Take Today Off (a haiku)

If you can, please do.

Rest. Breathe. Press pause on your prep.

Smile. Connect. Be.

I wasn’t going to do any more viva haiku in 2020, but this seemed like a good time to remind people – especially now – that preparation for the viva includes taking breaks. If you’re overwhelmed, stretched, stressed and tired then you don’t need to read your thesis more or check a reference. You need a day off.

And probably you can’t take a day “off” – you need to be a family person or a friend or an adult doing housework. You have responsibilities. OK. If you have to do those things, at least take today off from your viva. Just pause it. It’ll be there when you come back, and you will be prepared for your viva when the time comes. Please, if you weren’t going to already, take today off.

(more viva-related haiku here)