Dissertation update: Ups and downs; ups and downs

I feel like a broken record since I start almost every post saying, "It's been a long time since I've posted."  Yes, that's true, but I've been meaning and wanting to post more often.  I don't want to always publish "venting" type posts, although I have much even besides academia to vent about. 

This semester, like pretty much any semester, has been a series of ups and downs.  A huge "up" is that I am nearing the end of my "data collection" phase.  I am about 98% sure that I will have all of my interviews done by December.  As I write this, I should be transcribing (unfortunately, I have procrastinated waaaaayyyy too much with that), but I have increased confidence that maybe even all of that will be done by December (just, maybe, I hope).  In the midst of this I've experienced many emotional "downs"-- just wishing that it was all done; feeling overwhelmed by all the tasks yet to come and literature yet to be read; having decreased confidence in the broader arena of academia; worrying about finances and employment for the next semester; sometimes wishing I just had a "regular" job; thinking that all of this is pointless since I'm probably just going to end up adjuncting long term; wishing that I had the confidence, time and/or eligibility to apply for fancy fellowships; feeling like an imposter/ "less than" in comparison to other people in my program or other programs.  I guess all of this is normal.  I've just started realizing that I have to set daily goals and take things one day at a time instead of wallowing in all of these thoughts.  I haven't been too successful yet, but I'm getting there.