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Tag: reflection

Nathan

Important Things

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I have a piece of paper on the wall next to my desk that says, “What’s the most important thing I can do today that would make tomorrow better?”

I like the sentiment of this but I’m also the kind of person who gets stuck sometimes thinking about what the most important thing could be.

I’m part of a family, a writer, a researcher-developer, a business owner… How do I decide what the most important thing is? Which area do I give my attention to so I can make tomorrow better?

I have to remind myself that not knowing the most important thing can’t get in the way of me doing something to make tomorrow better, even if that’s in a small way.

 

If you like the question too but also fear getting stuck on figuring out the most important thing then for you and your viva a better framing might be, “What can I do to make my viva better?”

Then you have options. There are so many things that you can do for viva prep. There are so many ways you can reflect on your PhD to boost your confidence. There is so much you can do.

Doing something towards prep is enough. You don’t have to be overwhelmed by the important things.

Nathan

What’s Your Contribution?

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A fundamental assumption of the viva process is that a PhD thesis has a contribution to knowledge.

What’s yours?

How do you define it? How do you explain it? What do you highlight for others?

What does someone else need to know to understand what you’ve done?

What do you hope your examiners take away from reading your thesis?

Reflecting on your contribution ahead of the viva will help you to unpack and explore it with your examiners. Taking time to read your thesis, write summaries and rehearse can all help you talk confidently and respond to your examiners’ questions.

Start simple.

What’s your contribution?

Nathan

Reflect & Review

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“Plan, Do, Reflect, Review” is a simple framework for getting things done. Plan what you’ll do, do it, reflect on what happened and review things formally so you have a better understanding.

If you’re reading this post then hopefully you followed a similar process during your PhD. There are lots of systems, resources and processes that use Plan, Do, Reflect, Review to underpin how they work.

As you get close to your viva you’ll be leaning much more on reflect and review. Give yourself time to really take in what you did, what happened and what that means. Ask yourself questions and find answers that will help you communicate what matters to your examiners.

(reflecting and reviewing your journey also helps your confidence to grow by bringing your progress and capability into the spotlight!)

Nathan

Hammer Time

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I bought a hammer for a job – and then remembered the rusty nails sticking out of the fence. I could use the back of the hammer to hook and pull them out. Then I remembered the chest that needed breaking for recycling. I could use the hammer! When a screw wouldn’t bite in the pre-drilled hole of a flatpack bookcase I used the hammer to start it off.

Soon every little fix around the house looks like it needs a hammer. More and more I thought, “What can I use this for?” Sometimes it was helpful and sometimes it wasn’t.

 

Worry is a hammer. Worrying about the viva is applied too liberally. A tiny thought or question in the run-up to the viva isn’t acted on – instead it’s worried about.

  • “I found a typo, I’d better worry about it.”
  • “I’m not sure what vivas are like, I’ll worry about it.”
  • “I don’t know exactly what my examiners will ask so I’ll worry.”

That’s not to say that there are no viva situations that are worry-free, but it doesn’t have to be the first thought or feeling. It doesn’t have to be the last. If you worry you can do something to move beyond. You can always work past worry to a better state.

It’s easy to jump to worry when there’s a problem. Remember: other tools are available and you are very talented.

Nathan

Surviving Isn’t Easy

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Manage to keep going in difficult circumstances.

Manage, not struggle.

Difficult not almost-impossible.

Keep going – implying that you’re already in motion, this isn’t new.

I share this definition of survive in all my work. I want to emphasise to PhD candidates that surviving isn’t about life and death, swerving tragedy or overcoming mythic danger. A successful viva requires capability and results but surviving is really about determination. You show up and push forward and do what you need to with each new challenge.

It’s a hopefully helpful way to explore the viva and what’s involved but I’m not saying it’s easy.

Surviving the PhD might require difficult choices or exceptional effort. Getting ready for the viva could involve more work than you like or even a task you would rather avoid. The viva itself might be tough: challenging questions, longer than you would like and a deeper reflection on something than you want.

For all that you’ll succeed.

