Daily viva help for PhDs
I know, I know, it was a public holiday in the UK just a few weeks ago!
And it may be that today is or isn’t a day off for you.
Maybe it’s hard to find a whole day where you can say “this is just for me” but at the very least if your viva is in the near future please make sure you have some time to rest.
Make time for prep and make time for rest. You need it.
I remember being excited for public holidays when I was a child because it was an extra day off! A longer weekend! Woohoo!
As an adult I’ve realised that despite my own desire to do nothing on a bank holiday, typically there’s someone else in my life who wants me to do something.
Ah well, that’s life! Still, if your viva is coming up then today might be a good to take a little time for you. An hour here or there to just rest.
Breathe. Don’t pick up your thesis. Don’t check those papers. Just rest.
There’s a day coming when you’ll have a very busy couple of hours. Use today to take a couple of hours just for you.
Rest days are important features of a viva prep plan. There’s not so much to do for viva preparation that you have to be working non-stop. It helps to take a break. Allow your mind to consider things from afar and mull over ideas.
Also: just rest.
Take time off from looking at your thesis, thinking about your examiners and wondering what will happen at your viva. It could help to look ahead and plan your rest; tidy up your responsibilities so that you can really take a break.
More than anything, take time for yourself: the knowledgeable, capable and hard-working researcher with their viva in the near future.
Sounds like someone who could use a day off.
It’s a Bank Holiday in the UK, which is always a good reminder to take time off. It might not be today for you: it may be that your situation means you have to work, research or do something that doesn’t allow for a significant element of rest or relaxation.
But you need it.
If your viva is somewhere on the horizon, taking a day off to do something else entirely can be helpful. Take a day for you, before you do anything for your viva. Pause, relax your thinking, rest your mind, leave – for now – all the prep and hustle that still needs to happen.
You have time to do all of that later and a need to look after yourself now. Take time for yourself as part of getting ready for your viva.