Podcasts by Very Excellent Habits

Very Excellent Habits

The Podcast That Helps You Create Little Habits, For a Big Life. Formerly known as Straight & Curly / Poductivity.


Presented by Carly Jacobs

Further podcasts by Straight and Curly - For Self-improvement Junkies

Podcast on the topic Gesundheit und Fitness

All episodes

Very Excellent Habits
A Practical Guide To Dying from 2022-07-25T18:00

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 ...

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Very Excellent Habits
Let's Talk About Sex with Isiah McKimmie from 2022-07-19T18:00

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...

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Very Excellent Habits
Ultimate Time Saving Tips from Amantha Imber from 2022-07-12T18:00

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...

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Very Excellent Habits
Self Improvement Bookclub - The 48 Laws of Power from 2022-07-05T18:00

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 s...

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Very Excellent Habits
Why We Need To Stop Ignoring Quiet Resilience from 2022-06-28T18:00

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...

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Very Excellent Habits
4 Fiction Books You Need To Read Immediately from 2022-05-24T18:00

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 a...

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Very Excellent Habits
How To Cope When You're Freaking Out from 2022-05-17T18:00

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. Se...

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Very Excellent Habits
There are 3 Types of Perfectionists - Which One Are You? from 2022-05-10T18:00

Today's episode is with Nicole Baker who is a life coach for perfectionists.

In this episode, Nicole talks us thro...

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Very Excellent Habits
Changes, Fear and Coping with Loss of Control from 2022-05-03T18:00

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...

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Very Excellent Habits
Your Hormones with Ebony Crameri from 2022-04-26T18:00

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&rsq...

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Very Excellent Habits
Overcoming Overwhelm, Delegating and Outsourcing with Michelle Broadbent from 2022-04-19T18:00

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...

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Very Excellent Habits
23 More Very Excellent Recommendations with Chrissy from 2022-04-12T18:00

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. 

Very Excellent Habits
How To Be Productive Even When You Feel Like Garbage with Kate Litterer from 2022-04-05T18:00

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 prevalen...

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Very Excellent Habits
The Pressure Cooker from 2022-03-08T17:00

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 c...

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Very Excellent Habits
Everything is Terrible. However... from 2022-03-01T22:45

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, fig...

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Very Excellent Habits
The Best Fiction Books We've Recently Read - #1 from 2022-02-22T17:00

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.&...

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Very Excellent Habits
Self Improvement Bookclub - Care by Brooke McAlary from 2022-02-15T17:00

Self Improvement Book Club is back and this time we’re looking at the beautiful book Care by Brooke McAlary. 


F...

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Very Excellent Habits
Millennial Money and Why We're Broke with Emma Edwards from 2022-02-08T17:00

Money is one topic that comes up again and again so this week I have Emma Edwards from The Broke Generation Podcast. It...

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Very Excellent Habits
23 Very Excellent Recommendations with Chrissy from 2022-02-01T17:00

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 goi...

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Very Excellent Habits
The One Question That Will Save Your Sanity These Holidays from 2021-12-14T17:00

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 honest...

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Very Excellent Habits
21 Very Excellent Recommendations from 2021-12-06T17:00

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 goi...

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Very Excellent Habits
Sleep from 2021-11-30T17:00

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 ...

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Very Excellent Habits
S02E41 The No List from 2021-11-23T17:00


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 @je...

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Very Excellent Habits
Whipping Your Digital Admin Into Shape with Dinah Rowe-Roberts from 2021-11-16T17:00

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...

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Very Excellent Habits
Minimalism with Kids - False News? from 2021-11-09T17:00

This episode is listener Laura who asked me to expand on my minimalism, particularly when it comes to kids. I have one kid and she’s nearly three (that's just for context) but we...

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Very Excellent Habits
Growing Your Own Food with Hannah Moloney of Good Life Permaculture from 2021-11-02T17:00

Over the last few years I think a lot of us had to look at our food supply chain with very honest eyes and realise that some things need to change.

  •  7.3 million tonnes of food ...

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Very Excellent Habits
Self Improvement Book Club - The Secret from 2021-09-28T18:00

Welcome to the new and improved Self Improvement Book Club!


Featuring my mate Olivia Jacobs (yes we have the same surname but are not related that we know of) where we pick a self-imp...

