Three Easy Wins For Viva Prep

I’m a fan of the “three easy wins” productivity idea: simply put, start your day by getting three little victories. Clear that email out of your inbox, write down that short paragraph or check your blog feed for new posts. Just do three simple things that don’t require a lot of work. These little efforts add to your overall sense of achievement for the day. They move you along in the right direction.

Viva prep can seem overwhelming to some: it can feel like a lot to do before you might be ready for the viva. If this is how you feel, let me suggest three easy wins to get you started:

1. Put a small Post-it Note at the start of each chapter in your thesis. This makes your thesis easier to navigate.
2. Bookmark the staff pages for your examiners. Later you can go to these directly when you want to explore their recent work.
3. Decide on a simple system for annotating your thesis. Figure out what pens, colours, tabs and so on you will consistently use.

Three easy wins, probably ten minutes in total. A great start to viva prep. After this, just keep going. You’ll get where you need to be.