Daily viva help for PhDs
Manage to keep going in difficult circumstances.
This definition of survive applies to the PhD journey and to the viva.
You get to the viva and you’ve done the work. You’ve written the thesis. You’ve done the prep.
So you just keep going. Stay determined and do what you do well.
Keep going, then go on to your next difficult challenge.
I like a good analogy, but have never been fully convinced of comparing the end of the PhD to reaching the top of a mountain. Yes, it might be an uphill struggle at times, but hopefully it won’t leave you exhausted, struggling for air and wearing many layers of extreme weather clothing!
The one element I like in the idea though is the view.
The view from the top of a mountain must be pretty special. The view from the end of the PhD is pretty impressive. Looking back and looking down you could see the route you’ve taken; you might remember challenges you’ve passed, the paths you navigated well and maybe even the places you had to take advice from others.
The viva is not quite the end of the PhD, not really, but like the top of a mountain it’s a good place to pause and check out the view.
How far you’ve come, how you got there – and possibly where you might go next.
If you can honestly say that you tried hard, learned lots and did the work for your PhD then that’s enough. If you can say that despite challenges and obstacles, setbacks and worse, that you did your best throughout your PhD then that’s enough.
Your determination, knowledge and capability helped you to keep going. That will help you to get ready for your viva.
Ultimately, it’s what will lead you to succeed in your viva.
Your best is enough.
Today’s the final day of 2024 and the final day of my best of posts for 2024.
The blog is called Viva Survivors, so we have to have some posts about surviving!
How have you got through your PhD? What helped you manage to keep going in difficult circumstances?
And what’s going to help you survive in 2025?
Seth Godin’s post on the topic of mountains came back to my memory recently.
“There’s a lot to be said for showing up, one foot in front of the other. In fact, those are the only people who make it to the steep part in the first place.”
It resonated with the definition of survive that I always have in mind: manage to keep going in difficult circumstances.
Perhaps viva prep and the viva seem like a tough time. It can be particularly difficult but it’s worth remembering that you’ve got this far because you managed to keep going. In the last few years we really have had a LOT of difficult circumstances because you persisted.
Don’t forget how far you’ve come and how you got this far. The end is in sight.
Keep going.
(and please check out the blog and work of Seth Godin who is, in my opinion, simply the best!)
It might take a lot of re-reading to remember something that you need to know. On the morning of my viva I knocked on my supervisor’s door to check the definition of something I had been using in my work for over two years. I tried and tried but it just wouldn’t stick.
It’s not trivial to build up a mental model of the knowledge you need for your research. What’s harder is building up the certainty and confidence that you are good enough, that you’ve done enough. You might need to repeat that over and over to yourself. You might have to reflect and review and consider many times to see that you’ve done enough.
Survive means manage to keep going in difficult circumstances. If you get to submission, if you’ve got this far, then you’ve got through enough to show you can succeed in the viva.
For the hundredth time: if you’ve got this far then keep going.
Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on November 10th 2021.
The viva is a challenge because you don’t know what will happen.
It’s a challenge because you don’t know what your examiners think.
It’s a challenge despite the vast majority of candidates passing.
It’s a challenge because the outcome matters.
It’s a challenge even though you have the right skillset and knowledge base to succeed.
It’s a challenge even knowing that it all springs from your work and research.
Perhaps the best thing you can do is simply accept the challenge. Remember that you have done well and done enough in the past. Believe that you can succeed again.
Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on January 12th 2022.
What’s the worst thing that could really happen at your viva?
Failure is a very, very remote possibility. If you have real concern you should talk to your supervisors and friends – and unpick whether failure is more than a very, very remote possibility for you.
So then, what’s the worst thing that could really happen at your viva?
Perhaps you could be asked to complete corrections that you weren’t expecting or don’t want. That would be a nuisance but corrections come after the viva, after you’ve passed. You need to do the work to complete your PhD, but that’s all. Do them and you’re done.
What’s the worst thing that could happen?
Maybe an examiner could make a comment that you don’t like or ask a question you don’t want. It might be an uncomfortable moment but it wouldn’t stop you passing.
What’s the worst thing you could find at your viva?
Your viva could be long. It could have questions you don’t like. You might freeze or forget something. Your viva might not follow the trends of expectations you had heard about.
And yet: you’d still succeed. Because whatever happens, you still would have done the work. You still would have prepared. You still would be ready.
Maybe none of the things above match what you think the worst thing might be at your viva. It’s all hypothetical. Some or none of the above and perhaps none of your deepest worries might come true. They’re just traces of nightmare fuel for you, secret concerns that perhaps you’ve missed something in some way and that will spell the end.
It won’t be.
There is an end coming – the end of your PhD – and it’s a good thing. It might be different than you expect and it might have surprises you don’t like, but they’ll pass. You’ll be on to whatever you’re dreaming of next.
What do you do if something goes wrong in your viva?
The most simple response to any of these is that you keep going. In a very real sense there isn’t anything else you can do. You’re in your viva and you’re trying to succeed. You have to keep going to do that.
The simple response is to keep going, but to be more specific:
You have to keep going. You have to do something. Perhaps the simplest thing to suggest is that you pause, read your thesis, drink some water, make a note and talk with your examiners.
Keep going.
Good is the standard you need to meet for your thesis and your viva.
How did you get this far? By being good.
Keep doing that.