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Nathan

Top Ten Top Fives

Daily Post

I often encourage people to use “top fives” to start a summary or reflection. Get a list of five going and you have something to build on. There’s a lot you can think about when you’re preparing for the viva, so here’s my top ten list of top five topics!

  1. Top Five Contributions To Your Field That You’ve Made!
  2. Top Five Papers That You’ve Referenced In Your Bibliography!
  3. Top Five Questions You Might Like To Ask Your Examiners In The Viva!
  4. Top Five Pages You Want To Find Easily In Your Thesis!
  5. Top Five Things You Really Need To Remember!
  6. Top Five Questions You Don’t Want To Be Asked By Your Examiners!
  7. Top Five People You Can Turn To For Help!
  8. Top Five Steps You Need To Do To Feel Prepared!
  9. Top Five Proudest Moments Of Your PhD!
  10. Top Five Things You Can Do To Be Confident On The Day!

Lists are fun. Structure helps. What makes your list(s)?

Nathan

A PhD Haiku

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Thesis or person?

What has more, and has done more?

Not a hard question.

 

Your thesis is a detailed summary of everything you did and thought about. It’s essential that you write a good one, but don’t put it on a pedestal above your own knowledge and skills.

(and see also)

Nathan

Submission Day

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I was so happy I was buzzing!

I’d printed my three copies of my thesis. Bound them on the tricky hot-glue binder in my department. My paperwork was all in order. I was finally going to submit!

There was no queue at the university’s main admin hub. I walked right up to the desk and said, with a big smile, slightly nervous but really happy: “Hi, I’m here to submit my thesis!”

I remember what happened next so clearly.

The person behind the desk glanced at me and my stack of theses, and then called over her shoulder, “Bill, you’ve got another one.”

Bill came from the back office, checked the number of copies, looked at my form, signed it, said, “OK, thanks,” and was gone.

And that was it.

There was no congratulations. There were no pyrotechnics, no brass band, no huddle of people who wanted to know what it was like and what had just happened.

It was a milestone day for me, and just a day like any other for Bill.

It’s just my story, but I’ve heard others like it. The end of the PhD, from submission day to viva, can be anticlimactic. That doesn’t lessen your achievement. If you start to feel like it’s not really anything special, then reflect on what it was you set out to do. Reflect on what you’ve done along the way. Reflect on the journey rather than the destination.

Your PhD means something.

Nathan

Three Whats

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I work on experiential learning workshops several times a year. “Three Whats” is one of the techniques we use to get participants reflecting. Typically we’d use them in sequence to encourage reflection after an activity or task:

  • What just happened?
  • So what does that mean?
  • Now what are you going to do?

The timescales are different, but these are also worth answering at the end of the PhD. Everyone will have different answers. Maybe once you have them you can see some other paths ahead of you.

Maybe you’ll look at the road behind you differently too.

Nathan

Nerves

Daily Post

Stress and nerves are not penalised in the viva. If you’re anxious or hesitant you don’t get extra questions or corrections. Your examiners will not think less of you if you’re worried on the day.

The real question is what are you going to do about your nervousness for your own sake? Do you need a couple of butterflies in your stomach to help you? Or would it be good to banish your anxieties entirely?

It’s not enough to say “I feel nervous” or “I feel worried” for the viva. There are two questions that follow when you feel something negative about your viva. First, why do you feel that way? Second, what are you going to do?

Nathan

Foundations

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I sometimes think viva preparation is like renovating a house.

Annotating your thesis is like hanging wallpaper. Making a summary is like knocking a wall through to let in more light. A mock viva could be repairing the roof, making sure the house is ready in case of a storm.

None of it helps if you don’t have a good house and foundations: your thesis and the research you’ve done to get you there.

Renovation takes time. Viva prep takes time too, but if you feel stretched because of work, because of life, then breathe. It’s OK. Do what you can, and remember you’ve done the hardest part of your PhD.

You laid strong foundations over years of work.

Nathan

Relatively Important

Daily Post

Was my viva important? Yes, but…

  • Have I had worse days before or since? Yes.
  • Have I had better days? Yes.
  • More stressful? Yes.
  • Have I worked harder? Yes.
  • Have I thought more deeply? Yes.
  • Have I felt more pressured? Yes.

Was my viva important? Yes, but it’s not in the top ten most important days of my life.

It’s not even in the top ten most important days of my PhD.

Your viva is important, of course it is, and it may feel like the most important thing ever. But are you framing it as too big of a deal? Are you making it more important than everything you’ve done? Are you attaching more stress to it than you need to?

Reflect a little for yourself. How you feel about your viva can be a tricky problem to solve. A guy on the internet saying that you’ll have better, worse and more stressful days doesn’t magically solve how you might feel…

…but it’s a start. Where do you go from there?

Nathan

Resolutions

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Viva coming up this year?

Resolve to continue being your best version of you.

Resolve that you’ll be ready.

Resolve that it will go well.

Set your intention and follow through with some effective actions. If you need ideas, look for some. If you need help, ask for it. Be ready when your viva comes around.

Nathan

Best of Viva Survivors 2017: Reflections

Daily Post

I’m rounding 2017 off with five days of link sharing for five different areas I’ve posted on this year. Reflections is the catch-all category I have for posts which are when I’m pondering and musing over the viva. I spend a lot of time thinking about the viva and how to help people prepare for it, so it’s not all that surprising that this shows up.

There will be many, many more reflections from me on the blog in 2018. I hope that some of these have helped you think about what your viva will be like. See you here in 2018: tomorrow! 😀

Found another post that you think is awesome? Let me know! And please share my best of 2017 posts with anyone who might need them. Retweets are always welcome!

Nathan

Best of Viva Survivors 2017: Short Posts

Daily Post

I’m rounding 2017 off with five days of link sharing for five different areas I’ve posted on this year. Today I’m sharing some of my favourite short posts. Sometimes I’ll have a thought and realise it doesn’t take many words to explain it. Others, it’s the beginning of something else I’ll come back to another time. In any case, all of the posts below are brief but helpful. I’ve provided a tiny excerpt from each post to give a taste!

These aren’t the only short posts on the blog. In 2018 I’m hoping to make time to go through and tag shorter posts so they become more searchable. Good idea?

Found another post that you think is awesome? Let me know! And please share my best of 2017 posts with anyone who might need them. Retweets are always welcome!

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