One of the Simple Yet Not Easily Overcomed Dilemma of a PhD Student

As all of you may know by now ... I have passed the first of two major hurdles in my PhD studies recently... namely the Upgrade. That was on 16 March 2011 ... it's now 4 April 2011 ... AND I have not studied since then ... which is roughly about nearly 3 weeks of non-study time. I know the right thing to do after my upgrade is to take a rest and relax ... but it is ever so difficult to kick start my mind and heart to commence studying again. It's like a catch 22 situation ... if I don't take a rest after intensely studying non-stop since late November last year, then I might just be too exhausted and face a study burn out ... but once I stop and rest ... this is what happens ... it's just so hard to push this laziness and feeling of malaise away. I'm sure I'm not the first student to feel this way ... but how I wish there is a magic pill which could start me industriously working on my thesis again! However, I must say that I have enjoyed relaxing ... infact, since the days are longer and are much warmer now I went picnicking with my family and good friends near the lake behind our house in the afternoon. It was just an impromtu Mother's Day picnic with some simple home cooked food ... but we had a jolly good time! How I wish Malaysian weather is like that ... alas ... if I were to go picnicking in the middle of the field without any shade in the afternoon in Malaysia, I would end up with mild heat stroke and sun burn. Well ... one can't have cake and eat it too!