Just a warning this episode is a touch on the heavy side. It’s about death, a subject we don’t often give much space too, particularly in Western Cultures.  This week I have guest Jackey Coyle, author of In The End, A Practical Guide to Dying on the show to talk about all things… well… death.  Jackey is a writer and researcher who wrote her beautiful book in collaboration with Fernlea, a palliative care facility.  In this episode, we talk about death, preparing for death and how to help...

One thing I don’t talk about much in my work is sex. Not for any particular reason, it’s just not something that’s high on my list of priorities to research and form opinions on. However, I have lots of listeners who have asked about sex therapy so I’ve got Isiah McKimmie on the show to well, talk about sex!  She is ridiculously qualified, with a masters degree in Relational Psychotherapy, a masters degree in Science in Medicine(Sexual Counselling/Psychosexual and a Post-Graduate Diploma of...

I’m a sucker for time-saving tips. If there’s someone on Instagram who’s like ‘Oh here’s a hack that will save you time!’ I’m like ‘Go on. I’m listening.’ I am absolutely delighted to have Amantha Imber of Inventium and How I Work podcast. If you’ve never listened to How I Work get it in your ears she has some mega high profile guests including Micheal Mosley, Abbi Jacobson from Broad City and other very amazing people.  Amantha has a new book out called Time Wise and she’s on the show to...

We chose this book because it has a weird controversial reputation.  It's kind of a guide for manipulating people but the author Robert Greene seems really legit and actually very smart so we are deeply confused.  Join us as we dissect this thoroughly strange, contradictory, quite alarming...

The inspiration for this episode came from a newsletter I sent a few weeks ago about quiet resilience.  I had so much feedback for an expansion of my thoughts so I put it all in a podcast for you!  I see you, I know this is hard. You're brilliant. x Links https://carlyjacobs.activehosted.com/f/69 https://www.patreon.com/veryexcellenthabits https://www.instagram.com/veryexcellenthabits https://www.facebook.com/groups/veryexcellenthabits See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Olly is back (with better audio!) and we're giving our top 4 fiction book recommendations this season.  In this episode we talk about The Maid, Cutter's End, The Wife and The Widow and The Drover's Wife.  Let us know what awesome books you've read recently!  Links https://carlyjacobs.activehosted.com/f/69 https://www.patreon.com/veryexcellenthabits https://www.instagram.com/veryexcellenthabits https://www.facebook.com/groups/veryexcellenthabits See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Today's episode is a solo pep talk on how to cope when you're freaking out. Here's the 5 step plan I outline in the podcast. 1. Drop your bundle 2. Write yucky pages 3. Seek out the positive 4. Remember that perception isn't reality 5. Kill your nostalgia The rest is in the podcast - get it in your...

Today's episode is with Nicole Baker who is a life coach for perfectionists. In this episode, Nicole talks us through perfectionism, what it means, what it's not, the different types of perfectionism and how you can work WITH your type to achieve your goals. Nicole is an absolute delight, her energy is sparkle plus and I just loved having this chat with...

This week I have my psychologist mate Fliss back on the show to talk about uncertainty, fear, boundaries around your own safety and dealing with loss of control.  In this episode, we talk about...  What's happening in our brains since we've been in a constant state of uncertainty for over 2 years The circle of influence vs the circle of concern  4 x 4 breathing  An unusual side effect of meditation  The Negative Bias Effect  Tips for cutting back on catastrophising  It's a great listen for...

This episode has been a long, long time coming. It’s all about hormones - not just for fertility but for everything. PCOS, endometriosis, and general thyroid issues.  Women’s hormones are ridiculously overlooked and can be the answer to many different issues you might experience. So this week, I have Ebony Crameri from Project Nutrition. She’s a fertility and PCOS dietician who helps women balance their hormones not just for fertility but for general hormone health.  Can I just say Ebony is...

So recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about the mental load. The whole thing. It unfairly targets women, and how no matter how hard we try to have equal partnerships, it never seems to work out that way. It’s that ever-illusive work/life balance struggle.  So this week, I have Michelle Broadbent, a business strategist who is an expert in work-life balance on the show. This episode talks about delegation, outsourcing, and working with what you have. Whether you're a single parent or...

Recommendation episodes with Chrissy get so much love I decided to make them a regular series.  Here's a random selection of our favourite things.  Dopesick (TV show) Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (movie)  Dr Bronner's peppermint lip balm  Devil in the White City (book)  Audrey O Style (clothing shop)  Tu Vietnamese Street (restaurant)  Got something to recommend? Leave a review!  Here are some useful links.  Email - https://carlyjacobs.activehosted.com/f/69 Patreon -...

