Friends & Family
There may be a disconnect between you and your friends and family when it comes to the viva. Colleagues, peers, your supervisors – they’ll all have an idea of the stakes involved in a PhD and what the viva means....
Daily viva help for PhDs
There may be a disconnect between you and your friends and family when it comes to the viva. Colleagues, peers, your supervisors – they’ll all have an idea of the stakes involved in a PhD and what the viva means....
You are the only person who can pass your viva. That does not mean that you have to get ready alone. Who do you know who can help you prepare? Who do you know who can help you to feel...
I’m forty in a few months. As much as I like to say, “I’m fine!” whenever anyone asks me about my health, the truth is I’ve started to pick up a few grumbles here and there. My right knee likes to...
“Ready for the viva” doesn’t mean “not nervous about the viva”. Ready doesn’t mean perfect in any way. Ready and prepared aren’t quite the same thing – but they travel in the same car. Ready for the viva means you’ve...
Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide… A few weeks ago I was half-humming, half-singing Bohemian Rhapsody as I was tidying up. “What’s that?!” asked my seven-year-old daughter. I started singing the song properly. I...
Your supervisors will be able to help with lots of things related to the viva. It’s good to consider them in the role of a consultant. Consultants take a step back, they’re there to advise: you have to do the...
If most vivas result in success, why would yours be any different? If most candidates can get ready with only a little work, relative to the rest of their PhDs, what’s different for you? If most people have a viva...
I looked back over the last three years to see how I’d been inspired by Halloween previously: Scary – confidence, weak spots and fears… Viva Horror Stories – telling tales, remembering reasons for confidence… Zombies And Vivas – a straight...
It may seem like an odd thing to post about, but I’ve been asked about the topic many times before by PhD candidates! “Is there anything I mustn’t say or do in the viva???” I don’t think there’s a real...
The work of Tim Ferriss has helped me a lot over the last decade. I’ve enjoyed all of his books, but one of his must-read posts that I keep returning to is “Testing The Impossible: 17 Questions That Changed My...