You Are Here

Tag: viva feelings

Nathan

What’s Bothering You?

Daily Post

It took me years after my viva to realise what had kept me awake the night before. If I’d realised it that night it was really too late to do anything about it. I was bothered by not knowing what to expect from my examiners and not being sure if I was a capable candidate.

Both of these were things I had probably been pushing aside for weeks leading up to my viva, if not longer – and both could have been addressed sooner if I’d faced up to them.

I passed my viva. In the grand scheme of things it was fine but I could have enjoyed it more if I’d explored what was bothering me sooner, before it was too late to do anything about it.

My wish for you today is simple: if you’re getting ready for your viva and there’s even a hint of something bothering you then face up to it. Figure out what’s bothering you and do something about it. Ask for help, talk to your supervisor, read your thesis, write something – do something!

Don’t hope it will go away and don’t wait until it is too late. If something is bothering you then do something about it.

 

PS: if something is bothering you about the viva process then please take a look at Viva Survivor, my  live webinar I’m sharing tomorrow, Wednesday 25th June. It’s a 3-hour live webinar with a catch-up recording and follow-up materials all about the viva, viva prep and getting ready. Registration closes at 5pm today, so this is your last opportunity to sign up. If you have questions about the viva and think a live session and support might help then take a look and find out more. Thanks for reading.

Nathan

Anxious to Action

Daily Post

Concern, anxiety and worry about the viva won’t resolve themselves. It’s not wrong to feel any of these but it’s not good for you to go to your viva with them if you can help it.

You need to do something.

You could ask for help. You could explore a website with thousands of posts about the viva. You could reflect and think about what’s at the root of the problem.

Ultimately you have to do something. Ask, explore, think and then act.

Action can help you move away from anxiety.

Nathan

Ready To Wait

Daily Post

After submission there’s a lot of waiting. It’s a good idea to be ready for it.

  • You have to wait to know your viva date.
  • You wait to get started with your preparations at the right time.
  • The wait could feel nervous in the last few days before your viva.
  • You’ll wait to get going on viva day.
  • Wait for the questions one by one.
  • Wait to see if you have the chance to talk about the things you like most.
  • Wait to find out if any sensitive topics or questions come up.
  • Wait for your examiners to decide the outcome in the final break.
  • Wait later to see if your corrections have been accepted.
  • And then wait, possibly for months, before you have the chance to graduate and formally be Dr Someone.

Get ready to wait when you submit your thesis!

Or rather, make sure you have a good sense of the viva process – both before, during and after – so that you know when you’ll need to wait and perhaps how long some of those waits will be.

 

PS: want to dig into the viva process more? Take a look at Viva Survivor, my upcoming live webinar on Wednesday 25th June. I’ll be talking about expectations, viva prep, examiners and a lot more, as well as responding to questions from everyone present. Viva Survivor is a 3-hour live webinar and all attendees get access to a catch-up recording and follow-up materials. Please check out the details and see if it might help you or someone you know. Thanks for reading.

Nathan

Maybe & Definitely

Daily Post

Maybe you didn’t get all of the results you were hoping for.

Maybe writing your thesis was harder than you expected.

Maybe your external examiner isn’t the person you would have picked.

Maybe there’s something tricky in your third chapter that you find hard to remember.

And, who knows, maybe your viva will be longer than you would like.

 

Definitely: You did the work. There are regulations and expectations that create a knowable viva process. You can take time to prepare in a way that helps you. Your examiners will be known well in advance of your viva. You have time to get ready.

 

Every viva has maybes. Whatever maybes you can think of for yours, these are more than covered by the things that you will know and can do definitely.

Nathan

The Ideal Viva

Daily Post

Defining an ideal viva is really tricky.

Do we start from the outline descriptions that emerge from considering the regulations? Or base our idea on the general expectations that rise from the many stories of viva experiences?

Would it be better to take notes from a candidate and see what they want? Or follow the experience of examiners and allow them to set out what a good viva would be like?

