Tell me it's gonna be all OK...
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free skin care · Wed Aug 31, 2005 9:36 am

OK, I'm seriously stressed out...my dissertation is due in two months from today, and I still have plenty of work to do. Sometimes I'm even tempted to give up...

Heeelp! I need to be convinced that it's worth all the long hours
Why should I try finishing on time?

(I don't have a job to look forward to, but have applied for a grant from the national research foundation to do a post.-doc., plus I've heard rumours about internal positions opening up).

Shock

free skin care · Wed Aug 31, 2005 9:48 am

It is gonna be OK. You will finish your Diss and you will get a good mark. You will not give up because you have spent far too long getting this far.

My advice

1, download the EFT manual (it's free) from here
http://emofree.com/downloadeftmanual.htm

it is invaluble for stress busting and mental blocks. It is something you can do yourself and it takes about an hour to learn and 10 mins to do. Trust me on this. I got through my diss (undergrad one) with the help of EFT.

2, This is the hard one. Log out of all the forums you subscribe to and makesure that all email notifications are off. Wipe them from your favourites. Forums like this are a distraction from what you have to be doing at the moment. You can come back and have a party when you have finished Very Happy

3, make a timetable and stick to it. Include some 'me' time for long baths, massage, making love or whatever.

4, Remember, it is only 2 more months and soon you will be free. You just need to focus and be calm.

5, Trust yourself. Yuo will soon be a doctor Smile

Now do it! Go and finish and you will be brilliant and then we can have a party Very Happy

Liz xxx

free skin care · Wed Aug 31, 2005 10:07 am

Thanks! I'm feeling better already. But that also has to do with the fact that I just finished the handout for a conference I'm going to present at this weekend.

Ah, and I forgot: we're going away once I finish. Two weeks sun&sand at the Canary Isles. Not a bad idea to get a break from wintertime Norway.

Thu Sep 01, 2005 3:27 am

It's going to be *better* than just OK! You will finish it off and be rewarded with a nice job in the end (regardless of if you have one lined up right now or not).

I do know how you feel, I often felt like giving up throughout my PhD but I stuck with it and I'm glad I did (and it was *such* a relief to finish!). Keep at it and get it over and done with and then look forward to some lovely holiday bliss Smile

All the best with the writing!

free skin care · Thu Sep 01, 2005 8:49 am

Your vacation sounds wonderful! I'd put up some pictures to remind yourself about it as you power through the next 2 months. You'll make it through! Smile

free skin care · Thu Sep 01, 2005 11:36 pm

You people are wonderful! I'm a bit more relaxed now, since I KNOW I can work hard and produce a lot in short time if I'm forced to (maybe my supervisor has to come sit on my lap while I'm writing? Laughing

)

Well, in a few hours time, I'm off to a conference in Britain; my presentation is tomorrow evening, so keep fingers crossed for me. Very Happy

free skin care · Fri Sep 02, 2005 12:34 am

hi nemi,
i finished my phd less than a year ago and i totally know what you mean!
just remember that the last few months are truly the hardest but that is when everything comes together and believe me when i say that you will finish! and the best reason to finish it is so that you'll be finished. now i know that sounds crazy, but waking up the day after i had submitted (with a terrible hangover i might add) and KNOWING that i didn't have to work on it that day was one of the best feelings of my life.
and don't worry about not having a job, just focus on writing and getting all your editing and proofing done so you can hand that sucker in!!!

good luck, i know you can do, sheesh if i could do it anyone can.

(Dr.) Kiwigirl.

free skin care · Fri Sep 02, 2005 1:44 am

If it was just editing... Confused

Right now, there are so many loose ends, and I've just had to completely rewrite a chapter, where the final analysis is still missing. And then I have to pull together all the loose ends and fill in some material here and there.

I was a bit discomforted last night, when my boyfriend said he didn't think I'd finish on time, simply because he didn't think me motivated enough. But we'll see who's right...

Bad Grin

Fri Sep 02, 2005 4:13 am

Nemi wrote:

I was a bit discomforted last night, when my boyfriend said he didn't think I'd finish on time, simply because he didn't think me motivated enough. But we'll see who's right...