There’s work to do and you can do it.

There’s talent required and you have it.

It’s not easy but it’s nowhere near impossible. You can do this.

Keep going.

Nathan

Short Thoughts About The Viva

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The viva is an exam.

The viva is a conversation.

The viva is a challenge.

The viva is a process.

 

The viva is planned.

The viva is unscripted.

The viva is unknown.

The viva is expected.

 

The viva takes time.

The viva is not trivial.

The viva can be stressful.

The viva is typically passed.

 

Your viva might be different.

And if it is your viva will still engage with the format and what’s expected from the viva.

Do any of the above descriptions resonate with what you’ve been already thinking about your viva? What might that mean?

And what do you then need to do?

 

PS: if you want to hear lots more thoughts about the viva then check out Viva Survivor, my upcoming live webinar on Wednesday 25th June. I’ve delivered this session with PhD candidates all around the UK more than 400 times, but this is only the third time I’ve opened up registration like this. A 3-hour live webinar, catch-up recording and follow-up materials all about the viva, viva prep and getting ready. Do take a look if you’re looking for more help for your viva.

Nathan

The Friction

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Reflect on your PhD journey and think about any times that you felt friction in your research. Friction always tells you that there was something interesting:

  • Friction could mean that you had slow progress because you needed to learn more. So what did you learn?
  • Friction could mean that the situation was particularly challenging. Why?
  • Friction could mean that something went wrong. What was it and could you overcome it?

Friction could also show that something just wasn’t working. Perhaps you needed to make a change. Perhaps you needed a different perspective.

Whatever the reason, if you find periods of your PhD where you’ve experienced friction then you’ve probably found something to reflect on ahead of your viva. There’s always something interesting to consider.

 

PS: if you’re looking for something else that’s interesting to consider, then take a look at the new issue of Viva Survivors Select. This is the second publication in my monthly pdf zine sharing a curated collection from the Viva Survivors archive. Take a look at The Uncertainty Issue for advice, practical suggestions and reflections to help with many concerning areas about the viva.

Nathan

The Little Lights

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I recently bought a desk lamp to illuminate my work space. It’s sleek and energy efficient and rather curiously doesn’t use a single bulb.

Instead it has a thin strip of LEDs. One of these little LEDs alone wouldn’t be very much light to see by, but together they make everything bright. Each light plays a part. Together they work to create the desired effect.

This is helpful to remember for viva prep and the viva.

Every page in your thesis needs to do something good, but you can’t pass your viva based on a single page. It’s what they are together that matters. You might have a big result in your thesis but that result wasn’t achieved in isolation.

Look for the little lights in your research, your thesis and your preparations. Together they create a bright way forward for your viva.

Nathan

Add It Up

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All the papers and books you read.

All the hours on all the days you showed up and worked.

All the words on all the pages that you wrote, rewrote, proof-read and wrote again.

All the meetings with your supervisor.

All the new things you found and created.

All the ideas that weren’t there before.

You bring all of that together and it means a lot. There’s always more or different things to do. There are always questions to be asked at the viva. But if you add up everything you did you can be sure that you have a contribution.

And you can be reminded that that contribution exists because of you.

Nathan

Significant To Who?

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When thinking about your significant original contribution it’s natural to think about why something matters. The results and conclusions in your thesis have value and it’s right that someone – like your examiners – would want to explore that in your viva.

It makes sense to reflect on why your work matters and how you explain that as part of your viva prep. It’s also a good idea to think about who your work matters to as well.

For example, my thesis contained algorithms I’d developed for calculating certain properties of mathematical objects. That’s my simplest explanation without invoking fancy terms and funny symbols! This work mattered because these properties were typically very time-consuming for people to calculate. My algorithms had limits but they were very quick and easy to use.

That’s the why. The who, the people who would be interested, was a little more niche.

People interested in my work might be people who needed a tool. Or people who were looking to develop their own. Or even people looking for a little inspiration. But my work wasn’t for everyone.

Explore why your work matters as you get ready but remember to think about who it matters to as well.

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