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Nathan

Being Thankful

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Every night before we put our daughter to bed, we share what we’re thankful for as a family. We’re thankful that we’ve had three meals that day, that something funny happened, that we’re part of a nice school community, that we read a good story, that we have a family… Big or small, serious and silly, we share what has helped that day be good (or what has been good in a hard day).

We’ve done this for three or four years I think, and it helps. It helps us not take things for granted.

It’s helped a lot this year.

I think it would have been a valuable thing to be aware of as I was finishing my PhD. It was easy to put a lot of pressure on myself, to doubt that things would go well in the viva (so many doubts!!), but I had a lot to be thankful for:

  • I could have been thankful that my supervisor was patient and supportive.
  • I could have been thankful that I had a community around me that cared.
  • I could have been thankful that I knew my examiners a little, so had some idea of how they would behave.
  • I could have been thankful that my thesis went in on time.
  • I could have been thankful that I had ample time to prepare.
  • I could have been thankful that I had results I was certain of.

But for the most part I read my thesis, made notes and wondered what my examiners would say. All of the above was true, but I didn’t recognise it. Simply reflecting on “What are you thankful for?” could have helped me appreciate some of it. I probably would have still been nervous, but perhaps with a little more perspective on how I’d got to the viva, and what that might mean. I think it would have helped me.

I offer it as a thought: when it comes to your PhD, your thesis, your viva – what are you thankful for?

 

Massive thanks to Dr Pooky Knightsmith, who was my guest on the podcast a long time ago! I spotted her daily practice of being thankful some years back on Twitter, and this inspired our family bedtime routine.

Nathan

Aspects Of The Viva

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There are lots of elements to the viva:

  • There is what’s presented in your thesis, the pre-requisite to being in the viva at all.
  • There is why you did it in the first place, a subject that often comes up in some form.
  • There is who you are, and to a lesser extent who your examiners are.
  • There is why you are there and what you have planned afterwards perhaps.
  • There is the logistics – how, when, where – and the expectations – the things that tend to happen and influence how people feel about the viva.
  • There is the beginning, middle, end and afterwards.
  • There is the dance between feeling excited and feeling worried.
  • There is the preparation, the support, the help – and then just you and your examiners.

There’s a lot to the viva. Focussing only on one element means you will miss something important in all the other aspects. But trying to focus on everything means you’ll also probably miss something.

Another aspect worth mentioning: they almost always result in success for the candidate. Whatever else you need to explore or reflect on for yourself, remember the most likely outcome for all your work.

Nathan

I Do This

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I got a new logo for my business a few months ago.

new logo, Nathan Ryder, helping PGRs become PhDs

I like it. For the longest time I struggled with how to explain what I did:

  • I’m a freelance skills trainer.
  • I’m a skills trainer for PhDs.
  • I’m a skills trainer and writer.
  • No, not with maths, I did a PhD in maths but I’m not a tutor…
  • I’m a researcher-developer.
  • I’m an independent researcher-developer.
  • I’m an independent researcher-developer and writer.

No. Simply: I help PGRs become PhDs.

Simple.

What do you do? How do you define what you do with your skills, your work, your research, or with the outcomes or mission?

When you can find greater clarity in explaining it to others, you might find some interesting or surprising things for yourself. Consider that, particularly as you prepare to explain who you are and what you do at your viva.

What do you do?

Nathan

A Few Thoughts On Feeling Ready

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“Ready for the viva” doesn’t mean “not nervous about the viva”.

Ready doesn’t mean perfect in any way.

Ready and prepared aren’t quite the same thing – but they travel in the same car.

Ready for the viva means you’ve practically prepared and found some confidence for the day.

There’s always more that you could do to feel more ready, but a finite list of tasks is sufficient to get you ready.

Ready is personal. What does it mean for you?

Nathan

Little Things Help

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Sticking Post-it Notes to mark the start of chapters.

Bookmarking the webpage with your university’s viva regulations.

Underlining a typo, and then leaving it alone.

Making a list of things you know.

Reminding yourself that you are talented.

There’s lots of big pieces of work that help someone like you create a thesis. There’s lots of big things that you need to do to get ready for your viva.

Don’t forget the little things that will help too.

Nathan

Moments of Success

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Count them up to build your confidence for the viva. All along the timeline of your PhD – months of work, weeks of grinding through papers, projects and problems – nestled here and there are moments of shining success. Brief joyous periods where you figured something out, or the data said what you hoped or you found an answer!

And then you were back to work, looking for the next thing…

The work matters: it shows your determination, your skill, your talent. You stuck to it!

The success matters: it shows that you achieved something. You did it!

It’s easier to see the work than the success sometimes. Recognise them both as you prepare for your viva.

Nathan

The Most Important

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What are the most important papers or ideas that started your research journey?

What were the most important days of your PhD?

What are the most important passages in your thesis?

Where did you do the most important work of your research?

What are the most important skills you’ve developed or built on while doing your PhD?

All of these questions have subjective responses, but are all worth considering. Your work must have important stuff, and even with typos or different perspectives or things that could be changed, it’s far better to focus on what is important and good about your research, than direct attention to things that could detract.

A question with an objective response: who did the work to create a thesis from all of this important stuff?

(don’t forget the answer to that one)

Nathan

Obvious Afterwards

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I’d say a good 75% of my PhD results seemed obvious afterwards:

  • A clever solution for a programming problem.
  • An insight into the way a particular bit of maths worked.
  • A step in a proof that seemed inscrutable beforehand.

All obvious afterwards and in some cases very simple to explain to others. I remember two pages of my thesis that describe a process which took me upwards of 100 pages of notes to figure out the first time! 100 pages to figure out notation, to understand with near-endless diagrams what was happening, capture intermittent steps to show what was working and so on. Two pages in my thesis.

The rough work, long thinking and difficult days that lead to simplicity and “obvious” answers in your thesis or research are worth remembering. The outcome and answers matter, but don’t lose sight of the work – and the person who did it!

Nathan

Promise & Potential

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Two words to describe what you have when you start a PhD – in a way, the reasons why you were accepted on the programme.

You showed something, in your application or interview. You had some skills, some knowledge, some enthusiasm – some combination of all of these.

You didn’t have everything you needed to finish your PhD at the start, but you had the promise and potential to find success.

Consider, now that you’re probably closer to the end, what did you have when you began? And what do you have now?

Potential realised? How? What did you do to get this far? And how far might you go now that the end of your PhD is near?

Nathan

Edison’s Mistakes

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Edison failed in his pursuit of a lightbulb 500 times, 1000 times or even 10,000 times depending on which (probably exaggerated!) account you read. What is certain is that he made mistakes, but he didn’t really fail because he kept pursuing. He tried things, probably believing for good reasons that he would be successful, but he was wrong a lot.

All of that wrong helped him to be ultimately right.

Now, hopefully you haven’t succeeded in spite of 10,000 mistakes during your PhD – but if you arrive at submission you must have made mistakes along the way. Things forgotten, things that didn’t work out, things you can’t explain, things that are wrong… Through all of that you’ve made it to success and submission. Mistakes are part of the PhD process, both of doing the research that becomes your thesis and of developing the skills that make you a capable researcher.

It’s fine to remember you made mistakes, but not helpful to dwell on them. Understand them, but not focus on them.

Determination is another part of the PhD process, wrapped around mistakes and setbacks and failures. Determination to see things through. If you make it through a difficult path to submission, then you’ve got the determination to prepare for and pass your viva.

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