Disapointment

[chris11]

So, I was hired by a professor to work with him on a reasearch project over the semmester, paid for by the university. I have been really stressed out over a large number of things, and busy with five courses. I don't sleep more than 2 hours every 3 days, and depression is an obvious thing that I"m dealing with. Needless to say, I haven't gotten much of anything done for the reasearch project, and, in fact, I have cancled around 7 meetings with him. The end of the job is pretty soon, and I'm begining to think that I've become really annoying to him. I'm supposed to meet him in a few hours, but I have next to nothing prepared. I can't concentrate on anything, and I feel ****ing pathetic. I'm sure there were others that applied to the job, but he hired me because he had a very high opinion of me. I have no idea what to do.

 

[gummybear22]

if i were you, i'd try as hard as i could to get things together in the project in the best way possible. show you've worked on it some, even if you haven't finished. you don't want him to think you were completely useless or have some other bad opinions of you.
if you had so much going on, why did you think you could take this on? are you usually good and productive with your time, and this was just not one of those times?

 

[sullyS25]

Sounds like you've got quite a full plate. If at all possible, I would recommend dropping some of your responsibilities so you can work on yourself!

 

[ImNotMyIllness]

TELL HIM THE TRUTH! Let him know that your ill suffering from depression. Apologize and ask for another chance or drop out of the project.

 

[chris11]

if i were you, i'd try as hard as i could to get things together in the project in the best way possible. show you've worked on it some, even if you haven't finished. you don't want him to think you were completely useless or have some other bad opinions of you.
if you had so much going on, why did you think you could take this on? are you usually good and productive with your time, and this was just not one of those times?

I am usually productive with my time. I thought that would be able to manage all of this stuff because I figured I had dealt with most of my mental illnesses. Clearly I haven't. I think he already thinks I'm completely useless.

 

[jaim38]

This is not some volunteer work. He has a high opinion of you and he's paying you to work with him on the research project. But it seems like you've let him down. You owe him at least an explanation for your lag in performance. If possible, try to finish the research project by the end of the semester, but if that's impossible to do, then try to be honest and upfront with him about your issues.

 

[gummybear22]

I am usually productive with my time. I thought that would be able to manage all of this stuff because I figured I had dealt with most of my mental illnesses. Clearly I haven't. I think he already thinks I'm completely useless.

you really need to tell him about what mental stuff you have going on so he doesn't just think you're incompetent. work on the project and do as much as you can before the meeting, and you should go ahead and email him telling him about your stuff so he knows what to expect. don't just do nothing-that won't get you anywhere but staying put or even going backwards. do some good work on the project, even if it's just researching-document your researching so you've put in some effort into it, and so that he and anyone else will see that you've put in some effort.