Same Drive, Different Task
These four words are my new shorthand for thinking about viva prep.
To do viva prep well you need to approach it with the same purpose as the rest of your PhD journey but now bent towards a different goal.
You need to be determined and careful. Engaged with your research. Engaged with the needs of the particular situation of this project (the viva).
You need to show up to work on overcoming a challenge just as you have with many other challenges before. That’s all the viva is: the next challenge you need to work through.
The drive that has helped you with all of the other challenges of your PhD is what will help you with the task of viva prep – and with the task of succeeding in the viva.