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Author: Nathan

Nathan

Why Did You Do It?

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Why did you work on your PhD?

  • Is it because you had a passion?
  • You had curiosity you had to explore?
  • Did you want to work with your supervisor and together steered things to the work that became your PhD?
  • Or did you apply for a project that seemed interesting and you thought would suit you?

Any of these situations are fine. There’s no magic “best reason” for doing a PhD or selecting a topic. “Why did you do it?” is a good starter question. Whatever your reason is it’s really a lead-in to a topic you’ll definitely need to talk about in the viva:

Why was your research worth doing?

Nathan

The Missing Things

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I used to travel a lot.

In a busy month I might spend upwards of forty or fifty hours in transit, shuttling between cities in the UK by train, going the final mile or two on foot or in a taxi. Thinking about it, I would stay in two or three cities a month. I would make small talk in hotel restaurants, secrete myself away in the corner of a coffeeshop for a hurried panini, and indulge in reading spy novels or occasionally plot out mad schemes for writing projects and new workshop ideas.

I don’t do any of these things any more.

Life changed. There’s now some of these things I can’t do, some I won’t do and some which I want to do but struggle to include in the new shape of my world.

I don’t miss the travel. I don’t miss being away. I don’t miss the hurried pace.

But I miss the space. I miss the difference and the variety. I am incredibly fortunate, all things considered. But there are still things that I would do differently now. It’s taken me almost sixteen months to realise that I have to make any changes that are going to give me the things that I need. To give me a cosy corner to think in, rather than just a desk to work at. To provide an hour here and there to relax and read, rather than just spend more time working. I am fortunate that I can explore how to make these changes and make them a reality.

 

I can only imagine what changes the last year and a half has brought for you. We can only imagine what changes the next year or so might bring our way.

If there are things in your PhD life that are missing and if your viva is coming soon, now might be the time to think about how you can bring those things back.

If you need space – different, bigger, better – then explore how you could make that happen.

If you need people – for feedback, for companionship, for learning – then ask the right people and see how you can make that happen.

If you need something, anything, you have to take the steps to get it.

 

Be clear about the need.

I don’t need to be on a train or in a cafe to read, write or think – I need a little space away from my desk to make my own.

Hence over the summer there is a corner of my office that is going to receive an armchair: a little corner to curl up in, read and dream.

What are you missing before your viva? What do you need? What will you do?

Nathan

Reflect

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Take time to stop and think.

Reflect on your PhD. Reflect on the journey. The peaks and troughs of hard work and difficult circumstances that have brought you this far.

Not far to go now. Reflect on what you need to do to get to the end.

And reflect on how it will feel and what you might do when your PhD journey is over – when you start a new one as a PhD, not working to be one.

Take time to reflect before your viva.

Nathan

Avoiding Crunch

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Sometimes in a PhD you might have to work an extra hour, stay a little longer, try again or keep going even if you don’t want to.

Viva prep shouldn’t be one of those times. Whatever your daily circumstances, bringing viva prep into the mix could create some pressure. It doesn’t take much to get ready for the viva, but if you’re already busy it might feel like one thing too many.

Before you get to crunch time, stop and look at your routine: how could you make space? How could you start as pressure-free as possible? When do you need to start to make it as simple as possible? Who could help you do what you need to do?

Simple questions can’t help magic the work away. They can help you to see that a little planning before you get to prep can make it work out well.

Nathan

Failing In Advance

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My hero Seth Godin describes anxiety as “failing in advance”.

In seminars I would estimate at least a third of candidates I ask describe themselves as nervous, anxious or worried about their chances of viva success – with anxiety being very common – even though the vast majority of vivas result in the candidate passing.

If you had anxiety about your viva, what could you do to help yourself?

  • Find out more about the process: having more certainty could help you to see you have what you need to succeed.
  • Remember that you don’t have to have a viva, you get to have a viva: it’s at the end of a process that you have continued through for a long time.
  • Invest a little time in getting ready: perfection isn’t needed but you can be prepared.