Operating on the assumption that we have the ability to function at 100% at all times is so unbelievably dangerous. That kind of all or nothing, smash-yourself-for-success trope is very prevalent but there are more holistic and gentle approaches to self-improvement and I’m here for it. It’s also unbelievably relevant for the times we’re living in, which are confusing, exhausting and sometimes kind of scary.  This week I have Dr Kate Litterer on the show. She’s an expert in sustainable and...

This is the last episode of this season and I’ll be back on April 7th with season 2 for 2022.    So this is just a fun little episode all about all about pressure cookers/Instant Pots. In Australia at least they seem to be the weird cousin of the slow cooker but trust me, once you go pressure you won’t go back.    Here’s my favourite ever pressure cooker recipe - https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a34417937/instant-pot-soup-creamy-chicken-wild-rice/   And try The...

This episode is just a little rescue remedy for the week. The world is a hard place to navigate but there’s also so much good.  Rest when you can, keep caring when you can, fight when you can and rejoice when you can.  Take care of yourself this week.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I've had some feedback that some listeners would love more fiction book recommendations and as Olly and I each read at least a book a week, we're going to do a fiction book episode each season.  We'll each recommend 2 books (4 in total) of fabulous fiction books you have to read.  Leave a review letting us know if you want more of these episodes! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Self Improvement Book Club is back and this time we’re looking at the beautiful book Care by Brooke McAlary.  Featuring my mate Olivia Jacobs (yes we have the same surname but are not related), self-improvement book club is where we pick a self-improvement book and critique it. This season’s book is Care and it’s lovely.  In this episode, we talk about… - self-care and how underrated it is  - Not sharing everything of yourself with the world  - The importance of kindness on your...

Money is one topic that comes up again and again so this week I have Emma Edwards from The Broke Generation Podcast. It’s a genius podcast aimed at Millennials (people born between 1981 and 1996) and looking at how we can make the most of our money in the weird circumstances we’re in. In this episode we talk about the unique money struggles of millennials, how we can make sure we're not working until we're 80 and how we can turn the garbage economy and dismal job market around...  Here are...

This episode inspiration comes from an old friend who listens to the show and asked for me more recommendations. So I’ve roped in Chrissy from Hair Romance and this episode we’re going to talk about our favourite things. In this episode, we talk about everything we're reading, watching, eating and wearing right now. Here are some useful links. Newsletter - https://carlyjacobs.activehosted.com/f/69 Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/veryexcellenthabits Instagram -...

This week’s episode randomly came from an episode New Amsterdam. Season 18 of Grey’s Anatomy is coming out waaaaay too slowly for my liking so I needed a new medical drama and honestly it’s not bad. There’s psychologist character who asked one of his patients ‘Is that a feeling or is fact?’ when she mid-spiral and it reminded me that I researched this whole thing ages ago and never actually did an episode on it.  This is the last episode of the year and I thought it was a great concept to...

This episode inspiration comes from an old friend who listens to the show and asked for me more recommendations. So I’ve roped in Chrissy from Hair Romance and this episode we’re going to talk about our favourite things.  In this episode we talk about everything we're reading, watching, eating and wearing right now.  Here are som useful links.  Newsletter - https://carlyjacobs.activehosted.com/f/69 Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/veryexcellenthabits Instagram -...

This week’s episode inspiration comes from my mate Chrissie from Hair Romance. She wanted me to do another episode on sleep and it’s been a while so I thought I would do a deep dive into sleep today. This episode will be less about sleep fixes (because we do actually know what we need to do - put our damn phones down!) but more about WHY we need to do these things.  Warning - this episode is a bit scary and might make you freak out about your sleep habits. Be warned.  Here are some useful...

This episode is a listener request episode from Steph who wanted to know what was on my No List.  The original idea of the No List came from @wainwrightholly @miafreedman and @jessiestephens90 of Mamamia who wrote their own lists a couple of years back. I’ve heard lots of other prominent women in the media come with their own No Lists. Yumi Steines includes not doing anything for Christmas. As in nothing. She won’t so much as buy a box of Christmas crackers. 
 So in the interest of...

Okay so I had to get an expert in here because I’m actually not that amazing at digital admin. I have high functioning anxiety which means that my brain never lets me forget a single thing. I still write things down in my calendar app but I’m never shocked when I see a reminder in there because it’s likely I’ve been worrying about it  at 3am. For everyone else who isn’t totally highly strung I have Dinah Rowe-Roberts from Life Admin Life Hacks. I was featured on her and Mia’s podcast a few...