It fluctuates. Yesterday I had a great day, in uni for quite a long time and working well. I found my reading interesting and engaging, and I think I understand much more than I did before. Why do I occasionally have a day like this, and then have days where I'm lucky if I can concentrate for an hour? It'd be good if I could work out any factors, I'm fed up with the other sort, the catching-myself-staring-into-space type of day.
These good days make me glad I'm doing a Ph.D. Although I didn't seem to have much time to relax this evening... Hopefully, I can get enough to start a new book soon, although I'm more worried about getting things done this week.
I feel like I'm progressing PhD-wise; certainly I'm finding game semantics and related ideas interesting, and in particular I'm finding it motivates me to learn the appropriate bits of alternative logics, category theory, and so on. Hopefully my thesis will be in this area; conversely I hope I get more interested in the alternate topic of computational effects (semantics of, a particular program logic for).
At least I'm currently motivated to learn the bits of category theory which tie these two things together, in a loose sense.
Steph
I think unless one has a very narrow field of interest, it's inevitable that some days you're going to be less interested in doing uni work. I've always thought it's just a damn shame that my days of real interest in my subject area don't tend to correlate with periods of heavy workload.
beaneater
Oh, I quite agree; I just wonder if even so, there might be something I can do to change the odds, tip the balance a bit. Perhaps I would be better dividing my time a different way, or there is some trick to get myself moving...
For example, people say that it's better to leave off at the end of a day at a point which is easier to get back into, so you're just easing back into what you were doing at the start of the day rather than having to attack something new.
Anyway, I seem to be going better than usual right now, and I want to keep doing whatever makes the difference, if anything.
Helen
I found your example worked well as I had to jump from work to study. It is worth a try but as you say you have to find what works for you.
Steph
That sounds like quite a good idea, as I do often find that starting something is hardest. I should probably give that a go - although it fights against my natural urge to finish what I start (mostly so I can say I've got stuff done and feel virtuous).