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Very Excellent Habits
Cleaning Up Your Budget and Creating Investment Habits with Victoria Devine from 2021-09-21T18:00

How are your finances looking?

 
It’s SUCH a loaded question and I hope I didn’t ruin your day. I feel like there are 3 money categories you can fall into. I Don&rsquo...

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Very Excellent Habits
How To Stop Re-Watching The Same Thing Again and Again from 2021-09-14T18:00

So a lot of us are in lockdown - fun times - and I’ve had some feedback from some listeners that they keep re-watching the same thing again and again and they want to get out of that rut. ...

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Very Excellent Habits
Resilience Tips Because Who The F*ck Knows When This Will End from 2021-09-07T18:00

This is an SOS episode. 

I had Fliss (my psych mate) on the show a season or two ago and seriously everyone loved her. I had so many requests to get her back on the show.

Aust...

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Very Excellent Habits
The Four Phases of Your Menstrual Cycle And How They Affect Your Productivity from 2021-08-10T18:00

It never occurred to me how much there was to learn about my period and menstrual cycles and when I started looking into I was horrified at how little I knew.

This week’s guest is Listen

Very Excellent Habits
5 Tips For Getting Back On Track When You Keep Getting Shoved Sideways from 2021-08-03T21:48

When things are uncertain (and consistently uncertain at that!) it’s really hard sticking to your good habits. 


Illness, family illness, finances, job insecurity, the globa...

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Very Excellent Habits
Very Special Guest Episode: Catch Up With Kelly from 2021-07-27T18:00

This month has been a doozy so I'd thought I'd take a moment to breathe and reflect. This week's guest on Very ...

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Very Excellent Habits
Try These 5 Tidy Tips and Feel Super Smug About How Ace Your House Looks from 2021-07-20T18:00

Confession time - I’m a reformed messy person. I’m not even that reformed if I’m honest. I leave shit everywhere. If I come to your house I’ll leave a pile of crap in my ...

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Very Excellent Habits
How To Care For Carers from 2021-07-13T18:00

I think it’s really important to be diverse and cover the stories of lots of different people. I’ve never been a carer (yet - it may happen at some point) but I used to be a special ...

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Very Excellent Habits
Is Your Fixed Mindset Sabotaging You? from 2021-07-06T18:00

When you hear the term ‘mindset’ what do you think of? 

I immediately think of MLMs, Tony Robins and On Being a God in Central Florida. Oprah springs to mind too...

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Very Excellent Habits
You Don’t Have To Give Up Drinking, You Could Be ’Soberish’ Instead from 2021-06-29T18:00

Straight up, I have a very scary and sad truth bomb.

If you’re an Australian aged between 24 and 44 your mental health and drugs/alcohol are the biggest mortality risks to you. Both...

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Very Excellent Habits
How to Make Your Teaching Career More Wonderful and Less Hard from 2021-06-22T18:00

When I was a teacher, I always lamented the lack of tips and self-care ideas available for us. 

Most work/life balance tips act on the assumption that you have any control over your ...

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Very Excellent Habits
How to Simplify Your Life with Subscription Services from 2021-05-25T18:00

In a recent episode of Very Excellent Habits I was chatting to one of my guests and we both realised how much we love subscription services. 
I didn’t realise it but I actually hav...

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Very Excellent Habits
5 Very Excellent Habits To Help You Stop Obsessing Over Your Body from 2021-05-18T18:00

I used to think I waxed my legs because I enjoyed the silky sensation of smooth skin but the truth is I was taught to enjoy the silky sensation of smooth skin. My male partner wasn’t taugh...

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Very Excellent Habits
Goal Setting for Totally Ordinary People from 2021-05-11T23:38:32

First up, I hope no one found the title of this episode offensive. It wasn’t supposed to sound like like I am saying you’re not special. You are very special, I promise. 

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Very Excellent Habits
Should You Start a Small Business? from 2021-05-04T18:00

Honestly? Business ownership isn’t for everyone and that’s totally fine. You need be a special blend of nuts and bananas to make it work without it destroying your whole life. <...

