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Tag: plan your prep

Nathan

Sensible Prep

Daily Post, Sabbatical

Getting ready for the viva involves big pieces of work and little tasks.

It could feel like there’s lots to do, maybe even too much, especially if you have other responsibilities. Start the process by getting everything out from your brain and onto a space you can track.

Write a list. Jot things down on a whiteboard. Start a new document and type anything that comes to mind.

Once you think you’ve got everything out, try to put some order in place. What comes first? What goes last? How could you fit this jigsaw of jobs together?

It’s possible to get ready for the viva by simply doing something productive for an hour per day for enough days.

It’s sensible to get ready for the viva by thinking a little, planning a little and then getting to work.

 

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 August 24th 2021.

Nathan

Unforgettable

Daily Post, Sabbatical

PhD graduates have rarely told me they’ve forgotten an important detail in the viva. Usually everything comes to mind when needed.

But nevermind others: if you’re worried that something important will slip your mind you can do things to help yourself. Just for starters:

  • Make notes, don’t just read and re-read your thesis.
  • Bookmark details, make it clear where you can find them.
  • Highlight important passages on pages.

Your examiners don’t expect you to commit three or more years of work to memory. The worry comes from you. The solution can too.

 

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 July 7th 2018.

Nathan

The Minimum

Daily Post, Sabbatical

What’s the minimum amount of viva prep I can get away with?

There are no bad questions in webinars, no stupid questions, but there are questions that surprise me!

 

What’s the minimum? A core set of tasks perhaps – reading, checking, practising – or a time period to do the work in.

What’s the minimum? Well, all you “need” is to submit a thesis and attend on the day of the viva. That would be the absolute minimum, right?

What’s the minimum? Maybe we need a better question. Charitably, I can imagine that the person asking the question is stressed, tired, overwhelmed and wondering what they can do to fit in what could feel like a lot of work.

Maybe instead of what’s the minimum? we can focus on how do I get ready if I’m busy?

You plan, you break the tasks down, you give yourself a generous period of time to do the work, you ask for help and so on.

 

And at a minimum, you’ve invested three years of work when you meet your examiners. There’s still more work needed to get ready for the viva, but don’t forget the foundations you’re building on to be ready for that conversation.

 

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 October 8th 2023.

Nathan

Find Your Way

Daily Post, Sabbatical

That’s the key to getting viva preparations done. There are core tasks and activities, but no blueprint for when, where and how you do them.

You need to read your thesis. Do you do that in an afternoon? For an hour per day? A chapter per night? You have to find your way to read your thesis.

You also need to annotate your thesis, make summaries, check papers, rehearse and build confidence. How do you organise yourself to do all of that?

You can go with the flow. You can make a plan. You can do it all in a week (probably not ideal!) or plot it out over a month or so. You have to find your way.

Much like the rest of your PhD journey, there are lots of ideas and guidelines, good advice and practical tips. Then you have to apply them to your situation, your circumstances.

You have to find your way.

 

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 August 20th 2023.

Nathan

Scrawl

Daily Post, Sabbatical

“Scrawl” is a great word to describe how I used to annotate papers during my PhD. I hated reading papers. I much preferred doing maths: balancing equations, defining functions, exploring little curiosities that popped into my head. It never occurred to me until after my PhD that reading papers was doing maths. It always seemed overly difficult.

I would scrawl over papers with whatever was to hand. Red pen in reach? Use that to underline. Get bored. Next day, a pencil is nearest. Start making notes in the margin, switch to pen to emphasis even if it is harder to read. Get bored. Next week, a highlighter, make things stand out, and so on.

I’d look over things months later when I needed a particular result and it was a mess. “How did this happen?” I would ask myself and it was only towards the end that I realised, “Oh, it was me. I made this so hard!”

It’s a great idea to annotate your thesis. You need a clear system in place for what you’re doing. Use red pen to underline typos, but only use it for that purpose. Make pencil notes in the margins, but only put notes in the margins and only use pencil for notes. Use highlighter to draw attention to only the things you really need to stand out, and so on.

