Any PhD Students Fancy A Mutual Support Thread?

[GentlyGentlyOhDear]

Is anyone else currently doing a PhD? I've just had my first baby and am trying to get back into the swing of things academically. Is there anyone else out there in a similar situation?

I'm currently on mat leave from my PhD until the new year, but I've been doing two days a week since baby was 4 months old as I desperately need to get finished! My registration ends in June next year, then I have 2 years to write-up (part-time), but I'm aiming to get finished within a year and a half.

Really should be working now...

Hi dotty, hope you've gotten some motivation back. I had a deadline to finish an essay and to edit a paper last week, so worked my arse off and then DD got chickenpox... So I'm back in unmotivated-just-want-to-cuddle-kids-and-be-mummy mode. Find that I go back and forth between super-motivated and super-NOT. I just can't switch on the academic brain when I'm home. Books have been staring at me all morning but instead I am sat watching flipping Dora the Explorer and MNetting with DD. This weather isn't helping!

Daisy, I'm sure you could get a good draft done in 2 wks if you are in motivated mode? Let us know how it's going.

Hope your dd feels better soon twogirls. If you?ve had a spell of working hard, l think sometimes you need a break from it.

dotty is there a topic you could focus on that gets you more motivated than other parts? Or a short term project like a paper you can set as a goal for a bit of variety. Staying motivated is so hard!

Have done a bit on an article and l think it is getting my brain working again and helping me think about my phd tho no actual writing so far, just research.

Sorry (but also reassured) to hear that we all struggle to switch between motivated PhD writers and cuddling the kids mummys. I have exactly the same problem. I was motivated frat week back, the did a week of marking and lots my work pattern. This week the DCs have been off school for three days due to snow and I've just dislocated my ankle. There is no reason I can't write while elevating my ankle, but instead I feel sorry for myself and want to lie down on the sofa and watch films. I need a kick up the butt to get a strong week of writing again next week before teaching starts again.

I totally hear you, eight. I think everyone up and down the country is feeling the effects of this annoying snow, myself included. Did no work this week at all. It's hard to focus when you're ill, or home with kids, etc.

Anyone else find the isolation part of phd life difficult? Had a supervisory meeting today and talked about my topic in depth, then sat down with DH tonight and realised that he (and most people) have NO clue of what's in my head... Sad but I want to hang out with my supervisor and talk about our field, seems he's the only one who gets me!

Still struggling with motivation. It's not helping that the thing I'm working on at the moment is basically a huge data entry task and entering stuff into Excel spreadsheets is less interesting than almost anything else I could be doing. Even the housework, and definitely less interesting than popping into cuddle DD1 who is off school sick and lying on the sofa listening to story CDs...I was teaching abroad earlier in the month and although it was v.v.hard work, I was able to focus so clearly because I had literally no other responsibilities, apart from getting myself fed and dressed and working. I'm now fantasising about absconding and checking myself and my laptop into a 5 star hotel somewhere really boring for a week!

Twogirls - I'm lucky in that my topic is related to my professional field, so most people I know through work have at least a little interest in it. But in a funny sort of way maybe that's turned me off the depth - I'm a shallow generalist who wants to have some interesting anecdotes to share with friends and colleagues. Not a Proper Serious Researcher...

Hey

I'm back. I am very confused about the maternity leave process. I am ESRC funded, but I have been told by my research team that I will effectively intercalate and no mention of maternity pay has been made. DH and I can survive while I am off if I have no pay but DD will lose her nursery place with no guarantee it will be available for when I return to work in early 2014.

Work wise mostly good except that bump (who was hiding nicely until this week) means I now have to sit side on to the desk! Luckily supervisory team have been extremely supportive but everyone agrees that I have a very great deal of work to do prior to the end of May when I leave at almost 39weeks.

Missed above threads - I ended up doing 1 day out of 5 the three weeks we were affected by snow and illness since start of January. I have now restored to caffeine, but I genuinely cannot work in the evenings when i have worked 9-5.

Redwelly. ESRC pay six months maternity leave. Google ESRC manual and you'll see it. I'm trying to find out if they pay any sick leave but the wording on that is vague. I know a couple of people who have taken the six months paid maternity leave (& six additional months unpaid).

Does anyone have any information about ESRC sick leave?

