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Tag: no shortcuts

Nathan

No Shortcuts

Daily Post

There’s no quick three-step process to getting ready for the viva.

You can’t bypass reading your thesis to refresh your memory.

No-one has invented a 5-minute mock viva that gets you two-hours of practise in 300 seconds.

There are no shortcuts to just doing the work – but the work involved in viva preparation really doesn’t take all that long. Maybe an hour per day for about four weeks leading up to your viva could be enough, even with taking a day off here and there.

It’s not nothing, but it’s a lot less than the hundreds of days and thousands of hours invested in your PhD up to submission. It’s a little more work to help you be ready for the particular challenge of your viva.

And given what’s at stake, why would anyone want a shortcut to being ready for their viva?

Nathan

Efficient Paths

Daily Post

There are no shortcuts to being ready for the viva. You can’t cheat your way to being prepared, but you can follow the example of others. The work could be tricky at times, but viva preparation is – in most regards – a solved problem.

You need to read your thesis. You need to mark it up to help you, and create summaries that help you unpick and capture what you’ve done. You need to know broadly what to expect. You need to get some practise for the event itself. You need to have a sense of self-confidence.

There are no shortcuts for these, but there are efficient paths: steps you can take that will help get the necessary work done. Talk to colleagues, read back through this blog, get a sense of what actions help – and think about how you can apply all of this to your situation.

Then take the first step along a path to being ready.

Nathan

The Longcut

Daily Post

I like this term. The longcut is the anti-shortcut. The longcut doesn’t cut corners or take chances with success. It’s slow, patient and persistent.

You didn’t take shortcuts with your research. You didn’t take shortcuts with writing your thesis. When you come to get ready for the viva, you don’t want to take shortcuts, you want longcuts. You want to do good work that will help you be certain of being ready.

Don’t skim your thesis the day before. Don’t rely on the bare minimum. Don’t just think about what might happen.

If you’re busy, still make time. Think about what will make a difference, make a plan and do work to get yourself ready for success.

Take the longcut.

Nathan

No Shortcuts

Daily Post

There’s no secret path that takes you to the end of the PhD.

There’s no list of amazing tips that dodges all of the work involved.

You can’t hack your way past the necessary steps that got your thesis finished.

And that’s good.

All of the work you put into the PhD makes you amazingly qualified for your viva. There’s no way of doing the PhD without putting the hours in. All of those hours help you when you sit down to talk with your examiners.