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Tag: reflection

Nathan

Snapshots From The Journey

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If you think back on your PhD, all the work and effort, the success and setbacks and so on, you’re not going to remember three or more years of continuous story. You’ll remember moments: events that for matter to you and stand out for some reason.

Given the challenge of research and the difficulties you might face, it’s understandable if the standout moments skew a little negatively.

With a little help you can focus on the really helpful highlights. Consider:

  • When have you noticed getting better at a task?
  • When do you remember learning something for the first time?
  • When do you remember your confidence growing?
  • At what times do you remember feeling proud?
  • When do you remember thinking “I can do this”?

You don’t have to focus on everything as you prepare for your viva. When it comes to building confidence, it will help far more to focus on the snapshots of your progress and growth.

Nathan

Legend

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There are several ways we use the word.

Someone is a legend if they’re amazing. They have talent and are someone who has demonstrated that for a long time. For example, a postgraduate researcher when they reach thesis submission…

A legend can also be about someone or something, perhaps a story or collection of stories. Quite often this describes how the person or thing came to be great. For example, consider a PhD journey with all of its ups, downs and ultimate successes…

Less well known is using the word legend to describe the marks on a map. The legend explains the symbols of important features, which isn’t all that dissimilar to when someone looks for the highlights in their story. For example, a postgraduate researcher reflecting on their PhD journey as they prepare for their viva…

Taken together: consider the highpoints of your story so that you can appreciate your capability and how you got here.

Or perhaps: the legend of your legend makes you a legend!

Nathan

Frozen Thesis

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Icebergs are often used as metaphors for describing people: we only see what’s presented to the world, but there can be so much more going on beneath the surface.

We see a person, but don’t see their history, their feelings, their thoughts, their worries, their problems and so much more. Sometimes not knowing these things can lead to problems if we make incorrect assumptions about what we see.

The iceberg metaphor – things unseen beneath the surface – stretches neatly to reflect on a PhD thesis too.

When a thesis is submitted it’s a finished work. Examiners or anyone who reads it can read it, hopefully understand and consider what it means. Depending on their knowledge they might be able to ask questions or make assumptions about how something happened or why something was arranged in the way it was.

But they can’t know it all. They can’t see beneath the surface and know the last three (or four or seven) years of research.

They need you for that.

Having done the work you do see beneath the surface of your thesis iceberg. You see the mass of work and knowledge that is under the bright surface of new understanding. You can share that with your examiners in your viva and show them what they need to know for their own understanding.

Nathan

The Best Bits

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What are the best bits of your thesis?

What are your favourite memories of doing research?

What stands out when you think about how you’ve developed as a postgraduate researcher?

It’s important to spend time to reflect on difficult things and hard topics – but equally important to be certain about the good in your work and in your growth as a researcher.

Focus on the best bits first.

Nathan

Fun & Games

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The PhD journey is long, often tough and regularly features setback, failure and difficulty on the path to making a significant, original contribution.

It can also be very enjoyable, and while you can’t simply put all the obstacles to one side, it might help you more as you get ready for your viva to remember the good times.

  • When did you have fun while doing your research? What made those experiences fun?
  • Have you been able to challenge yourself to get better at something?
  • Was it possible to share your growth or your research with others?

Reflecting on how you overcame something can be powerful, but it’s also helps to remember those moments where you simply shone, where you enjoyed doing something that mattered.

Nathan

Keep A Record

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From day one of your PhD keep a record whenever you achieve something.

  • Learn something new? Write it down.
  • Finish a project? Write it down.
  • Read a helpful paper? Write it down.
  • Complete a task even when it is difficult? Write it down and underline it.
  • Thrive in a challenging meeting? Write it down and add an asterisk.
  • Present your work in any format? Write it down, underline, asterisk and break out the highlighter!

From the start of your PhD, keep a record of your achievements – and by the end not only will you have a very impressive record indeed, but you’ll have a strong sense of confidence that your talent, capability and knowledge have grown.

