You Are Here

Tag: viva prep

Nathan

Make Your Jar Of Awesome

Daily Post

A Bank Holiday PhD Craft Project.

You need a jar, some small pieces of paper and decorations: fun stickers, labels and so on.

Stick a label on the outside that proudly says, “I, Future Doctor insert last name here, am Awesome!”

On the pieces of paper write things that have been awesome during your PhD so far, one thing per slip. When have you succeeded? What have you done that has been cool? When did you get the right answer? When did you master a skill or process? When did you make a breakthrough? When did you do something well? When did you feel proud?

Put all the slips in the jar, and put the jar somewhere prominent in your workspace.

From now on, when you do something awesome, write it on a piece of paper, add it to the jar and shake it up.

If you find yourself having a tough day, feeling unsure, losing confidence – particularly close to submission or the viva – take a slip out to remind yourself how great you are.

Because you are great. You have to be, to be doing this.

You don’t get to submission and the viva without filling your jar full of awesome.

(big thanks to an idea I read in Tim Ferriss’ Tribe Of Mentors for this post!)

Nathan

Who Helped?

Daily Post

And how did they help?

You did the work for your PhD, but no-one does it completely alone. You have a supervisor or two, helpers, supporters, confidantes, sounding boards, friends, family and folk who want you to succeed. All of them would probably say good luck before the viva, but most of them have done more before then.

Most could do more still to help you prepare.

Who has helped you? How did they help? And what more could you ask for?

Everyone gets help from somewhere. That’s good.

Think about how you’ll be able to help others after you’re done too.

Nathan

Prep Schedule Prep

Daily Post

If you’re busy and you need to get ready for your viva, don’t panic.

If you have a job, and/or family commitments, and/or are looking around for a job, and/or have 101 things to do, make a plan. Make a plan as soon as you can.

Take thirty minutes to look ahead:

  • How much time is there between today and the viva?
  • What are all the things you have to do besides the viva?
  • Sketch a calendar on paper and write them in (now you know what you have to plan around).
  • What are all the things you could do to get ready?
  • List them and how long they might take (now you have an idea of the time you need to find).
  • Schedule times to do them. Do it now. Don’t leave it until later.

The viva is not the most important thing ever, and preparing for it is not the most important thing ever…

…but both have to happen and both take a little time. Figure out when you’ll do it as soon as you can.

Even if you’re busy.

Nathan

Viva Dreams, Viva Goals

Daily Post

What are your viva dreams? What would you really love it to be like?

Two hours or less? Great, smiling faces as you walk into the room? Examiners gushing praise at you? No questions?! No corrections?!

Some of that sounds nice.

But what can you really do about it?

What are your viva goals? What are you practically going to work towards?

Being prepared for the day? Presenting a confident, capable researcher to your examiners? Being prepared to listen and engage with questions? Showing your examiners what you can do well?

All possible.

A dream can inspire and motivate, but could be difficult (or impossible) to work towards.

Set goals instead: figure out what you can do, then make it a reality.

Nathan

4 Ways To Reflect On Your PhD Journey

Daily Post

What have you done? Where has it lead you? How will it help with what comes next? Here are four ideas to help with reflecting on your journey:

  1. Check your records: explore your written plans and meeting logs to see what your progress has looked like over the last few years. See what stands out to you.
  2. Reflect on a single question: what can you do now that you couldn’t when you started your PhD?
  3. Break down your contribution: make a bullet point list of what you have achieved. Make sure to include reasons for why something is a contribution. What makes it valuable? How did you make it happen?
  4. Draw a timeline: create a visual display of your PhD story. Highlight the milestones. What are your big moments of discovery? When can you see huge signs of improvement? What were the key events?

Take time to take stock. How did you get to where you are now?

Nathan

Ask Your Community

Daily Post

It’s your responsibility to do your research; your responsibility to prepare for the viva; your responsibility to engage with your examiners and pass the viva.

But look around: there are lots and lots of people who can support you. They can’t do the work, they can’t do your prep, they can’t answer the questions on the day. They can do a lot to help you through it.

Ask your community for help. Ask colleagues for advice and their time. Ask family for help to give you the space you need. Ask your supervisor for feedback and insight. Ask your institution for help with understanding the regulations and expectations for your viva.

You have to do a lot to get through a PhD, but you don’t have to do it all alone.

Nathan

Why Not?

Daily Post

Make a quick list, five things you wanted to do during your PhD, but didn’t. Perhaps you had wanted to explore a certain topic, but didn’t, or maybe you wanted to attend a conference but couldn’t.

Why not?

Examine your list and ask yourself why you didn’t get to them. What stopped you?

  • Did you try but ultimately not succeed?
  • Were you busy and so had to pass on the opportunity?
  • Did you realise, upon exploring something, that there was more involved than you could realistically manage?
  • Were you given advice that perhaps it was not a good use of your time and efforts?

If your answer is yes for any of these then there’s no real issue, is there? Your examiners might be interested in knowing why you didn’t do something. It’s useful to unpick and have clear reasons.

Remember your examiners are more likely to be interested in what you did rather than what you didn’t do. You could spend a little time asking yourself “Why not?” but it’s more useful to spend time exploring what you did.

Nathan

Fun Viva Prep

Daily Post

Just because the viva is serious, it doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy your preparations.

  • Buy some nice stationery to write notes on.
  • Use bright colours to highlight your thesis.
  • Have coffee with friends while you discuss your work.
  • Find interesting questions to answer about your thesis.
  • Consider unusual ways to summarise your research.
  • Host a prep party – a seminar with added cake!

Make your preparations fun and you probably make them easier to spend time on.

Nathan

The Flatpack Viva

Daily Post

Thank you for taking the time to assemble your viva!

Be familiar with the instructions before you begin assembly: regulations, general expectations, thoughts on useful preparations, advice from friends, advice from the internet.

The viva requires a minimum of three to put together.

You will need your own tools.

Ensure all necessary components – research, thesis, candidate, examiners – are in good condition before you start.

As the volume of instructions about your viva can be great, perhaps consider summarising them on a single sheet of paper with a pen.

(paper and pen are not provided)

Note: the length of your finished viva will be different from pre-existing vivas due to natural variability of materials!

Your viva is simple to put together. Just follow the instructions.

Nathan

“Do It My Way”

Daily Post

Be cautious when someone tells you there’s only one way to get ready for the viva.

I think there are some really good principles in effective preparation. Read your thesis, annotate it, find opportunities to practise, and so on – but there are many ways you could do all of those things.

Some people will want a mock viva (and some candidates will feel they need one), while others will prefer simply talking with friends. I think it’s better for candidates to take their time to read their thesis, but because of preferences or other priorities that won’t be an option for some people.

Ask others about their experiences, ask for advice, but think twice when someone says, “Do it my way.” It will probably be well-intentioned, but it might not work for you. Think about how it fits your thesis, your preferences and the options you have at that time.

And be generous with your advice when sharing it, but understanding to know that what worked for you might not be appropriate for your friend.

1 … 102 103 104 105 106 … 138