Not Ideal
There’s so much about your viva that might not be exactly how you want it to be.
You find typos or a clunky paragraph after submission.
You’re busy and struggle to find preparation time.
Your first choice examiner can’t do it.
You feel more nervous than you want to be.
You worry there’s something missing in your thesis.
You worry you should have done more.
Worry and mistakes and missed opportunities are all not ideal. But the best thing to do is ask, “What can I do?”
Then act. Do something. Don’t diminish how you feel, or just stress about would be better: work to get closer. Work to do something that helps.
So underline your typos or pencil in a correction.
Make a plan for your prep and do what you can.
Learn about your examiner’s research.
Ask yourself why you feel nervous and work on the root cause.
Examine whether there’s really something missing, not just a worry.
Ask why you didn’t do more – probably, because you were doing something else in your thesis!
If something’s not ideal, you can feel disappointed or cross or upset.
But then act. What can you do?