Tell Someone
If you need help with some part of your viva prep, tell someone who might be able to assist you. If you feel concerned, tell someone who might have experience or advice for your situation. If you have questions about...
viva prep
Perspective, Not Perfection
As part of your viva preparations, make sure you have researched your examiners’ most recent publications. For both external and internal, take a look at their last two or three papers. Get a sense of their interests, the methods they...
A Little Update
In two days my teeny-tiny Kickstarter campaign to make a helpful little guide for the viva will finish. The campaign has been a lovely success and I’ll soon be producing a print run for 101 Steps To A Great Viva....
An Opportunity
Problems are only opportunities in work clothes. I first came across this sentiment after my PhD was finished. I wish I’d heard it sooner. Every time I remember it I feel a boost for weeks afterwards as I’m working. If a...
Not One Day
Your PhD success is hundreds of days of work – thousands and thousands of hours of learning, doing, achieving, growing, making, failing(!) and persisting. Your PhD is not defined by a few hours of discussion with two examiners. You need...
Three Easy Wins
I start most working days with “three easy wins” for my productivity: before I get stuck into the harder stuff and deeper thinking I do three things that help me feel like I’m already making progress. A walk is often...
Bit By Bit
Idea by idea. Paper by paper. Day by day. There’s no other way to put your PhD together than keep showing up, good days and bad, and work your way through. Learn more, do more, achieve more and find your...
My Two Questions
In the opening minutes of any viva session I ask two simple questions of the cohort: When is your viva? & How do you feel? Both of these questions, and their responses, are really helpful to me. I start to...
Your Thesis
Your thesis is proof that you did the work. It’s the best summary you are able to make of years of research you’ve done. Your thesis is a talisman to hold on to. It’s one more thing you can look...
Risky
Are there risks of danger, problems or disappointment in the viva? In general when we consider risk it’s worth assessing three elements: The Bad Thing: the problem or outcome you’re concerned about. The Likelihood Of The Bad Thing: an honest...