Not many things motivate better than worrying that one won't finish their thesis on time - you will manage to do it Smile

free skin care · Sat Sep 03, 2005 6:08 pm

okay, that's cool. i had to totally re-write a nearly 20,000 word chapter in 3 days because it just didn't have any point and it didn't hang together well enough but i did it... 3 18 hours days later and i didn't even know my own name but it was worth it.
just make the decision that you ARE going to finish on time - that means that everything you do MUST contribute to that goal, or be mentally relaxing so you can continue towards that goal tomorrow.
and honestly, don't worry about the loose ends, you'll be fine, just focus on doing small jobs each day (or each hour is thinking about a day is too difficult) and you'll be amazed at what you can achieve. so think about re-writing one section before taking a break then think about doing another one before you stop for (a quick) lunch, then another before an afternoon break and so on. if you break up your day and fit your work into that you'll be fine.

just to background me, i was told that i could only enrol for 3 more months and after that i had to be finished. i wasn't at a point where i was close to finished (no introduction, no conclusion, supervisor away for the next 3 months, and i needed significant editing on all my actual chapters) but i did it, and it felt SOOOO good proving them wrong when they thought i couldn't do it.

so when i say you can do it, you SOO can do it, just believe and get to work!

Kiwigirl.

free skin care · Mon Sep 05, 2005 3:49 pm

You can do it!! Just set a certain amount of hours every day and get plenty of exercise. Are you eating enough, and wholesome foods? You WILL get through this. Set your mind to it, attack it fiercely like a wild animal, and it will be done.

free skin care · Tue Sep 06, 2005 3:01 am

Thanks, again, people! It actually helps to hear other people's experience with similar situations. And my talk on Sat. also went well, and it was nice to meet people who I haven't seen for a long time.

Normally, I'm pretty conscientious about my diet and exercise routine, but it's easy to let good habits slip during stressful times. I've found myself eating too much sugar and drinking too much coffee, and normally, I hardly ever crave sweets.

Wrt. exercise, I normally work out (running, mountainbike, weights...) 4-5 times a week, but I think I have to shift my routine a bit to be able to do this. Last winter I worked out before work in the mornings, and although it was hard in the beginning, I found it really helpful in calming me down (I'm normally a restless person who can't sit still).

And now, I'm about to start a new chapter. That is, I have the data and materials, and two published papers on the topic, but I have to organize it a bit differently, and incorporate some other data.

I'm so lucky to have a boyfriend who actually supports me in the process; he's really a gem.

Very Happy

free skin care · Fri Sep 09, 2005 12:01 pm

I've been quite efficient these last few days, so I'm a bit more optimistic now. Also, I have started working on my favourite topic (and the one I know the most about), which makes me feel more secure and confident in my own work.

Maybe it will work out fine, after all? Very Happy

free skin care · Sat Sep 10, 2005 1:52 am

good! i should have said to start with the stuff you feel most secure about... you rock nemi! go girl!!!

Kiwigirl.

free skin care · Tue Sep 13, 2005 12:51 pm

nemi,

when my bf says I can't do something it just motivates me to get it done and make him shocked and proud of what a strong person I am...

I know you'll do the same Very Happy

free skin care · Tue Oct 04, 2005 1:54 am

An update: I'm more or less finished with the content chapters, that is, until my supervisor has scrutinized them Laughing

He's in India at the moment, stupid bastard, but will be back by the end of this week, and by then, I hope to have written the last pages on chapter two, so that he has something to criticize. My dissertation will have three content chapters (deep analyses of three separate topics), plus introduction (should be long-ish) and conclusion.

I went to a cabin with my boyfriend last weekend. Very lo-tech, and very quiet. We went hiking and just relaxed, and it really helped. Very Happy

Tue Oct 04, 2005 5:07 am

Good luck Nemi! You'll get it done! And, while I hated getting drafts back from the supervisor, in the end it's for our own benefit (if the supervisor doesn't scrutinize it, your examiners will...). Yoy're almost there!

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