Blog
Welcome to the blog. This is where you can find the latest posts from the ConveRSE Community. We have invited a range of people with different background and experiences to contribute to this blog, so you can find a wide range of stories, tips and advice on self-care and mental health.
- If you would like to submit a blog post, please follow the instructions on our Contribute page.
- If you want to be notified of new posts and other news from the ConveRSE Community, please join our mailing list.
Latest Posts
View the latest posts below. Click on an author, category or tag to filter the results.
Top Issues and Solutions from the Research Software Community
19 Nov 2025
19 Nov 2025
As part of the ConveRSE project, I’ve been using Mentimeter to collect data from attendees of my “Let’s Talk About Mental Health” talk.
Read more
A Few Clarifications
28 Oct 2025
28 Oct 2025
I’ve now given my “Let’s Talk About Mental Health” talk at various events. I will soon be sharing the recording of the talk from RSECon25. I’m mostly happy with the content of the talk, and hopefully none of it is particularly controversial, but there are a few points that I wanted...
Read more
Let's talk about Setting Boundaries
28 Sep 2025
28 Sep 2025
One thing I’ve learned doing this job is that one of the best things you can do to protect your mental health is to set boundaries. This is something that became particularly important during the pandemic, but continues to be a challenge now that a so many of us work from...
Read more
Let's talk about Getting Help
11 Aug 2025
11 Aug 2025
One of the questions I’ve been asked while giving my mental health talk is “where can I get support?” So, we’ve compiled a list of options. Some of these resources are linked on our resources page, but I wanted to list some of them here and discuss my experiences...
Read more
Let's talk about Supporting your Team
22 Jun 2025
22 Jun 2025
Another question I’ve been asked a few times while giving my mental health talk is “what can I do to support my team?” I was pleasantly surprised by this, and its encouraging that so many managers are thinking about it.
Read more
Let's talk about Impostor Syndrome
09 May 2025
09 May 2025
Have you ever been working on a project and felt like you didn’t deserve to be there? Chances are, you have experienced Impostor Syndrome; a feeling of self-doubt and inadequacy that is common in the research software community. For a lot of us, it’s just part of the job. But is...
Read more
Task Management for Humans as Self-Care
25 Apr 2025
25 Apr 2025
I’d been looking for ways to support mental health in the research software community, but I was struggling to come up with practical solutions. Then, a surprising idea emerged from a conversation at the SSI’s Collaborations Workshop in 2024.
Read more
Working from Home
23 Mar 2025
23 Mar 2025
Working remotely has become part of our lives for many of us since the events of 2020. And, while it has its benefits, working from home presents a unique set of challenges for our mental and physical health, so I’ve compiled a list of tips to look after yourself while working...
Read more
How Writing Saved My Life
20 Mar 2025
20 Mar 2025
Yes, I know, it’s a melodramatic and clickbaity title. But it is definitely true that writing about my experiences enabled me to process what I’d been through and allowed me to finally recover after years of struggling with depression, anxiety and insomnia.
Read more
My Backstory
14 Mar 2025
14 Mar 2025
I became a father in April 2020, a couple of weeks into the UK’s first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic. I found myself not only dealing with challenges of being a new parent for the first time, but had to do so while holding down a job during the chaos and...
Read more
