Write down all of the due dates. There will most likely be separate due dates for the thesis director, the primary committee, the final committee, and the university. It is important to be aware of all the rigid deadlines set by the school.
Create your own set of due dates. You can include the date you wish to finish research, to have the first twenty pages, to complete the first draft, and so forth.
Find the university's guidelines for the required parts of the thesis. This may mean submitting the title page to the school before the thesis is due. Or it may mean following certain formatting criteria. Princeton University's history department, for example, is very specific about formatting, down to the color ink and paper allowed.
Create separate sections in the checklist for different aspects of the thesis. There should be a due date section. There should also be a section for meeting the basic requirements set for by your particular university.Theses are comprised of sections, so you will need a checklist of parts: title page, table of contents, section pages, works cited, and works referenced.