Hi Helen_G
I've been reading the posts here for quite a while, but yours has caused me to register! Like you, I'm at an Australian uni and I've been doing my PhD for years and years... :-(
It's been a seemingly never-ending marathon! Everyone has given you really good advice, but I hope the following might also help:
- See if you can 'stop the clock' - something my sups and others have advised me to do - ask your postgrad office about their policy on allowing you six months off. If you are able to apply, with your sup's approval, take the time off but (very important) carry on working on your thesis. This can give you extra time without too much stress on deadlines. In my case, it would have been useful to know this, as (wrongly) I continued my candidature during some stressful times, which in the long run added to pressure when completion time was looming.
- Apply for another extension (I think my applications for extension should be a world record, by now!). In my case, I did this by sitting down with one of my sups, working out which chapters were complete and what was left, then working out deadlines for completing each remaining draft chapter. At my uni, extension applications have to be supported by a statement and in this I set out my completed draft chapters, and remaining chapters with deadlines. This lets those in power know where you are at, what is left to do, and when you are aiming to produce the full draft. Also, if you are a 'pressure cooker worker' it helps; I am, so knowing that a chapter had to be produced by a particular date detracted from thoughts of producing what seems to be a massive 80K word thesis. Also, the closer you are to producing a full draft thesis, the less likely the uni is to turn you down or cancel your candidature - PhD completions represent income.
- You say your sup is happy to help with extensions, but you really need that 'oomph' to get you over the line. Do you have another sup at your uni? In my case, I had a sup who was happy to sign forms but not that interested in whether the thesis got completed. To reach your goal, you need a sup who is going to prod for work. My original sup is still there, but I gained two other principal sups who did the subtle prodding, and spent the time reading my drafts and giving feedback. It's not too late (truly) as my two principals were appointed very late in my candidature and only after I ended up having a talk with another academic. This strategy needs some diplomacy, however!
- Chapter structures - I've seen really good posts from others on writing drafts. What worked best for me was to use headings, subheadings and sub-subheadings for each chapter, so writing up had a bit of a roadmap of where I was going, and also detracted from thoughts of the 80K word colossus. Suspend the critical thinking part of your brain that wants to pick apart every sentence (easy to say!) as you need to get thoughts onto paper, then the finer edits can come late.
