best of 2025 – Viva Survivors

December 31, 2025October 15, 2025 Nathan

Best of Viva Survivors 2025: Surviving

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It’s the last day of 2025 and my last day to share some of my favourite posts of 2025.

The blog is called Viva Survivors, so we have to have posts about surviving!

Keep Going In Difficult Circumstances: digging into what it means to survive.
Important Past Dates: looking back on the PhD journey.
In Case Of Emergency: how to respond to ALL questions at your viva!
Extras/Essentials: thinking about what different people need for viva success.
Lots Of Reasons: looking at the big picture of passing the viva.

I also have to shout out These Interesting Times, a post from March that looked back at the last five years. How have you made it this far? What helped you manage to keep going in difficult circumstances throughout your PhD journey and particularly over the last five years?

Finally for 2025, if you’re looking for some more thoughts on surviving then take a look at The Survival Issue, the most recent curated collection of Viva Survivors Select!

December 30, 2025January 3, 2026 Nathan

Best of Viva Survivors 2025: Confidence

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For day three of my look back at 2025 I return to confidence. I really love exploring how to encourage confidence for the viva. Digging into this topic has had a huge impact on my life and I love sharing ideas with PhD candidates.

The Confidence Formula: my attempt to bring maths to finding confidence!
Fair Adjustments: every viva is expected to be difficult but fair.
Uniform, Armour, Costume: what will you wear to your viva?
Maybe & Definitely: exploring what you focus on ahead of the viva.
Whatever Works: finding confidence by doing whatever helps you.

How confident are you feeling for your viva? What steps are you taking to help yourself?

One helpful step might be to take a look at The Confidence Issue, the seventh issue of curated help from my Viva Survivors Select series of zines!

December 29, 2025October 15, 2025 Nathan

Best of Viva Survivors 2025: Short Posts

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For day two of my best posts of 2025 I wanted to share a selection of the shorter posts I’ve published in the last year. These cover a lot of different topics as I like to explore many aspects of the viva. Sometimes it feels just right to write a little!

A Part Of You: a short post all about balancing what matters.
Unique? balancing viva expectations and the fact that every viva is unique.
Beyond Belief: hope is fine but…
Don’t Wait: it’s never too early to find out more.
Less Than Perfect… the standard for passing the viva!
What Does It Do? unpicking your significant original contribution.
Know Your Whys: six helpful questions for getting ready.
Small Changes: a little post about minor corrections.

There are lots more short posts in the archive – and twenty-five more curated posts in The Sparks Issue of Viva Survivors Select too!

December 28, 2025October 15, 2025 Nathan

Best of Viva Survivors 2025: Viva Prep

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I’ve shared a lot of posts about viva prep in the last twelve months. Here are five of my favourites, dipping into several different tasks and approaches to getting ready for the viva:

A Kind Process: my wish for anyone getting ready for their viva.
Why You Rehearse: unpicking what this particular aspect of prep is all about.
Ten Minute Annotation: little ideas for making a big difference to your thesis
Consistent & Different: expanding on my philosophy for thesis annotation.
Five Times Five: a quick activity to generate lots of viva prep actions!

There are many more posts about viva prep on Viva Survivors if you’re looking for ideas of what you can do to get ready for your viva. And you could also check out the third and fourth issues of Viva Survivors Select too if you’re looking for even more help from the archive!

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