Daily viva help for PhDs
How about today? Or tomorrow, if you already had plans for today.
If not then, when?
Look at your plans for viva prep and make sure you have rest breaks built in. Time to relax and recover on the days you’re actively working, and rest days between busy periods.
As you get ready for your viva, can you be at your best without taking a day off?
Unless your viva is tomorrow, you can afford to take today off from preparing.
And if your viva is tomorrow, you’ve probably been working very hard lately and you can’t afford not to take a day off.
Viva prep is work, and work needs breaks.
Rest!
(inspired by Dr Kay Guccione and #takebreaksmakebreakthroughs!)
If you’re writing up your thesis, you can take a day off.
If your viva is soon, you can take a day off.
If your viva is done and you’re working on corrections, you can take a day off.
Rest and relaxation is required, not a nice little bonus if you get around to it.
What you’re doing is important.
So take a day off.
#takebreaksmakebreakthroughs (with thanks to Dr Kay Guccione!)
If you spend every day between submission and the viva doing some effective viva prep, then you’ll be in a great position for the viva. If you do nothing between submission and the viva, you probably won’t be in a great position for the viva.
Do some viva prep regularly on the lead up to the viva. But if, say, on a Bank Holiday, you take a day off? You’ll be fine. If there’s no bank holiday in the period leading up to your viva, still take a few days off. Well-placed breaks are just as important as the hard work you put in towards a goal.
[inspired by #takebreaksmakebreakthroughs which Dr Kay Guccione tweets about a lot!]