Nathan

Being Lucky

Daily Post

Don’t trust that you’ll be lucky and that somehow things will work out at your viva.

Instead, trust in the process. Vivas are governed by regulations, expectations and the culture of your department.

Trust in your examiners. They’ll do their homework, be well-prepared and be offering you the chance to engage with relevant and realistic questions about your thesis and more.

Trust in your work. You’ve invested years in it, after all, both in your research and your thesis. Trust that after all of that effort, it’s enough.

Trust in yourself. You’ve invested years in you too! Trust that after all of your work and determination, you are enough.

You are enough. You don’t need to be lucky.

Nathan

A Little Update

Update

Draft cover of 101 Steps To A Great Viva

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.

But I don’t know how many copies to make yet as there’s still time for a few more backers!

Maybe someone like you? If you’re looking for a clear, action-focussed guide to what you can do to get ready for your viva, then 101 Steps To A Great Viva could be what you’re looking for. It’s simple, direct and will be available very soon to send through the post.

Draft interior pages from 101 Steps To A Great Viva

I’ve been happily writing updates every few days over the last week as I describe the guide, the editing process and a neat little extra that will be included for backers if we reach a stretch goal I’ve set. Fundraising finishes on Wednesday 31st May at 5pm, in just over two days. I’ll have copies available to buy afterwards, but the Kickstarter is the only place you can get the additional rewards I’m offering. Backing the campaign and pledging support ensures you will get a copy of the guide – and you’ll be one of the first to get one too!

Please, if you’ve not looked already, take a look, tell a friend, share the campaign with others or support the campaign if you can. I’m thrilled to have made 101 Steps To A Great Viva and can’t wait to send it out into the world.

I hope I’ll send a copy to you.

Thank you for reading!

Nathan

Nathan

An Opportunity

Daily Post

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 piece of writing is tricky then I remind myself that it’s a chance to figure out a good way of expressing something. When an admin process gets me down I realise I can explore ways to do things more simply or easily. And if a period seems like it could be very busy I start figuring out how to lighten the load.

All problems of one form or another. All opportunities to learn, develop, grow and change how I do things.

 

What aspects of your viva or viva prep seem like problems to you? Are they big or small? Have they been on your radar for a while, bothering you, or have they only recently started made an impact?

Whatever the problem, can you change how you look at it? Where is the opportunity? Can you learn something? Can you create a better position by “solving” your problem? Can you reach out for help?

Some problems go away by themselves, but rather than hope and be stressed later, act soon to take advantage of the opportunity before you. Work towards being ready for your viva, despite the obstacles and problems in your path.

Nathan

Not One Day

Daily Post

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 your viva to go well, but you need all of the work that comes before to get you there.

Your earlier success, all those years, helps you through the viva too.

It’s not just one day that determines everything. It’s one day when you get to demonstrate who you are, what you’ve done and what you can do.

Nathan

Short & Sweet?

Daily Post

Some vivas are less than an hour!

But you can’t realistically expect yours to be.

You can hope, but what does that do for you?

It’s much better to prepare for your viva and the discussion, rather than invest energy in hoping it will be over quickly.

 

PS: Something else that’s short and sweet is my helpful little guide, 101 Steps To A Great Viva! It’s on Kickstarter until Wednesday 31st May, raising funds to produce a print run. That goal has now been reached and I’m aiming a little higher so that all backers get a bonus resource for viva prep. You can find more details at this link.

Nathan

What You Expect

Daily Post

Every PhD candidate has expectations for their viva.

Some expect it to be long. Some believe it will be difficult. Some expect that examiners will be harsh. Other will expect that it’s all a formality. And some don’t know what to expect – or rather, they expect that there’s nothing to expect in particular!

But some candidates expect that it will be challenging but fair. They expect examiners to be thorough but reasonable. They have an expectation for how long it will be and what the tone will be like, but know that they won’t know exactly what it will be like until they’re actually there in the viva.

So what do you expect? And how do you know your expectations are reasonable?

Every viva is unique, but that doesn’t mean your viva has to be a total unknown before you go to it.

Nathan

Three Easy Wins

Daily Post

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 top of my list. I’ll check accounts and spreadsheets to see if I need to do anything. And I’ll sort out newsletters and spam that have arrived overnight.

Nothing strenuous: easy or simple tasks that help clear my head, free up thinking space or help me to move on to tougher work.

What could you do to give yourself three easy wins when you sit down to prepare for your viva? Here are some ideas!

  1. Remember and write down one success from your PhD research.
  2. Write “You can do this!” at the top of page 1 of your thesis.
  3. Google the regulations for vivas at your university.
  4. Ask a friend to meet you for coffee and talk.
  5. Find a good page in your thesis and stick a bookmark in.
  6. Decide on one thing you will do to celebrate your success.
  7. Note down one question you think you’ll get in the viva.
  8. Take two minutes to write out a short summary of one result in your thesis.
  9. Attach sticky notes to the start of each chapter in your thesis.
  10. Underline what you wrote for suggestion 2!!

There are big tasks that you can do to help you get ready for your viva. There are lots of little things you can do too that will add to how you feel. Start small each time and do things that build you up for your viva.

 

PS: Number 11 on the list could be “Check out and back 101 Steps To A Great Viva on Kickstarter!“

Nathan

The End Result

Daily Post

Remember what you’re working towards.

You need to submit your thesis, but you’re not working towards that. You need to prepare for your viva, but the work isn’t for the sake of preparation. And you want to pass your viva, but that’s not what the work is for.

You’re working towards BEING a PhD. Doctor Someone, with a doctorate in something special.

Whatever stage you’re at – submission, prep or the day before your viva – you can only get that far by working and building yourself into a PhD.

The work helps you succeed at whatever stage you’re at, but also moves you closer to the end result.

Nathan

Bit By Bit

Daily Post

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 way to becoming a good and capable researcher in your field.

When the time comes, this approach is what helps you prepare for your viva too. There’s no single activity that flips the switch to “ready”.

And, really, it’s how you get through the viva too.

Question by question.

Chapter by chapter.

Response by response.

Minute by minute you demonstrate the capable researcher that you became bit by bit.

And that’s enough.

 

PS: I almost called this post “Step By Step” but thought that was too close to the title of 101 Steps To A Great Viva, still going strong on Kickstarter! The overall idea is still the same: it’s not one thing that makes you ready, but enough steps in the right direction can make a real difference. Check out 101 Steps To A Great Viva now and you can pledge support to be one of the first with a copy of the guide.

Nathan

My Two Questions

Daily Post

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 think about adapting the session I’ll present. I have a plan of course, but if I know that everyone has submitted their thesis then I know parts I don’t need to emphasise as much. If lots of people say they feel uncertain about their viva then I’ll find a few moments to talk about expectations.

My two questions help outside of viva prep sessions. Consider:

  • When is your viva? Whenever it is, you have time. If you have days then you have time to work towards being ready. If you have weeks you can invest that time in slow and steady preparation if you want to. If you have months before submission then you can carefully build your confidence.
  • How do you feel? Whatever you feel is not fixed. If you feel great then let’s cement that. If you feel uncertain then let’s help you with some information. If you feel unprepared you have time to work on that. If you feel nervous you’re not alone! Most candidates do and that’s OK.

Consider the time you have left and what you can use it for.

Consider how you feel and how you want to feel – and then decide what you will do as a result.

 

PS: One thing you could do is go to Kickstarter and back my campaign to print 101 Steps To A Great Viva! The campaign hit the target over the weekend so now I’ll definitely be producing the print run next month. If you want to make sure you get a copy – and possibly pick up some extra rewards for supporting the campaign – then please go and check it out.

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