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Very Excellent Habits
How To Get Into (or back into) the Habit of Reading from 2021-04-27T18:00

I’ve had a lot of listeners comment that they’d like more time to read and honestly, it’s a skill. You can absolutely train that muscle and get in some good reading time. So I ...

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Very Excellent Habits
Minimalism For People Who Live in The Real World from 2021-04-20T18:00

Recently on Instagram I did one of those 'make an assumption' about me style things and someone made the assumption that I’m a minimalist and I said, yeah I kind of am and that le...

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Very Excellent Habits
Resilience and Self Care Habits for 2021 - When You're So Burnt Out You Can Hardly Function from 2021-04-13T18:00

We’re all tired. So tired. 

Everyone has been affected by the pandemic, most of us directly. Half the world are entering their second year in lockdown and even though vaccines ...

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Very Excellent Habits
Very Excellent Personal Style Habits - What You Need To Know To Nail Your Own Look from 2021-04-06T18:00

Personal style is really hard. For a variety of reasons. Your body, your budget, your climate, your job. No wonder we’re all a bit confused. 


In this episode I help you unp...

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Very Excellent Habits
A Little Update from 2021-03-24T02:07

Poductivity is on a break until 7th April. 

Oh it's not called Poductivity anymore. 

Any episode topics you'd like me to cover? Record your message at speakpipe.com/verye...

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Very Excellent Habits
5 Habits To Help You Do Things You Don’t Want To Do from 2021-03-16T17:00

Should we let our likes/dislikes be the keepers of our life? 


The answer is… yes and no… but we’ll get to that later. 


I had a great friend gu...

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Very Excellent Habits
Low Waste Habits That Won’t Give You Climate Change Anxiety with Anita Vandyke from 2021-03-09T17:00

Straight up, I’m not zero waste. Not even close. I’ve always tried to not be a dick to the environment but zero waste is a bit too intense for me. 


The reason why is ...

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Very Excellent Habits
5 Habits To Get You Through The Day When You Feel Like Crap from 2021-03-02T17:00

This week’s episode inspiration comes from - this week. I had another episode all lined up but this one just felt a bit more appropriate. We’ve had a really, really bad week and I kn...

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Very Excellent Habits
How To Tame Your Toddler... Kind Of from 2021-02-23T17:00

When I first got pregnant I had a lot of people tell me not to read any books or follow any experts. They told me to follow my instincts and trust myself. That’s excellent advice for some ...

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Very Excellent Habits
Motivation is about Joy Not Discipline from 2021-02-16T17:00

Do you ever feel like traditional punishment and reward style motivational tactics do absolutely nothing for you? 


You’re not alone. A lot of people respond better to intri...

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Very Excellent Habits
How To Realistically Build an Ethical Wardrobe with Clare Press from 2021-02-09T17:00

Have you been trying to make ethical clothing choices but you sometimes have to (or want to) buy stuff at Kmart and then you feel really guilty? 


For the last few years (and real...

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Very Excellent Habits
Making Certain Plans in an Uncertain World from 2021-02-02T17:00

So everything is really weird right now isn’t it? And it gets weirder (or less weird) depending on where you live. 


I have coped (and continue to cope) very badly with this...

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Very Excellent Habits
069: How to be more decisive from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

In this episode, Kelly and Carly share their best tips for taking the agonising out of your decision-making process.

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Very Excellent Habits
068: How to stand up for what you believe from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

On this episode of Straight and Curly, Kelly and Carly share their best tips for expressing strong views about things, but without being a total dick about it.

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Very Excellent Habits
067: What’s bothering us right now from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

The girls get vulnerable and share about the things that are bothering them right now.

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Very Excellent Habits
066: Travel from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Kelly and Carly's best tips for travel including money, travel hacks, planning and more!

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Very Excellent Habits
065: Lucky Dip from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Kelly and Carly discuss a wide variety of listener questions including how to talk about money well, dealing with imposter syndrome and more!

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Very Excellent Habits
064: Decision fatigue from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

In this episode, Carly and Kelly discuss ways to reduce the amount of decision fatigue in your life to set you up for making better decisions at any time of the day, not just the morning!

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Very Excellent Habits
063: Striving vs Life from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Do we always need to be striving towards a goal? Or is it okay to be satisfied? Kelly and Carly reflect.

