i need to move on. i keep trying to stay focussed by telling myself that every single line writen takes me closer to the end. but the real question is ^"when is that end going to be?" it seems to be an open end exercise so far. and an official submission date might help in making it more real.

why is it so hard to re-gain momentum? what are the tips to keep going? why haven't i spent the last 15mns on getting started on my revisions rather than chat in a forum?