Looking Back: Thesis Writing Retreat

Maybe you are at the beginning of your master's thesis, thinking that you will be super structured, motivated, and dedicated to working and writing. Let me tell you, as a recent alum, that even if you are on track or even ahead of schedule, there will be a time when you will lose motivation and will crave some structure!

One way to kick that struggle in your butt is to pack your friends and study colleagues and go through hell together - organize a Thesis Writing Retreat

So let's dive into how to do that:

What is a Thesis Writing Retreat?

It is a short trip to a preferably calm place to focus on your thesis writing. Probably you won't do much differently than at home, BUT you will have company! The company that will motivate you, that will cook for you on some days, that will remind you to take a break.

How will a retreat help me?

Only you know exactly what you want to get out of a writing retreat, but one thing’s for sure: it motivates you and helps push your writing forward!

Get stuff DONE – Being somewhere calm and away from your usual distractions makes it so much easier to focus. You’ll actually see your page count rise instead of staring at a blank screen.

Buddy boost – Having friends around who are in the same thesis boat keeps you motivated. You can brainstorm, get feedback, or just share a laugh when things get tough.

Stay sane and energized – Shared meals, coffee breaks, walks, or even a dip in the ocean help you recharge. You’ll come back home not only with more words written but also with renewed energy and motivation.

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Who, Where, When, and What?

Obviously, it will depend on when and where you want to go, as well as how many people will join. Here are the details of what we did:

Who?

We invited everyone who was writing their master's thesis and whom we knew. We ended up having 10 students. Funnily, we were all from different countries, which made this such a beautiful mix :)

Where?

We booked the loveliest Airbnb in Stenungsund. It's 1.5 hours by bus or train from Gothenburg, or 45 minutes by car.

When I say this was the perfect place, I really mean it! It had everything we needed: a variety of different workspaces, a large kitchen, a garden, a hot tub, kayaks, a private beach, and even a trampoline.

Click here to check it out.

When we picked the place, we made sure that it obviously had space for everyone, a great internet connection, and multiple spaces, nooks, and areas where people or groups in various sizes could work.

Just a small tip: It was brought to our attention that the word "retreat" could be misunderstood, so perhaps avoid mentioning it when booking. We got declined by a couple of other places...

When?

We had planned to go from the 2nd to the 6th of May, but most of us extended our stay for another night because it was so great.

This was around three weeks before the submission deadline, which meant we had enough pressure to work. But it was a time when most of us were desperate to see their page count rise...

In retrospect, I think this was the perfect time to go, because it's a period when you get stressed out, but you are still able to finish your thesis, even if you haven't made much progress.

What did we do?

We all met up a few days before the retreat to discuss how we wanted this tiny trip to look. We decided on:

• Getting up & breakfast at your own pace

• Shared Lunch around 12

• Shared dinner around 19

• One evening, a "tiny" birthday party with BBQ

We also decided who would cook when to ensure that everyone would know when it was their turn. This worked great, and I would recommend doing that to everyone, as it allows you to structure your own time much better.

Based on this, I made some daily structures with the help of our best coworker (ChatGPT):

The most essential parts apart from writing:

Setting goals

With the help of ChatGPT, I designed and printed some goal sheets. On the first night, everyone wrote down their goals to heighten accountability and reflect on the retreat's aim. I think Grace was the only one to achieve her goal, but it was still a great exercise to set an intention for the thesis writing retreat.

Working together

When writing alone, you often get stuck and don't know what to do, at least that's what it's like for me. But since we were all close, we bounced ideas, let each other read certain parts, discussed a thought, or asked each other for advice.

Breaks

Between study sessions, we went for ocean dips, took walks, drank coffee in the sun, or just talked with others. We were fortunate, because one of our friends loved to give out back massages during her breaks - ehm, yes please!

Personally, I often forget to take breaks and only realize that I am really exhausted. Having other people suggest a quick walk or a coffee break was, therefore such a nice thing.

Shared Meals

One of the best things was that, for once, you weren't responsible for cooking and cleaning. Since we organized who would do what, everyone had days when they didn't need to cook or clean. Especially for those of us who live alone, this was a great relief, as it saves a significant amount of time and energy.

Since we all ate lunch and dinner together, we also had some company, talking about our struggles or just about some random other stuff.

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So overall, as you can see in our happy faces, this writing retreat was wonderful! Everyone worked A LOT! No idea how many pages we wrote in total, but it was a ton.

We would all recommend organizing a Master's Thesis Writing Retreat!