Best of Viva Survivors 2024: Surviving

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!

  • You Did The Work: four words to remind you; four words to help you keep going.
  • Pick A Number: a little exercise to help you take positive action.
  • Hope Helps…: …but actions help more!
  • Whatever You Need: reflect on what you need then work to get it. Create the situation you need to succeed.
  • How Many Times? A reminder that the viva is the latest challenge – and you’ve already overcome a lot of them.

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?

Pick A Number

Pick a number between 1 and 10 to describe how happy you feel about your upcoming viva, 10 being very happy and 1 being not happy at all.

Whatever the number, whatever the reason, what can you do to make that number higher?

  • What can you do today?
  • What information do you need?
  • Who could you ask to help you?
  • What tasks can you schedule or do?

Even if you feel very happy, a 10 today, just reflect on whether or not there are gaps in your viva knowledge. Information, expectations, regulations, prep ideas and more are not hard to find if you really want to know.

However you feel about your viva, you can take steps to feel better.