October 19, 2023
A day in my life as a thesis-writing master student
Hi everyone! Today I wanted to talk a bit about my journey of writing a thesis at another university. With incoming deadlines, fieldwork, research to do, and countless pages to write, writing a thesis can be really overwhelming. I’ll show you what an ordinary day looks like for me and what you can expect from writing your thesis at another university. I’m currently living in Denmark and doing my thesis at Aarhus University, campus Risø in Roskilde (near Copenhagen). The topic is “Effects of anthropogenic noise on pilot whales (Globicephala melas) with focus on in-situ vocal compensation mechanisms”.
08:00 The morning commute
I start my working day by walking to the train station for about 15 minutes, and then I take the bus for another 15 minutes to the campus. The quiet and relatively short walk allows me to get some fresh air and prepare myself for the coming day. During my walk and the bus ride I like to listen to a podcast, for my Dutch readers; I really like Borrelpraat or Vrouwmibo 😊.
08:30 Settling into the day
When I arrive at the campus, I walk to the Marine Mammal section building, which is a 5-minute walk from the bus stop. I head into my office and start up my day with a nice cup of tea. While I’m enjoying the peace and quietness in the office (no one in the office is a morning person), I’m taking a few minutes to check my emails and calendar to see if there is anything urgent happening today. Look at me trying to be all organized 😉.
09:00 Diving into my research
I’m starting my day with either writing a to-do list (every Monday for the whole week) or by looking at my list and evaluating what I can do today. My to-do list consists of tasks that I want to complete in one week, and this is really helping me to get progress throughout the writing process. For example, things I write on my to-do list are: reading papers (and specifying which papers), finishing the subparagraph “study animals and site” for the manuscript, planning a meeting with my supervisor, etc.
12:00 Lunch time
At exactly 12:00 you can hear everyone in the corridor, which means it is lunch time!! Everyone is excited to stretch their legs, have some social interaction and when the weather is good to enjoy some sunlight! One thing I love about writing my thesis in an office is that otherwise it can be quite isolating, you’re just sitting at home and writing. Being surrounded by people who do the same kind of research really works inspiring and motivating.
17:00 Wrapping up and time to go home
My productivity is always lower after lunch than before, so I try to get most of the difficult tasks done before lunch. Then I can do some writing or something more easy for my mind after lunch. I don’t have a set time to go home, but it is usually around 17:00. I’m cleaning up my desk so I can have a fresh start again tomorrow, say bye to my colleagues and walk to the bus stop again.
After a long working day I try to relax when I get home. Sometimes I struggle at work and I desperately want to fix things that day, but that’s not always possible and it is actually good to give your mind a break and try again the next day. Most important is that you have a good time while writing your thesis and that you are learning a lot of useful tools for working life later!! // Milou
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