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Very Excellent Habits
062: We recommend from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Carly and Kelly give their recommendations on things to read, watch, eat, visit and more.

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Very Excellent Habits
061: How to manage an existential crisis from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

In this episode, Carly and Kelly answer a listener question about facing an existential crisis. What do you do when you've ticked off everything on your goals list? What next?

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Very Excellent Habits
060: Is messiness really that bad? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Kelly and Carly discuss whether messiness is really all that bad. Kelly is very tidy, so Carly goes in to bat for team 'Messy'.

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Very Excellent Habits
059: Tracking diet and exercise from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

What are the pros and cons of fitness tracking? Carly (committed tracker) and Kelly (hates tracking) discuss on this week's Straight and Curly podcast.

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Very Excellent Habits
058: Having difficult conversations from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

On this week's episode of Straight and Curly, Kelly and Carly share their best tips for having effective difficult conversations.

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Very Excellent Habits
057: The comparison game from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

In this week’s show Kelly and Carly share their own experiences with comparisonitis, and how they manage it in their own lives.

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Very Excellent Habits
056: How to focus from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

In this episode, Kelly and Carly share their secrets for maintaining focus and getting stuff done.

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Very Excellent Habits
055: Self-help – who should you listen to? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Carly and Kelly discuss self-help: Who do you turn to for help? Where is the line for those professionals between being helpful and overstepping the bounds of their expertise?

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Very Excellent Habits
The Real New Year from 2021-01-26T17:00

How do you feel about New Year's resolutions? 


Personally, I love them but I like to save them for February. I know that sounds bananas but hear me out. 


January,...

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Very Excellent Habits
2020 Was a Garbage Fire… So What Have We Learned? from 2020-12-22T17:00

Let’s be super honest here - 2020 sucked balls. Hard. There have been some lovely moments - the birth of babies, the rediscovery of spending time at home with our loved ones, Biden-Harris ...

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Very Excellent Habits
Cancelling Body Positivity and Showing Up Exactly As You Are with Model Jennifer Atilemile from 2020-12-15T17:00

Honestly, I’m not equipped to talk about body positivity or diet culture because I suck at the former and I’m still deeply embroiled in the latter. I’m okay with this. It&rsquo...

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Very Excellent Habits
BOOK CLUB BOOK #1 - Motivation, Being Valuable and The Miserable Pursuit of Happiness with Naomi Simson from 2020-12-08T17:00

This week’s guest is also this month’s Book Club author - Naomi Simson. She’s the founder of Red Balloon and one of the shark’s on Australia’s Shark Tank. She&rsquo...

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Very Excellent Habits
Misdirection, Managing Routines and the Art of Magic with Cosentino from 2020-12-01T17:00

This week’s guest is Cosentino, magician, illusionist and escapologist. It seems most kids go through a magic phase, usually after visiting a joke shop or seeing a street performer do an a...

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Very Excellent Habits
How To Deal When The Shit Hits the Fan with Lisa Cox from 2020-11-24T17:00

Picture this. You’re 24 years old. Fit, healthy and living your best life. You’ve travelled all over the world, you play representative sport and you’ve just scored a promotion...

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Very Excellent Habits
Morning Routines are Awesome and You Should Definitely Have One from 2020-11-17T17:00

I’ve been writing in the self-improvement space for over a decade and one thing that keeps coming up, again and again is morning routines. They seem to be this magical mystical thing and p...

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Very Excellent Habits
The Power of Practice and Knowing Your Shit with Kate Ceberano from 2020-11-10T17:00

It was 1992.  My bedroom was filled with lit candles. I’d strung one of my mother’s chunky pendants onto a velvet ribbon and had it tied firmly around my neck, hair badly flatte...

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Very Excellent Habits
Diligence, Discipline and Total Shark Devotion with Amy Kirke from 2020-11-03T17:00

Remember when you were a kid and you went to the aquarium on a school trip and you were like 'Right. That whale is so freaking cool - that's what I want to be. A marine biologist.' ...

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Very Excellent Habits
Creative concentration, cancel culture and checking yourself with Zoe Norton Lodge from 2020-10-27T17:00

It's 2020 and we're all basically full of rage. If anyone does the slightest thing wrong, we hit them hard with the shame stick.

If you want to keep your outrage in check and also learn h...

