Man Lou | July 21, 2026

“Writing something as big as a thesis is like running a marathon” – Robert L. Peters

For every Master’s or PhD student, finishing a thesis or dissertation on time is one of the biggest hurdles one must overcome before graduation. Based on my experience, the process of writing a thesis is more of a marathon than a sprint, and finishing on time requires accounting for both practical and psychological roadblocks.  

Practical Considerations

From a practical standpoint, it is very helpful to keep a planner or calendar that allows you to organize tasks on a daily basis. I encourage you to write down clear weekly goals and break them into smaller steps. For example, you might spend the first ten days collecting data and the following few days organizing and analyzing it. Alternatively, you might plan on writing a set number of pages or paragraphs each day until your dissertation is completed.

Instead of planning several months ahead, I have found it more effective to make plans for reviewing literature, collecting data, analyzing discourses, and writing my thesis on a week-by-week basis.

Planning research schedules one week at a time makes it much easier to adapt when research situations change unexpectedly, and you get behind on your initial goals. Other times, new ideas appear suddenly, and you may finish work faster than expected, leaving you with downtime that can harm your overall momentum. To account for these scenarios, adjusting your schedule weekly—while still keeping the end in sight—makes the process much more realistic and manageable.

It is also important to regularly communicate with your advisor throughout the whole process. The purpose of these conversations is not only to solve problems, but also to make sure you are moving in the right direction. Some advisors prefer regular weekly or bi-weekly check-in meetings, while others prefer to make themselves available to schedule appointments with their advisees as needed.

Either way, finding a communication style that works for both you and your advisor can make the process much smoother. After all, as Robert L. Peters notes, “one of the best ways to get started [on your thesis or dissertation] is to talk about your ideas to anyone who will listen so that your ideas crystallize” (1997, p. 221). Having these conversations with your advisor can lead to thought-provoking questions and helpful feedback that will make it easier for you to sit down and start writing something meaningful.

Psychological Considerations

Equally important is the psychological side of writing a thesis. Many students see the dissertation as an overwhelming obstacle, which often creates unnecessary stress before the work even begins. If left unchecked, this stress can also lead to a cycle of fear and procrastination that can be hard to escape as the writing continues.

Instead of an obstacle, a thesis should be viewed as an opportunity to explore a research topic that genuinely interests you. When you approach it this way, reading literature, analyzing data, and writing become much more engaging.

I also believe that maintaining curiosity is essential throughout the process. Since graduate students spend so much time working on the same project, it is easy to become bored or overly familiar with the research topic. Curiosity helps you continue asking questions about the meaning behind your data, the relationships between different findings, and the possible explanations that may not be obvious at first.

This sense of exploration keeps the research interesting and provides motivation during the most difficult stages of the writing process, making it easier to escape the dreaded procrastination cycle. Indeed, embracing genuine curiosity as a researcher can provide you with the motivation to write a little bit every day: a practice that will help you make clear and consistent progress and make the task of finishing on time much more manageable.  

In short, completing a dissertation is not only an academic task, but also a valuable experience in learning time management, self-discipline, communication, and independent thinking. The process results not only in an original contribution to knowledge but also in a competent scholar who is ready for whatever’s next.

Concluding Thoughts

As I wrap up, I want to remind you that there will be times when you encounter obstacles or realize that your work is taking longer than your original graduation timeline for various reasons. This is completely normal and can even be reframed as an opportunity to gain additional theoretical, methodological, or practical insights.

It is worth recalling the words of Robert L. Peters: “writing something as big as a thesis is like running a marathon—a modest, steady pace is much better than sprinting” (1997, p. 225). As you continue the journey, give yourself patience and understanding. And someday, when you look back on your academic experience, you will be able to smile at everything you went through and appreciate how much you learned and grew along the way.

References

Peters, R. L. (1997). Getting what you came for: The smart student’s guide to earning a Master’s or Ph.D., revised ed. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

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