why rnt the reply and "post" buttons working? in the original thread? arrrgh...

here goes my reply to bonzo

Hey Bonzo,

CHIN UP!!!! You've been giving good advice to all of us here :-) so nows ur turn to get it!

I am only starting, I know, but a couple o questions:

1. Does your sup want you to write more (implying u rnt writing enuf?)
2. Does your sup not read what you write (in which case No 1 is redundant?)
3. What worried me is that he meets other phds more often...tell me, is it that their areas of work are more related to his core interests, and urs a bit further away? Sups sometimes are partial and unfair based on these things...
4. What's been your non-formal interactions? Do you guys email often, write to each other abt conferences, etc, and so on? I mean is there 'thought sharing' on? If there is, then try to take things out of those sessions...If there isnt, maybe u shud find out if he,s interested really...
5. Treating it like a job...i am not sure thats a good idea...sups hate students who drp out and those who delay...so time management is a major issue, yes...but it requires much more actually than 9 to 5 doesnt it? So in that sense, its great if you arent actually treating it like a job...

Hey PhDBug,
Quick answers to the questions
1 & 2 - Simple answer - He seems to only read it 5-10 mins beforehand. Was in the habit of writing more, but just got tired of the aforementioned scenario. Gonna get back writing and forcibly get him to respond - he is on huge money and at this point, I don't care if I offend him (kinda like a Viking burnin' the long boats at this stage)
3. I think they are just more forceful and focussed. Yes, they are working in his area directly but you can't just ignore students. I am willing to take on work that I am not 100% confident about, but for f**ks sake, isn't the supervisor meant to help in this process?
4. Absolutely none ... ok, some but mostlyfor his topics.
5. I know its more that 9-5 but what I am saying is that how do you stop wandering all over the shop and actually treat the whole thing as a BIG project
There are other factors but to be honest, calming down and as Public Enemy once said "Bruvva gonna work it out!". I have alternatives but as the PhD is only a means to an end (teaching!) I really just want to get it done. Any advice/references re writing or time management would be appreciated.

PhD bug - thanks for the advice/encouragement. I hope things are going well for yourself (who knows - I might have a lot of spare time soon to help compiling that Tips list ;-)
Not getting down about it - just frustrated to be honest. Reading a lot about Taoism at the mo and one phrase comes to mind ... "Who knows what is really good and who knows what is really bad".

Forum admin team - don't worry about the server probs ... sure the boys @ CERN couldn't even get it right and look at the stipends they are on :p
Jokes aside Keep up the good work

Hi b,

some things work for me (and I should say I am one of those people who prolly 'only' read/write/study LOL)

1. Reading time, writing time (moderately) separate.
2. 10 hour time slots each day. Divided into 2 to 3 hr bits. This is solely for your 'own' work, at your desk.
3. DAILY writing. YES. thats the best answer, breaks it up in bits, the whole writing tasks, and a weekly compilation of the best out of it. and dont trash any writing.
4. STRUCTURE. which is you most appreciated, favourite, most tightly written academic book? READ IT again. Cover to cover. how does it structure itself. So, what if your phd document were a book. Write out a fantasy abstract. Write out a fantasy structure, break every bit down to three levels. Start working on each.
5. Forget the person who is your sup, since he doesnt read stuff, and has next to nothing informal interactions on your interests. Its YOUR Phd, and if its become somebody's job to make it tougher, its your job to make them fail.(up)