You Are Here

Tag: getting ready

Nathan

Legend

Daily Post

There are several ways we use the word.

Someone is a legend if they’re amazing. They have talent and are someone who has demonstrated that for a long time. For example, a postgraduate researcher when they reach thesis submission…

A legend can also be about someone or something, perhaps a story or collection of stories. Quite often this describes how the person or thing came to be great. For example, consider a PhD journey with all of its ups, downs and ultimate successes…

Less well known is using the word legend to describe the marks on a map. The legend explains the symbols of important features, which isn’t all that dissimilar to when someone looks for the highlights in their story. For example, a postgraduate researcher reflecting on their PhD journey as they prepare for their viva…

Taken together: consider the highpoints of your story so that you can appreciate your capability and how you got here.

Or perhaps: the legend of your legend makes you a legend!

Nathan

Build Up To The Viva

Daily Post

On your first day of viva prep you don’t have to push yourself to work at maximum intensity.

Maybe make a list.

Read a chapter.

Check a regulation or two.

You don’t have to start and maintain an exhausting pace of work and progress towards being ready.

 

You don’t have to do that from day two either. Or day three.

You can build up your prep and yourself. Take your time, plan your prep, build yourself up for the viva. A little work every day for however many weeks you need to not be stressed by your schedule. That’s all you need.

Build up to the viva rather than risk wiping yourself out with too much pressure.

Nathan

The Final Step

Daily Post

Testing transcription service. OK. Seems to be working today.

Here we go!

 

I have a procedure for the hour leading up to a webinar. Step by step, task by task, a process that helps guide me to starting well.

My water bottle is full. I have an emergency break snack. I’ve got my notes and my desktop is arranged just so. I’ve done all the work I can. Email off. I’ve checked that my family know not to disturb me. I check I’ve got everything I need.

Then the final step is to check that Zoom’s transcription service is working well, “Testing transcription service…”

 

What could your viva day procedure look like? What will you need to do? What might the first task be and what will the final step be that will help you to feel ready?

Then, here we go!

Nathan

On The One Hand…

Daily Post

…your examiners are experienced, they have to ask questions, they have to challenge you and they will be prepared for your viva when they arrive.

But on the other hand, you are experienced, you have experience at responding to questions, you can rise to challenges and you can be prepared for your viva when they arrive.

Everyone at your viva is capable, ready and engaged. The viva can be a difficult challenge and you can be ready for that challenge.

Nathan

Five Minutes

Daily Post

Have five minutes spare and feel like you need to do something productive for your viva prep but don’t know what? Try one of these:

  • Make a list. Key points, key papers, important people, helpful thoughts, things to do – you can’t go wrong with a list.
  • Redefine your contribution. Capture thoughts on the significant, original contribution you’ve made through your thesis.
  • Reflect on who your examiners are. What do you know about them? What does that mean? And what can you do to be a little more clear on them?
  • Read a random post of viva help. There’s a link to a random post in the sidebar of every page of Viva Survivors or use this link to get a random post!
  • Write about how you’re feeling. Feeling happy? Why and what can you do to hold on to that? Feeling worried? Why and what can you do to help with that? And so on.

Or maybe just rest. That’s OK too!

Nathan

Frozen Thesis

Daily Post

Icebergs are often used as metaphors for describing people: we only see what’s presented to the world, but there can be so much more going on beneath the surface.

We see a person, but don’t see their history, their feelings, their thoughts, their worries, their problems and so much more. Sometimes not knowing these things can lead to problems if we make incorrect assumptions about what we see.

The iceberg metaphor – things unseen beneath the surface – stretches neatly to reflect on a PhD thesis too.

When a thesis is submitted it’s a finished work. Examiners or anyone who reads it can read it, hopefully understand and consider what it means. Depending on their knowledge they might be able to ask questions or make assumptions about how something happened or why something was arranged in the way it was.

But they can’t know it all. They can’t see beneath the surface and know the last three (or four or seven) years of research.

They need you for that.

Having done the work you do see beneath the surface of your thesis iceberg. You see the mass of work and knowledge that is under the bright surface of new understanding. You can share that with your examiners in your viva and show them what they need to know for their own understanding.

Nathan

The End Point

Daily Post

When you come to plan your viva prep consider what you want to have and how you want to feel when you’ve finished the work.

  • What resources do you want to have made?
  • What tasks do you have to complete?
  • Who can support you?
  • Ideally, how do you want to feel while doing the work?
  • And, again ideally, how do you want to feel when you’re done?

Whatever your responses are, they can guide you into thinking about what you will do, how you will do it and what you are ultimately aiming for.

What do you want to have done? How do you want to feel?

Nathan

Don’t Chase Perfection

Daily Post

Perfect answers don’t exist in the viva. With preparation and rehearsal you can give good responses.

A perfect thesis is an ideal: if you’re very fortunate then perhaps you’ll pass your viva with no corrections required. It’s something you can only hope for though.

Vivas have ranges of expectations and patterns of experience. You might have an idea of your perfect viva. You can’t really steer your viva towards the 90-minute, no-corrections, easy-conversation that you might have in mind.

Perfects and ideals are nice, but you’ll over-commit your time, energy and focus if you chase them.

Instead, just do the work you can. Do your best research, write the best thesis you can, prepare with the time you have – while resting and looking after yourself and your other responsibilities – and then show up on the day of your viva determined to engage with your examiners.

Your best is better than chasing PhD perfection.

Nathan

Write It All Down

Daily Post

Before you begin your viva prep, write down everything you can think of that you need to do. This is before you make a plan. Get down thoughts of any little or big thing. After a few days of letting those ideas breathe you can start to make sense of how and when you’ll get things done.

As you do your viva prep, record what you do. Make a record of your actions, the tasks you complete and the outputs you create. This will help you to see that you are moving forwards to your viva with purpose. You’re not simply passing the time: you’re investing time in helping you pass.

After your viva is done, take twenty minutes to capture your thoughts about what the viva was like. What did you do to get ready? What made a difference? Keep a hold of these as you may have an opportunity to share helpful thoughts with a future candidate who needs a little advice.

There’s a lot to do to get ready for the viva. Take time to write and think, both to help you plan, to keep you on track and to help others in the future.

Nathan

Small Step, Big Impact

Daily Post

What viva prep actions would have a great impact on how ready you were for your viva?

I’m thinking about the Pareto principle – in brief, that 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes – and I wonder how it might apply to viva prep and building confidence for the viva.

I don’t have an answer! I do have some thoughts though:

  • Having certainty about the viva process increases calm and confidence. Asking supervisors and colleagues, reading regulations and even searching online are all small actions that can have a big impact.
  • Reading your thesis again won’t take a very long time but can really help with sharing your research, formulating responses and generally feeling secure for the viva.
  • Rehearsing and talking about your thesis is a great preparation step that doesn’t take very long compared with tasks like annotating or reviewing papers.

Some big activities in viva prep can be broken down into little steps that add up. But perhaps some small actions by themselves can give big advantages to being ready.

I’ll have to think more about this! But perhaps you already have ideas of little things that you know will help you to feel ready.

1 … 21 22 23 24 25 … 67