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Year: 2021

Nathan

A Good End

Daily Post

I’m a little wistful lately, remembering the final days of my PhD.

Not my viva, not corrections, but those last few days when I was packing things up. It is late-summer 2008. My office-mates are either on holiday or have heads down trying to get things done while the campus is quiet.

I had stacks of papers I’d never read, filed away into a box where they remain never-read. Notes for ideas that I thought I might get to, which stayed filed away until a few years ago when I recycled them. Drawers with odds and ends, emptied out now into containers so they could be sorted.

There was no celebration though; no marking of the occasion by me or anyone else. We’d had dinner after passing my viva; months later I’d celebrate graduation, being Dr Nathan, with my family. On those days of finishing though, there was just me, the excess clutter of my research being loaded into boxes and a collection of bittersweet feelings rattling around my brain.

Endings can be complicated and not always within our control. We can try though. My wish for you today is that you have a little space to think, to reflect and then to plan what the end of your PhD might be like.

Your PhD doesn’t end with your viva. Graduation is the epilogue to your story. What would be a good end for your PhD?

Nathan

Spider Shadows

Daily Post

Every now and then my daughter goes through periods of worrying about spider shadows in her room at night: not spiders, but things that look like the shadows of spiders in the dim half-light of her nightlight.

We’ve explained they’re not real, we’ve shone torches in the past to show there’s no arachnid casting the hazy outline she thinks she sees. But when she feels she’s spotted one, she can’t help but fixate on it – and so my wife and I have to act again, try something new.

 

What are the viva shadows that keep you awake? Do you worry about things that your examiners might ask you? Are you finding yourself concerned about what might happen in your viva? Or how it might feel if you’re not quite ready for anything and everything that could happen?

Viva shadows can only be resolved through action. Like my daughter’s spider shadows, you might need help to expose the reality of the worries and concerns you have. A supervisor can shine a light on what you’ve done, and show you that it really is good. A friend could tell you about their viva to reassure you that yours will be too. Your supporters can give you the space and time to get ready.

Spider shadows and viva shadows don’t go away by themselves. Find someone who can help you with your viva worries. You’re the only one who can be ready for your viva, but you don’t have to get ready alone.

Nathan

Do One More Little Thing

Daily Post

There are big things that need to be done to get ready for the viva, but lots of small things too.

Small things build up. Small gains in preparation. Small tasks that set up larger activity.

If you’ve done everything on the “one little thing list” I shared last year, here are a few more little things that could help you get ready, when you’re tired or pressured or time is tight:

  • Write two sentences about one great paper you used.
  • Stick one Post-it in your thesis to mark something amazing.
  • Find one song that helps build you up and add it to a playlist.
  • Scribble down one question you think you could answer really well.
  • Take five minutes to just rest.

A thesis and a PhD are typically made up of big things. Lots of small things help stick them together. Small wins, small gains, small improvements.

Prep for the viva isn’t so different.

Nathan

Let Go

Daily Post

All the things you didn’t do. All the things you couldn’t do. All the ideas you didn’t follow. All the questions you couldn’t answer. All the opportunities you had to turn down.

You have to let them go when you prepare for the viva.

Whatever they mean, and whatever you might do with them in the future. They might be of interest in some way, or add context to something you could need to talk about. Exploring them might be a small part of your preparations but they can’t be your focus for getting ready.

Focus on what you did. Focus on the ideas you explored. Focus on the questions you answered, the results and conclusions you found. Focus on the opportunities that lead you somewhere.

Focus on who you are, not who you might have been.

Nathan

The Final Push

Daily Post

Your final few days of viva preparations might involve a lot of work. If your time has been pressured because of other responsibilities you might feel like you have no other choice.

Your final few days of getting ready could involve talking with your supervisor or friends about your work, getting that final practice for engaging with your examiners in the viva.

Those final days should hopefully not involve reading and re-reading your thesis or notes to cram information into your brain: the viva isn’t a test of memory, you don’t need to have instant recall when you respond to your examiners.