Red welly. I've copied the section from the handbook for you: p. 39

"Maternity leave
If a student becomes pregnant such that the expected date of confinement will occur during the period of their award, the ESRC will allow up to six months paid maternity leave without the level of their award being reduced. Financial support for any time beyond six months should be sought from the institution's Access Fund in the first instance. Should the circumstances of an award be changed following a period of maternity leave, students should notify their supervisor and Nominated Contact immediately and efforts will be made to take account of these circumstances in flexible ways. The total period of financial support available to students will not be extended beyond the usual thirty-six months plus the period of up to six months maternity leave.
Students may also apply for up to a further six months? suspension of their award (unpaid) because of the pregnancy, providing a total period of paid and unpaid maternity leave of up to twelve months and is counted towards the total 12 month suspension period allowed in an award. Please note that such paid and unpaid periods of leave must be taken consecutively. If a student chooses not to take the full twelve months at the time of their pregnancy they will not be able to take the remaining period at a later date.
Due to the structured nature of most taught research training programmes, students who take maternity leave during any research training programme are expected to re-join their course in the subsequent year at the stage at which they left it. This is to ensure that all elements of the training are successfully completed in advance of their doctoral study. This would normally require the six months paid maternity leave to be automatically followed by a six month period of unpaid leave.
It is the student?s responsibility to apply directly to their Nominated Contact and supervisor. This application must be supported by a copy of their MAT B1 form. The ESRC should be informed on the SDP of any extension granted within a month of the change being formally agreed by the ESRC. It is the responsibility of the RO to amend student?s end dates on the SDP accordingly.
Where there are insufficient funds in the training grant to meet the costs of maternity leave, the Research Council will consider reimbursing any additional costs arising from maternity leave providing the RO can demonstrate that it lacks the flexibility to meet the costs of maternity support and that it has no other contingency funding of concurrent training grants on which it could draw. Where departments are in receipt of larger and successive DTGs, funding should be found from within the DTGs. Where approved, these extra costs should be claimed on the Final Expenditure Statement."

Ok. So what that means is that I will get my full monthly stipend for six months?! Around £980? Thats staggering.

I'll finish end of May and start in January so six months paid and then one month unpaid. I also intend to change my status from FT to PT but pay for both children to be in nursery three days a week to ensure I complete within the initial registration period. I can also start some teaching and a little on the side consultancy work. By the time I finish dc1 will be starting school.

Apologies, where are my manners, thank you for the information.

:) you're welcome. And yes so you should get your full stipend, you're on maternity leave. I'm glad they're in line with employers for that, now just to understand their sick pay structure!

Hope younger things sorted, redwelly. The mat leave rules are the same as on an AHRC funded place, for anyone is googling this in the future. As of 2013, full pay for 6 mos, option to take additional 6 mos unpaid.

Dotty hope you've gotten some motivation? We've had kids off sick for going on 2 weeks (with a gap last week) and its impossible to work at home while DD is watching a movie or whatever. Tomorrow DH is staying home and I am going to work my arse off in the library to catch up!

Typing from my phone. Meant to say 'hope you got things sorted'!

twogirls: If desperation equals motivation, then yes! I'm starting to realise just how short of time to get this thing finished I am.

Incidentally, I was just rereading the thread and noticed that I had posted above about the interview I was trying to arrange with someone who was seriously ill. He died a couple of weeks ago, before I was able to interview him. I feel pleased that I didn't press him further, obviously, but also sad that I didn't do it sooner in the process when he would have been well. It's a shame that his voice won't be heard in the narrative. (Now brooding on mortality and feeling slightly less motivated again...)

dotty I hear you, I'm desperate to get an edit done today because tomorrow and Weds I'll have to stay home with sick DD. I thought it would push me to finish but it's not working as well as I thought because I keep distracting myself with the opposite of what you're thinking about... today AF is due and there's been no sign of it, so I'm sitting here wondering if I'm pregnant. It's torture. Keep reading the conception area of mumsnet.

Sad about your interviewee. Must be hard, especially as our PhD's occupy every corner of our brains and are so hard to stop thinking about. Hopefully your reflections will help in some way.

Right, back to work. I'm really bored today. gahhhhhh

Hi Dotty, just wanted to say how sorry I am for you and your lost interviewee.... I have interviewed young adults with terminal illnesses for my research and had 2 or 3 die just before I was due to interview them, its tough. Luckily only 1 of the 19 I did interview has so far died and I found that pretty tough, especially going back over the recording and analysing it knowing that he is no longer around.... but, I know that I have helped this individual in letting him express himself and find comfort in that.... and have had to do a reflexive journal which helps.... good luck with the rest!

Thanks, both. There is something quite poignant about thinking about the course of a working life: so much energy and commitment and so many years. But, gosh, terminally ill young adults - that would be gruelling research.

Still doing tedious data entry today. Going to try the Pomodoro technique plus housework - 20 minutes data, 10 minutes cleaning/ironing, and no e-distractions. We'll see how that goes! I also have my running kit on in the hope of going for a run later this morning, but it's damp, cold and windy so I will need to save a bit of willpower for that.

Went to a really good training session yesterday about applying for postdoc funding and it's got me thinking that maybe that might be an option I could explore. Need to finish the damn thing first, though!

Hello all

Sorry to hijack your thread but I am desperately looking for sources of support.