Or come up with your own system, but learn from my mistakes, please!

 

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 August 2nd 2017.

Nathan

3 Kinds Of Viva Prep

Daily Post, Sabbatical

Rushed: done in a hurry in the days leading up to the viva.

Worried: done while wondering whether or not the right things are being done.

Overinvested: a LOT done, far more than needed, either through concern something will be missed or perfectionism.

Thankfully, these kinds of viva prep aren’t the only options!

You can do the combined opposite of all of these to get ready. Plan ahead so there’s no rush. Find out what you really need to do so you have no worries and use your time well. Let’s define this fourth kind of prep as…

Relaxed: done over a suitable timescale for the candidate, with clear activities and goals that lead to being ready.

 

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 July 15th 2023.

Nathan

Montage

Daily Post, Sabbatical

The greatest training montage ever captured on film is the 3-odd minute training scene in Rocky III. You can check it out here if you’ve never seen it. It’s awesome. If nothing else, add the music to your inspirational playlist.

It shows a process that’s a bit a like preparing for the viva: Rocky’s in great shape but isn’t quite there yet for the competition. After your research is done and your thesis is finished you’re awesome, but you could probably still use some work for the viva. You don’t have to spar, run laps down a sunny beach or build up massive quantities of muscle though.

Read your thesis to remind yourself of everything in there. Answer some unexpected questions from your supervisor or friends. Look for ways to boost your confidence. Make some notes about what’s important. There’s lots you can do to help yourself.

Training montages show someone developing to a peak of excellence. What would be in your viva prep montage? Think about how much time you’ve got, what things you can do, then go do them.

 

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 June 7th 2017.

Nathan

Rewind

Daily Post, Sabbatical

Graduated. (yay!!!)

Final submission. (yay!!)

Corrections approved. (yay!)

Doing corrections. (well…)

Given corrections. (probably)

Viva over. (viva passed!)

In the viva. (in flow, I hope)

Ten minutes before the viva. (………)

Day of the viva. (last minute nerves)

Day before the viva. (getting centred)

Weeks before the viva. (preparation)

Submission. (phew!)

Weeks before the submission. (finishing up)

And so on.

We can start at the end of the PhD and work backwards. You can start from today and plot forwards. We can get as detailed as we like, but have to acknowledge that we can’t know how everything will play out. Think and plan. Get a sense of the direction you’re going in.

 

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 September 10th 2017.

Nathan

Summary & Memory

Daily Post, Sabbatical

Writing a summary of some aspect of your thesis or research before the viva can do a lot of things to help you. It forces you to focus on something, to highlight the best parts or the most difficult sections and can really support you as you fine-tune your thinking.

It’s important to also recognise that creating a summary can help your memory too. It helps embed ideas. You don’t need to memorise your thesis, or a list or a page of notes, or anything like that. Your examiners want to talk to a person and hear their research, their story and what that means. They don’t need you to recite your work to them.

The focus of writing a summary can help boost what you remember for the viva. You know enough and have done enough or you wouldn’t be working towards finishing your PhD. A little more work can help you remember what you need for meeting your examiners.

 

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 July 8th 2023.

Nathan

Take Your Time

Daily Post

Take your time as you finish your thesis. You’ll never make it perfect but you can be proud it’s as good as you can reasonably make it.

Take your time as you get ready for your viva. Plan your prep and give yourself space to do the work without stressing or rushing.

Take your time in the viva. You don’t need to speak as quickly as possible – you can think, you can be clear and you can respond confidently.

Take your time after the viva to breathe and appreciate what you’ve done. Getting a PhD is not something that everyone does; at the very least it marks you out as someone capable and determined.

If you can, when your PhD is complete, take some time to think about what you’ll do next.

 

PS: the Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical starts on Monday! A daily post from the archives all through the summer while I take a creative break after seven years of Viva Survivors 🙂

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