A little work can help lessen or remove anxiety. A little work is also what will help you to feel ready for success at the viva.

Nathan

The Viva Speedrun

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Over the last year I’ve introduced my daughter to more and more video games. While we have different tastes and skill levels, we both love exploring, creating things within games and the simply joy of playing.

What neither of us has is much taste for is the desire that some gamers have for speedrunning – trying to complete games as fast as possible. Sometimes a game will have a certain bonus or prize for finishing in a certain time; sometimes people like to brag on YouTube that they are the fastest in the world. It definitely takes skill to do, but it’s just not for us.

 

Which brings me to remind anyone who needs to hear it that there’s no trophy for finishing your viva in a certain time limit. There’s no prize or even bragging rights if you were faster than a friend.

A long viva might not always be comfortable, but there’s not a lot you can do about it. You show up, ready to engage, and discuss whatever you need to until it’s done. Speed doesn’t matter. Long vivas don’t necessarily lead to more corrections.

Passing is already a great achievement. You don’t need to set any records to show that you’ve done something amazing.

Nathan

Sooner Than You Think

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Your viva prep won’t take all that long. A pause on the day won’t be more than a few seconds. Whatever length you anticipate for your viva it will be completed very quickly – especially if you compare it to the rest of your PhD.

All of it will be finished much sooner than you think; prepare for it all carefully and you can enjoy it in the brief moments you’re engaged with the viva process.

Nathan

What Will You Say?

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I enjoy seeing viva success shared on Twitter. It’s fun to see people tagging posts #PhinisheD or #PhDone. I like seeing people celebrate their hard work, and others joining in to acknowledge the dedication and effort that goes into a PhD.

I smile sadly though when I see someone say that they “got lucky”. They “got past their examiners”. They scraped corrections or owe all their PhD success to things “just working out”.

There are parts of a PhD that can be attributed to good fortune – when a candidates works hard and that work pays off. But they’re not lucky. They’ve not scraped by. They’ve worked. They’ve stayed determined and developed themselves. Especially considering the times we’re living through, if you finish your PhD you’re not lucky: you earned it.

Consider the words you use to describe your success. The words you use to describe all the stages of your PhD journey have an impact. If you consider yourself simply lucky then you take something away from the talent, work and time you’ve invested – and ultimately you can take something away from the self-confidence you could build from all of that.

Nathan

The Basics

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The viva is an oral exam at the end of the PhD. You submit a written thesis based on your research in advance. Typically two examiners, one internal and one external, will read your thesis carefully. In the viva they facilitate a discussion with you.

The viva is different for every candidate but there are common expectations. Most candidates pass. Most candidates are asked to make amendments to their thesis.

Nervousness is common, but only a symptom of how important the viva is. Candidates can prepare and rightly feel confident of their success given their experience, work, talent and knowledge.

 

I am sometimes asked very simple questions about what the viva is and what happens. I make assumptions sometimes about what someone might know, and get puzzled looks about certain details. The three paragraphs above are my attempt to share “the basics” in 100 words. What do you think?

Nathan

Consider It Now

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An examiner could gently challenge you on why you didn’t use a certain method. Or they might wonder what would happen if you did X instead of Y. What if you had tested for this instead of that, and so on.

It’s reasonable to expect that kind of a question in the viva. It’s not unreasonable to say, “I’ve not considered that before,” or perhaps, “I don’t know, I’ve not thought about that…”

…but it’s better to say, “Let me think about that now,” and then consider and give the best response that you can.

It might not be the full picture. It might not be an answer. It could be that you can’t say everything you might want to. But for any question or line of discussion that you’ve not considered before, you can consider it now.

Take the time. Show what you know, show what you can do. If an examiner has asked you a question, it’s not to trick you or trap you: they’re giving you an opportunity to demonstrate something.

Not considered it before? Consider it now, then talk.

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