I am in the final redrafting stages of my PhD. Now in my 4th year and out of funding, I had hoped to have it all done and submitted by mid-Jan. However, my first draft (completed end of Nov) needed more doing to it than I hoped, and right in the middle of tackling that, just before xmas, I had a missed miscarriage diagnosed at what should have been my 12 week scan (first pregnancy). The physical and emotional aspects of that have taken weeks to get through (and emotionally I am still very fragile), and I've also had work pressures from my other job (I co-run a company and have workloads I can't avert, and need the money from) piling up around me. To top it all off we are also trying to buy a house, which if it happens will mean moving in the next month.

The various stresses I am under are huge. I have asked for a 3 month PhD extension which will allow me till December to finish it, but for emotional and financial reasons I just can't have it hanging round my neck that long. I start a big and high-pressure project with my other job in April for three months and if the PhD not done and off my back before then I don't know what I will do. The frustrating thing is that if I could get my head down and concentrate on it I would be, at the most, a few weeks off submitting it, but I am finding it almost impossible to summon up the mental strength, energy and concentration to keep going at the moment. I am carving out precious days to get it done and then spending a large part of them either crying or looking at random shit on the internet.

I don't know what I want someone to say really - I think I just need a sympathetic ear and some perspective on what to do when dealing with your PhD is really really really really hard.

thanks in advance and sorry for bringing my buckets of negativity to the thread.

Hi Quodlibet - I'm so sorry to hear what you're going through. I also had a missed miscarriage diagnosed at that stage in my first pregnancy. It was an awful, awful experience and it took me a long time to come to terms with it, so I'm really not at all surprised that you're still finding life difficult now. I just typed loads about my own mmc experience and then deleted it all because it's not really pertinent - but suffice to say it all happened exactly 9 years ago and I still remember it vividly. So I really think you need to cut yourself some slack - you are bound to feel fragile, and you need to be kind to yourself. If you take a step back it's obvious that you have far too many big, stressful things going on in your life, and something's got to give. What can you do to make life more manageable? Is there anything you could postpone, or abdicate all responsibility for? So maybe you'll have to move, but can you just hand over all the worry of that to your DP? Is there really nothing you can do to tweak work deadlines. I know it's hard to say no - but I have just today decided not to apply for a freelance project I was invited to tender for, and which I knew was exactly up my street and which I really 'ought' to do. Saying no is hard - but sometimes is the best thing to do. Maybe think about whether the April deadline you're setting yourself is absolute.

One practical tip, which I find helpful when I have something to write and I'm finding it hard to concentrate, is not to expect a whole day of yourself. Commit to working solidly for one hour in the morning, and one hour in the afternoon. Turn off your router or use some of the software available that makes it impossible for you to access the internet for a set period of time. Do two 30 minute bursts, with a 15 minute break in between. Set a kitchen timer. You'll be amazed how much you can get done, and then maybe you'll feel up to doing a bit more than you'd planned - always better to aim for less and exceed it.

Don't worry about the negativity - I feel crap today too and fed up with work and life. We all feel like that sometimes, and you've got more reason than most. And keep posting.

Posted this seperately as well but thought I may get more advice here;
I've applied for a funded place to complete a PhD in the field of Sociology/ Social Policy. I've got an interview for this on Tuesday. there are 2 potential routes for scholarship ESRC or university funded placements.
Any tips on what i may be asked at interview? Will it focus on me as a person or on the proposal or a bit of both. Interview is only 30 mins. I've interviewed 1000s of times in my career so why is this making me so nervous!!!!!

P.S. Should add I am heavily pregnant!

I am about to complete my master programme this year and the DH and have begun to start talking about starting a family as I really don't want to leave it much later but my plan ultimately is to take a year out to work and have the baby then applying for PhD. Does having a child as a PhD student impact negatively on your chances in the application and funding application process?

Sorry we've all been MIA, we all must be very busy! Rose-- sorry I don't know much about the interview process for ESRC. Let us know how it goes. As for children and PhD's, Ginger, I can say that I was really worried about that too but in reality there are loads of PhD students with kids. More than I ever thought, actually! I'd say a quarter to half of the ones in my year (out of say 100) have kids. The only downside is that it makes it harder to take advantage of some opportunities- ie the AHRC has a scheme where you can get funding to do research in Washington DC for 3-6 mos... Would love to do it but they don't give you enough to get anything bigger than a small room, so it would be impossible. Not to mention the kids have school etc. That aside, kids + PhDs not a problem really, as long as you have sufficient childcare cover to get work done. (Trust me, its not easy to write a paper with Dora the Explorer in the background!) Good luck!

Quodlibet- how are you doing?? Hope things are a bit better this week? x

Hi Quodlibet im so sorry to read your news, I think we were on a thread together at some point.

I was going to post for some advice on managing data collection expectations with an increasingly tiring pg but pergaps another day. Again Quod im so sorry