Just looking for a little support...

[BB1]

Over the last couple of days I have increasingly lacked motivation to work on my PhD. I wouldn't say I feel depressed as in other threads, just... tired. I'm not doing particularly badly, I'm halfway through (I started in October 2011) and believe I'll finish on time. I've had 3 competitive papers accepted to major conferences, 2 book chapters published and 1 journal article re-submitted after revisions (awaiting final decision).

 

The problem is that I increasingly don't care. I almost feel that the more I know and the more I do, the more I see my work as insignificant and fail to find a sense of purpose in it. My research is interesting (social sciences- interpretivist), but not groundbreaking. I seem to flit between reading articles by great authors in my field and sitting back in awe at the scope of their knowledge and their intellectual ability (and feeling very dumb and insignificant in comparison) and feeling as though being an academic (in this field) is almost too easy. I'm 23, and will get my PhD at 24, and think to myself that by the time I'm 50 will I just be bored with academia?

 

I'm hoping this will pass.I haven't had a break since Christmas (no more than the odd day or an evening off) and because I'm away at conferences and seminars in April, May and June I can't afford to take a break until July. I'm not sure if I'm just feeling 'burnt out' and whether something will re-ignite my interest, but at the moment I feel like a zombie going through the motions without any real enthusiasm, passion or flair 

[memyselfandcoffee]

first off, you HAVE to take one weekend off, trust me the burnt out, browned off feeling will stay if you dont. you'll be far more productive if you take just weekend off.

then after that i don't really know what to say to you aside from congrats on doing so well. in 18 months you'll be a dr and the world is your oyster. i think maybe with us academics, work is everything, and then sometimes we're like i don't know what's wrong but i'm not feeling quite as fulfilled as i thought i would be. so that's why it is important to have hobbies and make time for family and friends. also you can spice things up a bit by doing a post doc somewhere exotic or cool, maybe even aim to get into a really prestigious uni so you will something to drive you again.

as for being bored at 50, who knows, but you can always make a career change if that point you do in fact want to.

or maybe, maybe you could sit back and consider is there a job that you don't see yourself bored in after doing it for 25 years??

but tbh i really feel what your feeling is normal, and not indicative of need to change career.

so enjoy your weekend , you deserve it! remember its important to sharpen the saw

[sansao]

I haven't started a PhD program yet, but my experience has been that this can happen to anyone doing anything over an extended period of time. I agree thoroughly with Elise's post above: especially that you need to give yourself a little time to relax. It sounds like you're doing good things in your program, and you're way ahead of the game (I'm 35 and just starting). So I'm sure if you do change careers in the future, you'll be able to excel at whatever you do. I recommend you take a few weeks off as soon as you can. Go on vacation, go to the beach or go camping or something.

[ZacharyObama]

I second the take the weekend off suggestion - in fact, take a vacation this summer preferably to somewhere adjacent to a large body of water. Also, increase your nutrition, caffeine, and alcohol intakes and get some exercise.