Maybe, hopefully, the final push for your viva will be low-pressure, low-stress. I hope that after years of hard work and weeks of gentle prep you could have a few days of rest, relaxation and refreshing yourself before you meet your examiners. A few days before you pass, reminding yourself that you’ve almost done it, that you must be good at what you do to have got this far.

I think that’s the real final push: pushing yourself to believe that you are good enough.

Nathan

It’s Not Just You

Daily Post

You’re not the first person to feel nervous, excited, unprepared or whatever you feel before your viva. Ask around, find out how others coped.

You’re not the only person in your viva who might feel nervous, wanting to do a good job. Remember that your examiners also want the viva to go well. And you’re not the only person in your viva who will be prepared. You prepare because you want to pass; your examiners prepare because it’s the right thing to do, to show up ready to examine you.

You’re not the only person who will have felt uncertain during the viva before – so again, ask your friends about what their vivas were like, what they did when they felt unsure.

And you’re not the only person who will feel thrilled when you pass, so consider how you can celebrate your success when you’ve finished.

Nathan

Lots Of Ifs

Daily Post

If you were accepted on to a PhD programme…

…and if you did the work over a long period of time, overcoming difficulties along the way…

…and if you made a significant, original contribution…

…and if you kept going even through 2020, despite change and pressures…

…and if you’ve written your thesis as best you can…

…and if you’ve taken a little time to get ready for your viva, continuing to show your commitment…

…then…

Well, then why wouldn’t your viva go well for you?

Nathan

Viva Prep & Wiggle Room

Daily Post

It’s helpful to be kind to yourself and generous with timing for your viva prep. Getting ready doesn’t have to take long, but it won’t be the only thing you have going on.

When it’s time to plan your prep, spread the work out as much as you can. Something else may come along and disrupt your plans. Leaving yourself wiggle room gives you room to breathe, room to reshape your plans, space to not stress.

That wiggle room can always be used to rest if things do go according to plan!

Nathan

Finding Reasons

Daily Post

There are general reasons why people pass their viva. There is a structure to vivas, most candidates pass, the viva can be prepared for – all reasons that can help someone feel confident. As useful as these are, they’re not as valuable as the personal reasons you could find.

  • I will do it because I solved my research problem…
  • I will do it because I’ve had a mock viva…
  • I will do it because my supervisor says I’m ready…
  • Or I will do it because I have my lucky socks on!

Of course, some reasons are perhaps better than others!

Still, look for your reasons. Taken together, these threads can make an unbreakable strand of confidence. Something that needs no further reasoning for yourself, simply: I will do it.

Nathan

How I Do This

Daily Post

The most common question people ask me about Viva Survivors is, “How do you write and publish a daily blog?!”

Here’s the short version:

  • I write everything myself: no out-sourcing, no guest-posts. I write posts weeks in advance, not on the day of publication.
  • I’m organised: I have notebooks that capture ideas. I have plans for the coming weeks of what posts are going to be written for which days. I also have a wallchart with lists of topics in case I find myself wondering what to write.
  • I have a general workflow: I try to have at least two weeks of posts ready at all times, in case of illness or problems. I have a pattern for how I work: I draft seven posts on one day, then come back to edit them the next.
  • I have tech and services to support me: Viva Survivors is a WordPress site that is simple and works well. I use Buffer to pre-write tweets to post to my Twitter account.
  • I keep records: I have a big spreadsheet that tracks post titles, dates of publication and word counts. I’ve published every day for nearly four years and seeing the records of this is a big motivator.

A spreadsheet isn’t the only reason I’m motivated to keep going though! Knowing I can help people helps me to write on days when I’m tired, distracted, bored or stressed. Knowing that a few hours later I’ll have a few more posts written gives me a boost.

 

How did you do your research? What methods and processes did you use? What tools or techniques? What and who supported you?

The how isn’t always as fun to explore as motivations or outcomes – the why and the what – but how you did your research will come up in your viva. Reflect on the how of your research in the weeks leading up to your viva and you’ll be prepared to explore it with your examiners.

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