Daily viva help for PhDs
Remember that the contribution in your thesis is only there because you did the work.
Remember that your thesis, imperfect though it probably is, only exists because you took the time to write it.
Remember that you have got to your viva because you put in the effort over a very long period of time.
Whatever your research, your thesis and your viva have that make them good is because of you.
Prep helps to you get ready for your viva. Placebos help you to feel ready for your viva.
Prep is the practical work that gets you closer: read your thesis, make notes, check papers, rehearse with a mock viva and so on.
Placebos are the necessary activities and artefacts that help you feel better: the routines and rituals, the music that is just right or the outfit that helps you feel confident.
Both have an element of personal preference. Prep involves specific kinds of work done in particular ways to meet your needs. Placebos can be cultural but are more typically unique to each person.
(my paperweight is just for me!)
Prep helps you get ready. Placebos help you feel ready. Together they help you to be ready.
A companion post to these thoughts from November 2024!
The first day of your PhD: it was a long time ago and you’ve come a long way since then.
Your first supervisory meeting: whatever your relationship over the course of your PhD, you’ve grown as a result of your supervisor.
The first new thing that clicked: do you remember the moment when you made a significant connection?
Your biggest setback: what happened and what did you do as a result?
When you finished your first draft of your first chapter: how did it feel to get it done?
The final problem: why was it a problem? How did you solve it?
Looking back over all of these, whether you remember exact dates or not, the important thing is that you have grown. You were good at the start of your PhD and you have become more.
Viva prep involves relatively simple work like reading and making notes. The more difficult work is to reflect on your journey, what happened, what it means and why it makes you exactly right for the challenge you’ll face at your viva.
What do you think of when you think of “confidence”?
Do you think of a friend or family member? A famous person like an actor or sportsperson? Your supervisor?
I think of this image:
I used to watch 1940s Superman cartoons repeatedly when I was a child. It was the only video cassette we had! Somewhere along the way this image got lodged in my mind as a shorthand for confidence.
The more I’ve thought about it, the more I think it’s because despite the superpowers and general superhero associations, it represents a choice: “I want to do this” or maybe “I want to follow a specific path”.
Confidence is the result of a choice: you can’t choose to have confidence but you can choose to pursue confidence. The image above reminds me that I can take steps to develop and maintain my confidence.
What image do you think of when you think of “confidence”? And what does that image mean to you? And what else are you doing to build up up your self-confidence before your viva?
It’s OK to hope that your viva will go well…
…but remember that you can do more than hope.
You can do a lot more than hope that you will be ready for your viva.
Day three of my best of posts for 2024. I love to think about how to encourage confidence, both in general and for the viva in particular. It’s a topic I keep thinking about because of how powerful it can be in changing someone’s way of doing things.
How confident do you feel for your viva? What steps do you take to pursue confidence?
Day two of my best of posts for 2024. I am very fortunate to have time to think about and write about the viva.
I like to try and consider the viva from as many angles as possible, which leads to posts like today’s that reflect on the overall viva experience.
How have you been thinking about your viva over the last year? And how do you think you might need to change your thinking?
There was a time when I would have described my PhD journey as incredibly lucky. Somehow, I made it through.
I had months where it seemed like nothing worked. Weeks where I couldn’t figure out how to get something simple done.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I arrived at viva time and felt a lack of confidence in myself. How could I feel good about my chances of success when I had somehow bumbled my way to submission?
I had a little confidence that my thesis had some good results – but what about me? Was I any good?
Sixteen years later, a little hindsight and a lot of self-reflection and I feel differently.
I wasn’t perfect but I worked hard. It wasn’t luck that got me through but I had my share of good fortune. I had funding, I had a good supervisor and I found topics to explore that lead to interesting results. I developed myself and my research.
But I didn’t see it that way at the time. I just kept thinking, because of all the challenges in my projects, that somehow I was “luckily” making it through.
If you’re looking for confidence for your viva start by reflecting on the journey. Recognise the work you’ve done. Appreciate the good fortune you’ve encountered. Highlight the success that you have made.
There’s no way you can get to submission by simply bumbling along.
Success at your viva is not directly determined by:
Success isn’t directly determined by any of these numbers but your capability and confidence can be helped by simply considering just how much you’ve done to complete your PhD.
Run the numbers. Reflect on how much you’ve done, how far you’ve come and what that all means for you and your viva.
This is how an attendee at a recent webinar summarised what I’d said about getting ready for the viva.
Control the controllables.
He was absolutely right. That’s how I think about a lot of things connected with the viva.
There are things you can’t control or won’t know until you get there. These range from questions to feelings to the approach that your examiners will take.
There are things you’ll know but won’t control too: the purpose of the viva, the date or location of your viva venue.
But there’s also a lot you could take control of.
All of these things and more can help how you feel about your viva.
There are a lot of things you can take control of for yourself in advance of the big day.
If you do that then the things that are beyond your control won’t seem so bad.
Many thanks to Luke C for offering this observation!