This week was possibly my least productive week in months, except for the last week of June that I took off after submitting my PhD progress review. But, the most surprising part is how little it bothered me. I haven't lost motivation for completing my PhD and I am not feeling as frustrated as I should be, considering I have been working on this particular chapter for almost five months (This is another instance of stuff looking worse than it feels). I am currently stuck in a conceptual maze, but I can see it lifting in the not-so-distant future, when the time is right. Breaking through the maze will require work, and I am ready for the slog.
The next few weeks, months, years are going to be tumultous, so its best not to invent problems that don't exist. I am getting better at being okay with slack periods of my PhD. Yes, using your PhD to distract from problems in other areas of your life, and to find other distractions when your PhD is not going well sounds like a winning strategy on paper. But, you can't live your whole life running away from the unsavoury parts of your life. With time, you can get better at letting the unsavoury bits just be.
The next few weeks, months, years are going to be tumultous, so its best not to invent problems that don't exist. I am getting better at being okay with slack periods of my PhD. Yes, using your PhD to distract from problems in other areas of your life, and to find other distractions when your PhD is not going well sounds like a winning strategy on paper. But, you can't live your whole life running away from the unsavoury parts of your life. With time, you can get better at letting the unsavoury bits just be.
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