The science writings of Michelle Reeve (@MichelleAReeve)
Finishing up a PhD is hard. I mean, all of it is hard, but the final few months are the hardest. You have an intense focus, a one-track mind – not just during work hours, but 24/7. And inevitably, it always seems like there’s so much else you COULD be Read more…
The UK have had a couple of ‘mini heatwaves’ over the last few weeks. What this means in reality is that big yellow ball in the sky shows itself, we (typical Brits) go bananas and try to get outside at every available opportunity, and remember too late that the hot Read more…
Once you get towards the end of your PhD, you’re probably a little sick and tired of explaining it to people. Especially in social situations, where you already feel terribly guilty for not writing, and just want to drink tea/coffee/beer and not think about your thesis for one little second. Read more…
ABSTRACT Spiders are an extremely diverse species and, as such, require a broad range of outfits to suit their habitat and plans for the day. As well as providing emotional wellbeing, the correct clothing can even help spiders perform at their best. Previous research has described how wearing a fisherman’s Read more…
I’m (please please) very close to finishing my PhD. I’m also a runner, borne partly out of a need to let off steam and give my brain a rest when thesis work got too much, which it frequently does. I enjoy that running gives me different experiences to academic work: predominantly Read more…
Happy New Year, Clutter readers! So somehow, another 365 days have passed since 2017. Well technically the start of 2017 – just one day has actually passed since 2017 – but there’s something about New Year that gets us all in a tizz. A time for reflection A new year Read more…
In February this year, Clutter lept onto the web with all eight legs. Since then, we’ve featured blog posts from 10 lovely guests, on wide-ranging topics all the from troublesome fellowship applications to science tabletop gaming.
Below is a round-up of this year’s fantastic guest posts. But we would love to have more for next year! Would you like to write for us in 2018? Please get in touch – we’d love to hear from you!
December is now well and truly upon us, which means that we are bombarded with twinkly trees, chocolate overdoses and songs with too many jingly bells. For those of us working on a thesis over the festive period, it can be hard not to get distracted by all the shiny Read more…
Whilst doing a PhD occupies an almost definite and unrelenting full-time amount of headspace, it doesn’t necessarily have to take up the physical hours of a full-time job. Many people do their PhDs part-time and work alongside, or some people get jobs during the writing up and corrections stage when Read more…
Working from home can be a lonely experience and working from home on a PhD thesis is an even lonelier one. Tea for one, lunch for one, hiding in a blanket fort for one. When I started working from home regularly I had hope that the quiet work space would Read more…