Roll on May

Today I have been productive and I can't quite believe it myself. I have been reading for what seems like hours for my dissertation and have been firing out emails like it is nobody's business.

I have come to the realisation that if I don't work on my dissertation every day for at least a month I am not going to get it done. The one thing that frustrates me is when people do not reply to emails. It puts you in limbo and you just don't know what to do. I have sent some follow up emails today to hopefully get the ball rolling because there are some things I need to do before I can start writing anything up.

I have no idea why I am panicking so much about the dreaded 12,000 word essay that is due in in just over two months.

It is just all of the research that is so time consuming. Once all of that is done I am thinking that writing it all up shouldn't take too long. I'm hoping it won't anyway.

To reward myself for having a productive day, I am cooking something nice. Chicken breast wrapped in bacon stuffed with cheese. It is an experiment that could go horribly wrong. As for tomorrow it's more reading and researching.

A dissertation on drugs

I have three days to write my dissertation proposal. This may not seem like a long time but something inside me thought it was due in tomorrow so I am relieved.

It's only 1600 words as well and doesn't get marked so I am not panicking too much. I have just changed my topic as well at the very last minute.

I had started writing and researching for my proposal before I decided to change my mind. I can be so indecisive sometimes.

I was going to write about how EastEnders tackles domestic violence, paedophilia and bi-polar disorder but have decided to do something more current. Drugs.

Both EastEnders and Emmerdale have tackled drug addiciton this year and Emmerdale are still playing it out on-screen. Both storylines have been tackled very differently with very different characters in very different situations.

What I want to do is try and find out which soap has told the story most realistically. I have a good idea of which one I think has but want to speak to some people to try and answer my question. If anybody has any views on either storyline please let me know. Every opinion will be valid and used in my research.

Now it's back to the proposal

One month until I propose

One month, one month! That is all I have until I propose. Before you all start wondering if I have gone completely mad I am not talking about the 'down on one knee with a ring' proposal. In fact it is slightly more scary than that at the moment. I have one month to write my dissertation proposal. (Well technically less than a month now)

This fact only dawned on my yesterday as I was feeling good about having made progress with my other work. I have it in the back of my mind that my proposal does need to be done soon but I had completely forgotten that the beginning of December was the deadline. So what did I do to calm myself down? I had an Inbetweeners marathon with two friends complete with Dominos pizza and wine (not too much wine though I hasten to add).

It seemed like the best idea to cope with the impending doom that is now four weeks of solid work. What with the dark evenings now I might as well just keep my blinds closed, light a candle and be done with the outside world for a few weeks.

Having said that, I do have some workmates coming up in just over two weeks. The plan is to go and see Les Miserables and who knows what else. I am sure plenty of wine will be consumed. Oh and there are the Student Radio Awards next Thursday at the Indig02. Good luck to Smoke Radio!

With a few things happening over the next few weeks I think now is the time to say those words no student wants to say. "I'd better do some work."

Quantitative, qualitative and focus groups. Confused? Me too

Today I have come to realise that my dissertation could well tip me over the edge. I don't want to scare anyone with that statement but todays lecture was scary to say the least.

Since the lectures began, we have learnt about quantitative and qualitative research methods. I didn't even know these existed. As far as I was concerned, research was research. How shallow and naive I am.

Today the lecture was based around the idea of focus groups. Basically what we were told was that if we want to use focus groups as part of our research we need to arrange at least four. There is no limit on the amount of people we can have in the group but everything that is said during the discussion needs to be recorded and transcribed.

We were given an idea of how long the transcriptions could be with four focus group transcriptions amounting to 50 pages of text.

I never really thought about using focus groups but now I definitely think I will pass. I'm just worried what other methods of research they are going to throw at us next week.

Thought of the day

When I woke up this morning apart from feeling slightly hungover I was stressed out. The amount of work I have got to do this semester is actually quite scary and I was thinking there is no way I am going to get it done in time.

I had visions of me sat in the library at uni on Christmas Day when I should be 300 miles away tucking into the turkey with my family and drinking Baileys.

I suppose it wouldn't be a lie to say that my thought of the day has changed. After a very productive afternoon I now have a topic for my final journalism project, had an email back regarding my dissertation and am making good progress with my commission piece.

I am in a much better frame of mind now and aim to continue this with a roast pork and The Apprentice.

And the stress kickstarts again...

Being a third year student at university means only one thing. It is time to grow up. Many who will know me will understand that growing up and behaving like an adult has been something I have wanted to put off for a very long time.

Parts of my second year were stressful but the sheer volume of work I have to do (we all have to do) this year could top that (and I think it probably will). So far I have a final journalism project, a commission piece, three stories for an online news site, a class presentation with an accompanying essay and a dissertation proposal to complete and that is just this semester.

I have an idea for my final journalism project. I am going down the radio route and opting for a broadcast project, possibly a documentary or a podcast. Maybe I will play it safe with a news bulletin.

My commission piece is going to be extremely personal and I will be blogging about it throughout the semester. I'm writing a piece on moving from the country to the city, an experience that is still fresh in my mind even though I first moved to London just over two years ago. I am hoping to pitch this piece to The Independent Student Section. I am also looking for students that are thinking of moving to London this year or have just moved to the Capital to tell me about their experiences so if anyone reading this wishes to then let me know.

With Children In Need 2010 just around the corner one of my online news features is going to be about the fundraising schools in Harrow are doing (if they are doing anything at all).

I don't really want to think about my dissertation but I don't really have much choice. I am trying to start researching on a topic that is just an idea and not set in stone yet. I really want to do well and possibly achieve a 'first'.

With so much work to do my social life may well have to be put on hold. You know I'm joking. A night out in Camden is just what I need tomorrow.