I’m not sure really how to sum up my week. I guess slow would cover it. My tasks for the week have revolved around writing: writing up the analysis I have done so far as a section/chapter of my thesis for both the analysis of data I collected from testing and a thematic analysis of some interviews I conducted. It has been a struggle to say the least.
I find that the days I procrastinate most in my PhD bubble, are the ones where I have set myself the task of writing. It’s just not something that I enjoy doing and I feel like I need to be in the write headspace to get words onto the page. Maybe there’s some science in that or maybe I’m just making excuses? BUT, I have to keep reminded my present self that my future self will be really annoyed/frustrated/fed up if present self doesn’t just get on with it!
I am very aware of how I feel about this aspect of my PhD, so I need to mitigate that. If it comes to write up time and I haven’t got anything to start with and I’m facing 6 months or so of writing everyday I think I’ll crumble. So, whilst I have the time now (as I’m still in limbo with recruitment and testing to get more data, and also to get my hardware sorted ready for testing), it makes sense that I get on top of things.
I don’t think it had helped that I have an underlying level of stress going on – what if the lab isn’t up and running soon? What if I can’t get my hardware to work? What if no one comes to test with me and I don’t get any more data? What if people do want to test with me and I have a whole load of data?
I’m trying to take each day as it comes and prepare as best I can. Sometimes, that just feels a bit difficult, but we have to pull through!
My task for today is to have a good crack at writing my thematic analysis. I did get my other section written up and I’ve made edits based on my supervisor’s feedback, so that is some progress. I’ve also explored some options to sort my hardware, but I don’t feel any closer to a solution than I did. Maybe, I am…we’ll just have to see!
The key is to focus on what I can control and prepare for the difficulties I’m anticipating – what more can I do, right?
Shruti's PhD 