 

If today is not day one of your PhD – if it’s more like day one thousand, say – you can still get some of these benefits for yourself.

Start keeping the record today and invest some time in looking back. Remember the times when you learned something, finished a project or read a helpful paper. Make note of the challenging tasks you persevered with, when you rose to the challenge of a discussion or presented your work.

Day one or day one thousand, there’s always time to build up your confidence for your viva. You always have an opportunity to do something to build the certainty that you’ve done something good in your research and that you are good enough as you are.

Nathan

Rainbow’s End

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Stories say that there’s a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

The reality is that a rainbow’s end moves as you move. Make any progress in getting closer to where it appears to be and you’ll find that it’s not where you thought it was. Struggle and strive but it moves further away.

You can perhaps figure out where the end of the rainbow would be based on where you are now – but by the time you reach that point it will have shifted (or maybe disappeared).

 

I think this resonates with the reality of the PhD journey. The viva or graduation might seem like the big event you’re aiming towards, but as you get closer you’ll realise that there’s something more. You get closer to what seems like the end, only to find that there’s more waiting for you.

The PhD journey is just a part of the greater journey; it’s an important stage, and the benefit could be valuable to your future. If you feel like there’s nothing else but your PhD, remember there’s no pot of gold at the end. The end is further away and you are more than your research.

Nathan

Past, Present, Future

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As you get ready for your viva:

  • Look back over everything you’ve done that has got you this far. Consider what has helped you to grow and what you’ve achieved.
  • Think about where you are now and what you can do in the days leading up to your viva. Decide on the actions you will take to help your prep.
  • Cast your mind ahead to the viva. What do you expect from your examiners and what do you think will need to be explored in your thesis?

Looking back helps remind you of the journey that has lead you this far. Taking action now can help you be more prepared for your viva. Looking ahead and reflecting on the challenges you’ll face will allow you to be more ready for when they arrive.

Nathan

Hats & Rabbits

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A magician lays their top hat on the table after showing that there’s nothing inside.

They cover the hat with a silk handkerchief and wave a wand – and just like that a rabbit appears!

It’s magic! We are amazed!

And depending on our age, savvy and insight we might know that the rabbit didn’t just materialise. We may suspect hidden compartments, mirrors or misdirection, but the effect is all the same. However they did it, they pulled a rabbit out of their hat.

We might not know the exact methods involved, but if we think even for a moment we can surmise that it’s taken years of work, a lot of practice and experience and a certain amount of persistence to pull a rabbit out of a hat. It looks amazing. It looks impossible. But it’s the only way: they really worked to make it happen.

When we reflect on that level of commitment it seems all the more special I think.

 

Understanding how someone talented became that good, even if you can’t understand all of the steps along the way, helps you to appreciate them all the more.

Ahead of your viva, turn that reflection on yourself. Realise and remember that the magic you do, the special feats that you can perform in your work and in the viva, are the result of years of work, a lot of practice and experience and a certain amount of persistence.

You may not be pulling a rabbit out of a hat in your viva but you can create a suitably great impression all the same.

Nathan

Regeneration

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Today is the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who and as I’m a massive nerd that had to inspire today’s thoughts!

 

As a character, the Doctor is curious, helpful, determined and very, very clever – all things I believe that a PhD candidate and subsequent graduate have to be too!

When an actor has finished their time as the Doctor and someone else takes the role, the character regenerates: as an alien from another world, the Doctor has the power to cheat death, refresh themselves and change their appearance.

A PhD candidate can’t do that – but there is an element of regeneration that holds true. Regeneration in Doctor Who involves change, but also continuation. The Doctor continues with the same memories, the same knowledge and the same drive – even while so much about them changes.

As a PhD candidate becomes a doctor they undergo the same process too. More slowly perhaps but it definitely happens. A PhD journey is a slow process of regeneration for a candidate, becoming someone new while remaining fundamentally the same inside.

 

What differences do you see in yourself from the start of your PhD to now? How have those changes helped you as you go through the process of pursuing your research? And who might you be when you are finished?

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