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Nathan

Number Problems

Daily Post

Your PhD success is not directly measured by big numbers.

It’s not in the thousands of words in your thesis. It doesn’t correlate with the number of papers you’ve read or the number you’ve cited. You don’t need a heroic number of hours invested into mastering a skill. You don’t need to do more than the last person.

The numbers that really help may sound similar but they help in different ways.

  • The number of papers you’ve read helps you know what you need to know.
  • Take confidence from knowing you have written 200 good pages not for simply having 200 pages.
  • You’ve invested thousands of hours to show your determination and express your ability – you’ve not simply done a lot.

Bigger alone isn’t better. Recognise the value of the numbers that matter to your PhD.

Nathan

2025 In Brief

Daily Post

In 2025…

  • …I published 362 new daily posts on Viva Survivors (I always take a few days off over Christmas)
  • …I delivered 44 viva-related sessions like Viva Survivor and 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva for 952 postgraduate researchers.
  • …I created eight issues of Viva Survivors Select, a series of curated and themed collections of viva support and developed five new games to help viva preparation.

Numbers can point towards confidence.

The right number can be a good representation of the effort and time you invest into something.

3136 posts on a blog is a lot. It’s been extraordinarily helpful for me to invest this time into writing. It helps me to think and find new ways of helping people with their viva problems.

952 people helped last year through my viva sessions. Over 10,000 total in my life as an independent researcher-developer. I get nervous and stressed before I deliver a webinar but the numbers help point me towards confidence. “I did all of that… I can probably do this too…”

 

2025 was a strange year. It was a hard year at times. There were lots of ups and downs in my work, my family life and in the world generally. But when things get tough and I can’t focus I can still look at the numbers.

What numbers do you have to help point you to confidence? What are your headlines for 2025? What did you do and what does it mean?

Find some helpful numbers to build your confidence up as you start 2026.

Nathan

Find Your Numbers

Daily Post

I’ve worked with over 6500 people who were getting ready for their viva. I’ve now been publishing this daily blog for five years. Today happens to be the 1800th post.

And every time I am about to start a webinar I get nervous.

Every time I finish up a post I wonder if it is alright.

Every month I wonder if I’m going to run out of things to say or what I might do if no-one wants my help.

I’ve been working in this area for over a decade and I still have doubts. I still get nervous. And that’s OK, that’s part of the process. Over time I’ve found ways to build up my confidence and balance out the nervousness I feel. I’m nervous because I treat what I do as important.

I’m confident, at least in part, because of the numbers I focus on. If I’ve done that many viva prep sessions, helped that many people, written that many posts – well, I can do one more!

What numbers will help convince you on your journey to the viva? The number of times you’ve presented work? The number of days or hours you’ve shown up to work on your PhD? The number of papers you’ve read to build your knowledge of your field?

Find the numbers that will help build your confidence for the viva.