Feel Like It

If the thought of meeting your examiners and having your viva doesn’t fill you with joy or excitement, what can you do? How can you get yourself to a state where you feel like having your viva? Five quick ideas!

1. Ask friends about their experiences. It’s possible you’re resistant to yours because you expect bad things – most vivas go well!
2. Have a mock viva or a mini-viva. The viva can seem overwhelming but a little rehearsal can help a lot.
3. Read your thesis. Remind yourself that there’s a lot of good in there you can share.
4. Focus on the viva as the last big challenge. Corrections are likely, as is a wait for graduation, but this is the last big thing you have to do to earn your PhD.
5. Remind yourself that you did the work. If you feel nervous and that’s getting in the way of feeling ready, focus on the work you did and the success you found.

If you don’t feel like you want your viva then there are lots of things you can do. You can’t press a button and change how you feel, but you can take action and start the process to feeling better for your viva.