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Tag: enough

Nathan

The Meaning Of “Pass”

Daily Post

It means you did enough. You don’t need perfection to pass your viva and your PhD.

Do your best.

You’ll likely find typos in your thesis after submission. That’s OK.

You’ll likely find questions at the viva that you find challenging. That might be uncomfortable but it’s OK too.

Good is enough.

Minor corrections means “you’ve passed so long as you make these changes.”

“Pass” means you did it – but like the rest of your PhD journey you have to figure out what that really means for you.

 

PS: Rehearsing for your viva helps you feel more like you’re going to pass. If you’re looking for helpful thoughts on rehearsal then Viva Survivors Select 14, The Rehearsal Issue, is out now. If you like the blog, want more help and want to support what I do then please check it out. It’s the latest issue in my series of curated collections of viva help: twenty posts from the blog’s archive and new help to help you get ready!

Nathan

Stop The Research!

Daily Post

At some point you have to say no more.

You’ve got what you’ve got. You need to write it up in your thesis in a way that makes sense for your examiners and others.

You have to believe that it’s enough.

You have to stop at some point but make sure that when you do you leave things in a good place. Make notes in case there’s anything you have to come back to or you want to return to at some point.

At some point you have to stop the research. Make sure you stop well.

Nathan

The Nth Test

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The viva is the only exam of your PhD but it’s not the first test.

How many challenges have you faced and overcome?

The viva is just the next test. You’ve managed N-1 for some suitably large number N over the past few years. The viva is one more challenge, one more test, even if it is the first exam.

The viva is a particular challenge so find out what to expect and prepare – but remember that you have done more and can do more. You can overcome this Nth test you face.

Nathan

All Your Hours

Daily Post

Something like 5500 to 6000 hours of work might go into a full-time PhD journey.

(that might be more hours as well if you’re a part time researcher…)

Thousands of hours of reading, writing, making notes, practical work, meetings, seminars, learning, developing, growing, creating and making and improving – and thinking.

So many hours of thinking.

When you bring all of that together and really consider how much you’ve invested into your journey then you will find some confidence for your viva.

 

PS: The many hours of your PhD journey lead to significant original contributions in your thesis. The latest Viva Survivors Select, The Contribution Issue, explores contributions from many perspectives. Take a look if you’re looking for more viva prep or confidence building help!

Nathan

Needing More

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A PhD candidate can feel like they need more of lots of things.

More prep. More time. More work.

More papers in your bibliography. More results in your research. More page in your thesis.

What might it take for you to feel like you have enough?

Nathan

“The Perfect PhD”

Daily Post

What do we mean when we’re thinking about a perfect PhD?

Candidate? Research? Thesis? The journey?

In some ways it doesn’t matter: there’s no perfection to be found!

There’s good: you can recognise what you do well, what you’re capable of, what you present well in your thesis and how it all ties together in your PhD experience.

There’s difficult: you can consider the challenges, the obstacles overcome, the struggle to write and more.

There’s better: you can reflect on what you have made better both in your research and in yourself – and possibly even see where things could be better still but aren’t yet.

There’s good, there’s difficult, there’s better – and there’s enough.

There’s no perfect in your PhD, but there is enough to show that you are a good researcher. There’s enough to show you have made a contribution at your viva.

Nathan

Prepared To Pass

Daily Post

You can be ready to succeed at your viva without being perfect.

You don’t need to have read every paper or considered every idea. You can’t anticipate every question or comment your examiners will have. You don’t need to have done it all. You don’t need perfection.

You need enough. You need to know enough, have done enough and be enough.

You can’t be perfect. You can be prepared.

 

PS: I’m exploring the practicalities of viva prep and lots more at my live 3-hour Viva Survivor webinar on Wednesday 25th March 2026. Attendees get four-week access to a recording of the session and follow-up materials too. More details at the link – and you can save £10 on registration with code VSMARCH2026 before Sunday 8th February 2026. Thanks for reading!

Nathan

Anti-Perfect

Daily Post

You can’t write a perfect thesis from a perfect piece of research that then leads to a perfect viva experience.

I can understand aiming for perfection and trying to make something as good as possible but working towards “enough” is probably more sensible.

You can define enough. Enough has a quantity: enough research, enough words, enough work to get ready. You can plan for enough. You can work for enough.

No corrections doesn’t mean that your work was perfect.

Enough. You are good enough. You have done enough. Do enough for prep and do enough in your viva. Perfect is a distraction and you can do better. You can do enough.

Nathan

Explaining Enough

Daily Post

How do you define what “enough” means for a contribution to knowledge?

How do you know that you have read “enough” to have a good understanding of your research area?

How do you feel like you are capable “enough” as a researcher in your field?

How do you explain to someone that what you have done is “enough” for your thesis – or your PhD?

 

These are hard questions. It’s unlikely that your examiners will ask you them directly. Being able to think through and consider how you respond to them will help a lot as you get ready for your viva.

Think it over, talk with your supervisor and talk with friends. When you know how to explain that you have done “enough” you’ll feel better about responding to questions more generally in the viva.

Nathan

By Now…

Daily Post

… you must be good at what you do or you wouldn’t still be doing it. You are not the person you were when you started your PhD. The things you have learned and done over the past few years put you in a good position for meeting the challenge of your viva.

It might be that you have weeks or months to go until your viva, or maybe even more, but you have time to get ready. The stage you’re at right now is a good foundation to build on. By now must recognise that you’ve made a contribution. There might be more to say or other things to do, but you can’t do everything.

Your examiners are expecting to see a good contribution made by a capable candidate. It’s helpful, to begin with, if that’s what you can see in yourself and your work.

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