The Thesis Writing Journey

Yesterday, I submitted my thesis.

I thought it would feel different. I imagined there’d be a rush of euphoria, a profound sense of achievement, maybe even a celebratory dinner. But instead, I hit ‘submit,’ stared at my screen for a moment, and… nothing. It felt like sending a routine email.

So, was that it? Four years of work boiled down to a single button click?

I should probably rewind a little.

The Hardest Part: Starting

If you’d asked me a month ago what the hardest part of writing my thesis was, I wouldn’t have said the literature review, formatting references, or proofreading.

The hardest part was deciding when to start.

I know my own working style—I become more productive the closer I get to a deadline. So, naturally, I pushed thesis writing to the very last month.

Cue the panic.

I had all these doubts swirling in my head: Can I actually do this? Do I have enough time? Does everyone else finish in this amount of time? The pressure felt enormous.

But here’s the thing—once I actually started writing instead of spiraling, the stress magically disappeared. In the end, I wrote my thesis in four weeks: two weeks for the introduction, two weeks for everything else. I already had a draft manuscript, so it was mostly about stitching things together. The only section I had to write from scratch was the literature review, since my old one was now completely irrelevant.

Looking back, my time estimation wasn’t too bad—I made it to the finish line on time.

Thesis Writing on Repeat: A Day in the Life

Instead of going back to the office, I wrote my thesis mainly in the library—bouncing between the law library and different parts of the main library before settling in the postgraduate study space.

I was lucky—my husband was finishing his thesis at the same time. We became each other’s accountability partners, showing up every morning and powering through the grind together.

Our daily routine?

• Arrive at the library around 8:30 AM
• Write, write, write
• Quick lunch on campus
• Write, write, write
• Coffee + a short campus stroll
• Write, write, write
• Go home, cook dinner
• Maybe write a little more in the evening

It wasn’t glamorous, but it worked.

Aside from the location, I had a few rituals that kept me focused—lofi beats on Spotify, a steady supply of coffee, and essential oils (because, apparently, I now believe in aromatherapy-induced productivity).

The Tools That Saved My Sanity

I wrote my thesis in LaTeX, using Overleaf. The ready-to-use UNSW thesis template wasn’t perfect—it was outdated, so I had to manually update the UNSW logo—but it was good enough. No fiddling with formatting, no weird Microsoft Word meltdowns. Just clean, structured writing.

And then, of course, AI writing tools (ChatGPT, I’m looking at you) played a big role. Seeing my rough, clunky text transformed into thesis-ready paragraphs? Satisfying. It was honestly encouraging—it helped me break through writer’s block and keep moving forward.

The Question I Dreaded Most

Not sure if this is just me, but one of the most essential parts of writing my thesis was avoiding people.

(Apology to my friends and colleagues—I disappeared for a while.)

More specifically, avoiding this question:

“How’s your thesis going?”

Every time someone asked, I’d flash an awkward smile, mumble “It’s fine,” and pray they didn’t probe further. Because honestly? I didn’t know how it was going, especially at the start. It felt like a mess, but admitting that felt like failure.

So, I just dodged the conversation whenever possible. If I could have found a cave to write my thesis in, I probably would have.

The Moment I Hit Submit

For months, I had imagined this moment.

The moment of freedom.

I expected exhilaration, relief, maybe even a sense of accomplishment.

Instead?

I clicked ‘submit’ and sat there, feeling… nothing.

No dramatic emotional release. No fireworks. Just me, staring at my screen, wondering what to do next.

Maybe it will sink in later—maybe when my thesis passes the examination. We’ll see.

Why Thesis Writing Was Weirdly… Peaceful?

Here’s my take: thesis writing wasn’t actually that bad.

Compared to writing a manuscript for publication, this was a walk in the park.

With a manuscript, every sentence has to be perfect. The logic has to be tight, the phrasing concise, the structure flawless. And you know your supervisor (and peer reviewers) will scrutinize every single word. The pressure is intense.

With a thesis? The bar is lower. You just need enough words and figures to show you’ve done the work. No one is expecting groundbreaking prose. Your supervisor likely won’t even give detailed feedback.

So, weirdly enough, thesis writing felt… peaceful. No emotional rollercoaster, just steady progress.

Final Advice? Trust the process

If I could go back in time and give myself one piece of advice before writing my thesis, it would be this:

It’s not as big of a deal as you think.

Everyone finishes. You will finish.

Trust the process. The hardest part is deciding when to start and pushing through self-doubt, but once you do, it’s smoother and easier than you expect.

And when you finally hit ‘submit’? Don’t expect fireworks. Expect to go make a cup of tea and wonder what just happened.