Thesis Progress Reality Check

Track your thesis progress against your program timeline with honest, manually-entered weekly data and three pace projections.

Thesis Progress Reality Check converts PhD progress from vague self-assessment into structured, honest data. You enter your thesis structure once, then run a short weekly review. Every week, the dashboard recalculates three honest pace projections — current pace, productive-PhD pace, and realistic-with-effort — so you can see whether your trajectory matches your funding deadline while there is still time to do something about it. ★ HOW IT WORKS 1. Enter your program details and thesis structure once (about 5 minutes). 2. Each week, spend about 12 minutes on a structured review: • Update word counts and section statuses • Note an honest pace check • See the three projections recalculated • Record any obstacles (no judgement) • Set one commitment for next week 3. After 4 weeks of data, optional pattern detection surfaces calibrated observations from your own numbers — average pace, commitment-vs-actual ratio, and a realistic projection at that rate. 4. Export a clean one-page progress report for your supervisor, committee, or funding agency, any time. ★ WHAT THIS TOOL DOES NOT DO • It does not motivate you. There are no streaks, badges, or encouragement. • It does not compare you to other users. Every PhD timeline is governed by its own conditions. • It does not predict success or failure. Projections are projections — "if conditions hold," never "you will." • It does not read your thesis or auto-detect word counts. You enter them by hand — that is part of the point. • It is not a mental health tool. A single line on the dashboard points you to your university counselling service. ★ PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Your thesis content, weekly reviews, word counts, statuses, obstacles, commitments, and notes are stored only on your own device (IndexedDB). They are never transmitted to us. • No account is required. • An optional "Get product updates" sign-up in Settings (and on the welcome page) sends only the email address you typed plus a tag identifying this extension — never any thesis content. Off by default; unsubscribe any time via the link in any email. • No AI runtime; all calculations are deterministic, on-device. ★ PRICING Free. Every feature for everyone — no subscription, no tiers, no account. ★ ABOUT PROJECTIONS, NOT PREDICTIONS The three projections are calculated from the numbers you enter. They are not forecasts about you — they are scenarios that hold only if the inputs hold. The point of seeing the gap now is that month 32 is recoverable in ways that month 48 often is not. ★ MADE BY A RESEARCHER Built by Dr. Rafiq Muhammad — author of the Mastering Research book series — for the rhythm of a PhD or research program. Part of the GradSummit toolset for graduate researchers. Support: support@gradsummit.com Privacy: https://www.gradsummit.com/privacy/ Home: https://www.gradsummit.com/tools/thesis-progress-reality-check/