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Tag: getting ready

Nathan

Almost There

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You’re so close at submission. It may not feel it, but the vast, vast majority of the work you need for your doctorate is done. Months upon months of hard work and you’re almost there…

…but you’re not yet. Yet. You will be soon.

Hold on.

Rest, ready yourself, read your thesis, rehearse for the viva, do whatever you need to so you feel good for this big, important day. You’re almost there, and it won’t take much to get there, or take much while you’re there.

Your viva isn’t the most important thing that you’ll ever do. Your viva isn’t the peak of your PhD.

Nathan

Clearing Up The Vague

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You have to read your thesis to get ready for your viva, even if you don’t want to. You thought about it, you wrote it, you rewrote it and now you’re done-

-except you read it and you think you could still do some more.

A paragraph that meanders. A section that is too long, or perhaps too awkward. The odd typo or twenty is fine, but what about the places that proofreading forgot? What about the vague sections that sort-of-but-don’t-quite make the point you wanted?

You grin and bear them in the viva, if they’re brought up. You explain what you meant, and what you would do to make it better – not perfect, never perfect – but better in your corrected thesis.

And when you see them during your prep you think, you write and maybe rewrite again, leaving a note in your margins or on a Post-it, clearing up the vague that you left in. They don’t disqualify you or your thesis at all.

There’s just that little bit more to do, then you really will be done.

Nathan

The Day Before

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Gather what you need: thesis, notes, pen, paper… What else do you need for your viva?

Decide on what you will wear: wear something for comfort, for confidence, to feel right or to feel happy… Decide in advance to remove a decision from the day of the viva.

Check the details: whether online or in-person, check what you’ll do or where you’ll go… Then put it away for the next day.

Talk if you need to: find a trusted person, someone who can listen if you have any worries or concerns from nerves… You may or may not need this, but find someone in advance who could support you.

Rest: take a break, relax, distract yourself… All the work you can do to get ready has probably been done.

Nathan

7 Nudges For Viva Prep

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While there are lots of good tasks that can help with viva preparation, maybe it would be better to gently nudge candidates. A few gentle nudges could be far more helpful to offer than a super-structured programme of work and deadlines.

So:

  1. Sketch a plan for your prep.
  2. Ask for help.
  3. Your thesis can help in the viva – how could you prepare with it?
  4. Tell people about your work, and invite questions.
  5. Listen to stories about viva experiences.
  6. Reflect on the work you’ve done already.
  7. Explore what you could do to build your confidence.

A few gentle nudges can move someone to figure out what they need to do to feel ready for the viva.

Nathan

Yet

Daily Post

If ever you’re tempted, by a hard day or a tough moment in your PhD to say one of the following, remember to add the word “yet”:

  • I haven’t got it to work…
  • I haven’t figured it out…
  • I’ve not submitted my thesis…
  • I’m not ready for my viva…

“Yet” is a reminder – you can do this, you want to do this, there’s time to do this – and even a promise, I will do this.

You might not be there yet, you might not be ready yet, but you will be.

There’s time. Keep going.

 

(inspired by countless posts and podcasts by the always-inspiring Seth Godin)

Nathan

Bringing It All Together

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Viva preparation is not the hardest part of the PhD journey by a long way, but it requires a little thought for it not to be overwhelming.

What do you need to do? Where do you see the gaps for yourself? If you have trouble remembering things, then re-read them and make useful notes. Consider what you could add in annotations to help your thesis more useful. Think about when to rehearse with a mock viva or a good chat with friends. Make a list of what you really need to do, rather than work in an ad hoc way.

When do you start? Consider your responsibilities, consider when you could fit in thirty minutes to an hour a day. It’s better to view prep as a daily practice in most cases, a gentle lead up to feeling you are prepared, rather than a last minute cram to get “everything” done.

It could feel like there’s lots to do to be prepared for the viva. In comparison to the time and effort of the rest of your PhD there’s really very little. If you have a busy life already then it’s worth planning in advance how you will make space for it.

But remember: you can do it.

Nathan

No Time Like Now

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Today, whether your viva is tomorrow or a year from now, is a perfect opportunity to build your confidence.

Today, whether you feel nervous, uncertain or excited about your viva, is a great time to reflect and see how far you’ve come and steer yourself towards feeling better about your PhD and your progress.

It’s never too late to do something to help your PhD and viva – and while you don’t need to actively prepare for the viva until after submission, it’s also never too early to reflect on your talent and build your confidence.

Nathan

The Overview

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It’s reasonable to expect your examiners to ask you to summarise what you’ve done. It’s a fairly common opening question. Given that a thesis could run to many tens of thousands of words it’s probable your examiners would want you to be concise in exploring or explaining what you did.

Being asked to give an overview, either of your thesis, your research or your results, shouldn’t be too taxing for you. Over the course of your PhD you will have spoken about your work many times and given “the short version”. You will have written about your research in lots of ways. There’s lots of practice and material in your mind to draw on when you get to the viva.

A little more rehearsal won’t hurt you though!

In the weeks leading up to your viva consider what you would typically say if asked to summarise your work. Perhaps write it out or record yourself and reflect: Does this really capture it all? If there was one thing to add, what would it be? Find a good opportunity to run it past your supervisor or a trusted friend and get their opinion.

If asked to give an overview or summary in the viva, there’s no way you can tell your examiners everything that might be possibly relevant. A little rehearsal before the viva can help you be sure that you’re giving them enough.

Nathan

Diamonds and Pressure

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“You need pressure to make diamonds.”

It’s a cheesy sentiment, but it’s true that sometimes we need the pressure of a situation to have a breakthrough, grow, build talent or find something amazing.

The viva isn’t one of those situations though. Your success there shouldn’t be via pressure on the day. If you talk to plenty of graduates about their experiences, pressure isn’t something they describe.

Diamonds need pressure, but they need time too. If we want to think about diamonds, the PhD and metaphors, then really it’s you who is the diamond in the story.

Nathan

Arriving

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You might not have to travel for your viva, but it’s still good to consider how you’ll arrive.

What will the journey be like, possibly from one room to another? What could you do to help you transition from a space in your home to the space for your viva?

What will you wear? Hopefully something comfortable, but could you also wear something that helps your confidence?

What will you take with you to the viva? What do you need when you’re there?

A little thought on arriving, even if it’s in your home, can be a great boost for how your viva starts and how you’ll feel throughout.

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