Daily viva help for PhDs
Don’t rush into viva prep. Make sure you have everything you need and a plan to help you get through the work you need.
Do small tasks first. Check the regulations. Ask for help. Place bookmarks at the start of chapters.
Stretch! Do small things so you know you’re starting well and won’t crash as soon as you find something difficult or you have a bad day. Start small and build up to being ready for your viva.
Viva prep is a necessary part of getting ready. No tasks are particularly difficult, but if you are already tired, busy or stressed with regular work and life, then they can seem like more chores to get done.
There are lots of things you could do to help you stay motivated:
The last suggestion might be really helpful. Can you incentivise your own progress? What could you set up as a small treat for reading your thesis? Or for completing a mock viva? Would an extra break be enough or do you need something more tangible?
It’s not for everyone, but if you need the motivation to help with your viva prep, consider what you can do to reward your progress.
There’s a lot to consider when you’re preparing for your viva, but getting started is easy. You need just one thing on a list and you can start to work.
Just one paper to read and reflect on.
Just one question to ponder and write about.
Just one chapter – or one page! – to annotate.
Just one hour with your supervisor or a trusted friend to have a chat.
Just one task can start the process of getting ready. There will be more to do, but you can always find a way to get started – or always find something to do that will make a difference to how prepared you are for your viva.
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.
Whatever the worry, issue or problem, if you find yourself concerned by something during your viva prep just pause and reflect on three questions:
Ask “why” to diagnose what it is and how serious it is (because maybe it’s not that big a deal but you feel stressed).
Ask “how” to imagine a space where the thing is not a problem any more.
Ask “what” to start the process of solving the issue – or maybe just stepping away from it if you really don’t need to do anything.
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:
Or maybe just rest. That’s OK too!
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.
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?
It’s not enough to plan your viva prep and write read my thesis: you have to spell out what you’re trying to achieve by doing that.
Don’t just pencil in a date for your mock viva: what do you want from that experience?
And you can’t simply allocate time for checking a few papers written by your external: what do you want to know from reading them?
Plan your prep so you have an idea of how and when you’ll do the work.
Set prep goals so you have a good sense of what you’re achieving and how it will help you.
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:
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.
What could you do to get ready for your viva? A lot! For example you could:
All of these could help but finding what makes you a good candidate – in terms of your knowledge, your research outcomes, your thesis, your success – is really important. It’s the kind of work that helps develop confidence.
It’s last on this list, but not least in importance. Take time to reflect on what makes you a good candidate.
Remember that success and confidence are founded on your actions – and there are many, many actions you can take to build confidence for your viva.