Daffy's 'a nice cup of tea cheers you up' diary

Pippilongstocking

No, not really its just we just dont get out much so when we do - we tend to have to pack it all in!!! xxxx

Cheery_Daff

Have a gorgeous old time Fay! :j :j :j Tree climbing sounds Ace! And I always wanted to dive with sharks as a kid No idea why, not sure I could face it any more! :rotfl:

Today is a PhD day for me, quite inspired by the course I just went on (even though it was for work), so have to get writing! Going to try Fay's trick of blog writing to start me off (or rather, probably just *put* me off :rotfl:) Then a party tonight

missymoo81

rubbish for doing PHD, but good for you for being so motivated and even better a party tonight, I love parties!!

Lemon_Tree

congratulations on the job Missymoo, i hate the whole handing in your notice part though, i always feel really guilty.

Cheery_Daff

Right then, I've been in this blithering office for over an hour, and so far all I've managed to do is mess about on the internet, eat almost my entire packed lunch, and make some instant noodles :rotfl: NOT what you'd call a productive day for someone with 2 chapters to finish editing, and a PhD to submit in TEN WEEKS! :eek: :eek:

So, here we go giving myself a bit of a talking to...

Self control, as I heard someone say once, is remembering what you *really* want. I *really* want to be done with this PhD!

But even as I'm saying that, I'm realising that that's a very negative thing to want I've not read that book everyone's raving about, but I think the idea is to spin things round and focus on what you *do* want in your life, not what you *don't* want. Right now I really don't know how to spin this around into something positive.

Unless.... I focus on the next few weeks, and on the finished thesis, rather than spending all my time thinking about life *after* PhD? So I focus on working productively, seeing myself writing productively and well, and pin up a picture of a nicely finished (and passed!) thesis? (I WON'T use the picture I took of the last time I finished the thesis - else I might get another one riddled with holes! :rotfl:)

What do we reckon? Is that a good idea? Have a kind of inspiration board just focusing on the next 10 weeks (rather than what comes after it, I get too distracted by that and try to do all the nice things *NOW* rather than waiting! )? Is that a good idea? So I'd have maybe a picture of someone working calmly and productively, meeting deadlines , being proud of the work they'd done, and visualise myself doing those things, then walking calmly to hand in my thesis, and finally being told it's finished.

What do you think?

missymoo81

I think thats a really good idea daffs, if you think it will get you motivated. Just drawing a picture of me now, with an unhappy face and then drew lots of things that I needed to do, to get me to the other picture of me, with no debts, a big happy smile and a job as a teacher really motivates me as I know it is what I need to do to get from A to B and the bit in the middle is just temporary, just small hurdles that need stepping over and ticking off each day/week/month

Visual motivational props are always really good for your mind to understand why you are doing something, even if you don't want to be doing it.

I hope that makes sense.

x

Cheery_Daff

Thanks Missy :T Did you actually draw pictures of yourself?? I'm rubbish at drawing! Good idea to see the things in the middle as small little hurdles

I think part of the problem I've had in the past is that I've concentrated so much on 'when the PhD's over' that I've not really enjoyed the process, and just wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible (and then it took years and years), and then I finished it, adn they gave it back to me with another year to do! So I've tried to enjoy the process (!) but found it really difficult to be every day faced with a big list of things that I'd done wrong Not motivating!

And now I've fallen into the trap of thinking of all the lovely things I'll do after Christmas, and again I'm just not concentrating on work at all Here I am, two hours in the office, and I've not long even opened the word document with the chapter in, and I haven't even started reading it!

I think I'll pop upstairs, grab a hot chocolate, then sit down for just 15 minutes and tackle the first bit. I did some editing on the paper copy on the train, so I'll do some small bits that are easy to sort out, and then see if that kick starts me into the more difficult bits

(bit glum today, in case you hadn't noticed!)

missymoo81

i had noticed, not your normal cheery self, i like it when you're cheery you spur me on too.

I know it's hard, im really not enjoying doing my degree it's like a huge weight around my neck, but I have years left, you only have months, christmas is really not too far away. If you think that you only have to work hard for these 3 months, then that's it, done, and when you look back at christmas you will hardly remember them as it is such a short space of time.

You don't have to enjoy doing your PHD, but you know as well as I do that as soon as you've done even a little bit it makes you so much more happy and so much less miserable because you are doing something. I find the longer i don't do it the more grumpy and miserable I get, but as soon as I have done a module or chapter I am on top of the world. Concentrate on getting that feeling, knowing that that happy feeling of just finishing a chapter is just around the corner.

missymoo81

By the way my drawing skills are horrendous really rubbish! so little stick type person with a mass of curly hair worked for me

Cheery_Daff

missymoo81 wrote: »

i had noticed, not your normal cheery self, i like it when you're cheery you spur me on too.

I know it's hard, im really not enjoying doing my degree it's like a huge weight around my neck, but I have years left, you only have months, christmas is really not too far away. If you think that you only have to work hard for these 3 months, then that's it, done, and when you look back at christmas you will hardly remember them as it is such a short space of time.

You don't have to enjoy doing your PHD, but you know as well as I do that as soon as you've done even a little bit it makes you so much more happy and so much less miserable because you are doing something. I find the longer i don't do it the more grumpy and miserable I get, but as soon as I have done a module or chapter I am on top of the world. Concentrate on getting that feeling, knowing that that happy feeling of just finishing a chapter is just around the corner.

You are, of course, so right! :T I'm just a bit hormonal this week I think Just had a hot chocolate and feel better now :T

Ok, so I'm going to go away, get into the doc, and spend 15 minutes doing *something*. I'd like to get to the end of today feeling positive and fabulous and like I've achieved lots of things, then I can have fun at this party without feeling guilty! :T

Thanks Missy :j :j Sometimes I just need someone to help me see the bigger picture I love it that we all help each other on here like that! :T