I've procrastinated working on my thesis for more than a year
I am a bit confused about the problem.  Most of the comments are about getting past a writing block, but my (possibly incorrect) interpretation was that the sticking point is in doing the research work that would be reported on in the thesis.<p>I infer this partly because of the discussion of bringing undergraduate students and other graduate students into the research team.  Obviously, such a team has nothing to do with writing.  And, at one point, the author talks of dismissing the others, with an intention of carrying on, alone. These things gave me the idea that the block is not in writing, but rather in completing the pre-writing work.  So, the wonderful writing advice -- and I mean that, what I see here is well-informed and heartfelt -- might not be the main thing the author needs.<p>The thesis advisor seems like a very good person, being patient, encouraging, and supportive.  I don&#x27;t think too many advisors would go out of their way to employ others to help in a thesis project.  A more common approach is to simply cut off funding for the postgraduate student after a certain time, or if insufficient progress were being made. Given these things, it seems to me that the advisor has been a good help to the author.<p>So, what to do?  At the most basic, the choices are (a) to carry on or (b) to leave the program. Both choices can be good ones.  And <i>making</i> a choice can be the sort of self-empowering step that leads to very good things in life. So, my advice is to make a choice.  It can be time-limited, if that helps, e.g. &quot;I&#x27;ll give this another month, and if I&#x27;m not happy, I&#x27;ll leave.&quot;  Please note the word <i>happy</i> here.  That is very important.  Life is short.  Life also proceeds in a directed fashion -- you can&#x27;t go back and change something that happened years ago.  Make your future be good for you.  Hope for -- no, <i>expect</i> -- that you will be happy, and productive, and that you will use all the experiences of your life to find ways to make others happy, and productive.<p>This is all very vague, I admit.  But I&#x27;ve seen many students get into a rut that is really quite corrosive to the soul.  Making a choice, knowing that it&#x27;s <i>your</i> choice, can be quite freeing. There are many paths in life, many ways to contribute to this world. Don&#x27;t underestimate your ability to find the path that&#x27;s right for you.