There could be more perspectives to take onboard too. These four alone make for an interesting collage of ideas. If you’re reading this post I’d assume you’re most likely a PhD candidate. What does this mean for you? Is it even possible to figure out anything related to the ideal viva?

Maybe it’s as simple as this: learn all that you can. Read the regulations and learn about expectations so you have a good sense of perspective of the general viva. Explore what examiners do to get a sense of what a good viva might be for them.

And finally explore what you want or need from your viva. If that aligns closely with everything else you’ve learned then great! But if not, what do you do?

 

PS: one thing you could do, if you’re trying to find out more about what to expect, is take a look at the second issue of Viva Survivors Select. This is my monthly pdf zine sharing curated collections of writing from the Viva Survivors archive. The Uncertainty Issue was released two weeks ago and contains advice, practical suggestions and reflections to help with a lot of viva uncertainty.

And if you’re looking for even more help the first issue is still available and The Preparation Issue is due on Wednesday 11th June! 🙂

Thanks for reading.

Nathan

Hammer Time

Daily Post

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

The Next Time

Daily Post

Frame your viva as the next challenge of your PhD.

It might even be the last challenge of your PhD. It’s certainly not the first. You’ve overcome many others to get this far.

Remind yourself of the challenges that you’ve passed. What made them difficult? What did you do to get past them? Exploring a difficult situation might initially remind you of stress but steer yourself to focus on the positives: look for evidence of your talent and effort to help drive a growing confidence.

While your viva could be last challenge of your PhD it won’t be your last challenge ever. As you finish your PhD journey consider what you’re taking with you. What can you apply from your PhD to all of your future challenges? How much better will you be for this process?

 

PS: if you’re looking for help as you get ready for this challenge then check out Viva Survivor, my upcoming live webinar on Wednesday 25th June. I have delivered this session to PhD candidates all around the UK at the request of doctoral colleges, but this is only the third time I’ve opened up registration. Viva Survivor is a 3-hour live webinar, you receive a catch-up recording and follow-up materials all about the viva, viva prep and getting ready. Do take a look and see if it could help you! 

Nathan

Unique?

Daily Post

Every viva is unique – because every candidate, research project and thesis are unique.

Every viva follows expectations – because there are regulations, academic processes and culture that inform the behaviour, actions and responses of examiners and candidates.

It’s possible to hold on to both of these ideas and embrace the tension that exists between them both.

Your viva will be unique and you won’t know some of what will happen until it does AND your viva will follow the pattern of many others that have come before.

Nathan

What Will You Do?

Daily Post

Hypothetical situations can be inherently stressful. We don’t like to think about them because we know that they’re not real right now – but know that they could be.

For example:

  • What will you do if you don’t get all of the results you are hoping for?
  • What will you do if you find a problem in your thesis after submission?
  • What will you do if you feel short on time and your viva is very soon?
  • What will you do if you’re in the viva and your examiner asks a question that feels instantly tough?

Whenever you’re faced with a situation like one of these you might feel overwhelmed or worried or confused. That’s a typical human response to a potentially stressful situation.

Whatever you feel you then have to decide: what will you do?

In some ways, the real point is that you can decide. You feel whatever you feel and then you can do something. You can choose in a moment of stress and uncertainty just as you have through all of the other moments of your PhD journey.

You can do something. There is always something you can do.

Nathan

Everything But That

Daily Post

“I don’t want to talk about my methods chapter.”

“I’m ready for any questions except something about my bibliography!”

“Please, please don’t let them ask about my interpretation of that paper…”

“I will be OK so long as……”

 

Sound familiar? If any resonate with how you feel about your viva and talking with your examiners then you are most definitely not alone.

You’re perfectly rational: the process and pressures of the viva could easily make anyone nervous about needing to talk about a particular something. It might even make them stressed.

What do you do? If a possible question makes you feel nervous or stressed before the viva, what are you going to do?

You could review part of your thesis, talk with a friend, make some notes, read a paper or ask your supervisor to bring it up in a mock viva.

If there’s something that troubles you then there’s something you could do.

Consider your options and make a choice. Don’t stop at feeling nervous or stressed.

1 2 3 4 … 13