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Very Excellent Habits
153 - Farewell from Kelly from 2020-09-15T23:15

So this is it. Our final show together. We had a lot of suggestions for what we should cover in this show but in the end, we decided to go with this - the six things we hope our listeners have t...

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Very Excellent Habits
152 - How to know when it's time to move on from 2020-09-08T20:58

If you're in the Straight and Curly Facebook group, you'd have heard the news. Kelly is moving on from the show. What does that mean for the show? The girls don't really know yet. And anyway, th...

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Very Excellent Habits
151 - Dealing With Negative People from 2020-09-01T21:41

If you're someone who's quite sensitive to the moods of others, then negativity can take you down pretty quickly. In this week's episode, we share tips for managing your energy levels to buffer ...

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Very Excellent Habits
150 - 5 Ways To Stop Comparing Yourself to Others from 2020-08-25T21:22

Comparing yourself to others is an age-old problem and it has its roots in the fact that humans are inherently wired for competition. This wiring is one of the reasons we've managed to climb to ...

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Very Excellent Habits
149 - How To Stop Caring What Other People Think of You from 2020-08-19T04:37

We'd like to think the whole 'caring what other people think of us' is a switch that can easily be flicked to 'off'. But the reality is, it's not. In today's show, we share six tips for turning ...

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Very Excellent Habits
148 - How To Communicate Effectively with Your Partner, Friends and Family from 2020-08-11T21:55

Last week we tackled how to communicate more effectively with the people you work with. This week we're looking at communication with your partner, friends and family. In other words, personal r...

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Very Excellent Habits
147 - How to Communicate Effectively with People You Work With from 2020-08-05T02:37

Communication is something that's come up a lot in the Facebook group recently. Because communication is such a big area to cover, this week we're going to talk about communicating with the peop...

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Very Excellent Habits
146 - Living (and thriving!) in Uncertain Times from 2020-07-28T21:31

Straight and Curly is back!

In today episode we do a bit of a catch-up, as we always do at the start of a new season. And then we share our tips for navigating these uncertain times:

...

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Very Excellent Habits
145 - Q&A with Kelly and Carly from 2020-05-19T22:16

It's been a while since we've done a Q&A show so we took the opportunity to open things up to our listeners and answer burning questions including:

  • How did Kelly's trip to Nashv...

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Very Excellent Habits
144 - A Beginner's Guide to Sustainable Fashion from 2020-05-13T01:14

“More sustainable fashion can be defined as clothing, shoes and accessories that are manufactured, marketed and used in the most sustainable manner possible, taking into account both ...

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Very Excellent Habits
143 - Where do we go when we die? from 2020-05-06T00:46

In this episode, Carly and Kelly take a big step outside their comfort zone by starting a conversation unsure of where they're going to end up. A conversation that starts with the question, ...

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Very Excellent Habits
142 - How to get out of survival mode from 2020-04-28T22:10

There are times in life (and for many people, right now is one of those times) where you're existing in a very 'day-to-day', moment to moment fashion. Days where you wake up in the morning and a...

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Very Excellent Habits
141 - Can you train yourself to go against type? from 2020-04-22T01:45

Long time listeners of the show know that Kelly's personality type is the one that loves to take a personality test. But how seriously should we take the results of these tests? Do we have trait...

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Very Excellent Habits
140 - Mental health tips for social isolation from 2020-04-15T01:38

At time of recording, pretty much the whole world is in lockdown and being asked by their country's government to socially isolate and #stayathome. Which of course is creating mental health chal...

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Very Excellent Habits
139 - Tips and Tricks for Working from Home from 2020-04-07T22:17

Worldwide, any of our listeners who can work from home are now doing so in order to put the brakes on the spread of COVID-19. For many, this is the first time they've had to work from home but K...

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Very Excellent Habits
138 - How to Deal with Anxious Times from 2020-04-02T10:22

It's been nearly four months since Kelly and Carly have recorded and a fair bit has gone down in that time. 

On a personal level, Carly went to New York in December to celebrate a bi...

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Very Excellent Habits
137 - How to be grateful from 2019-12-17T21:35

So here we are, our last episode for the year.

Normally what we do in the final episode is a Year in Review episode. But that wasn't going to be appropriate for this year. 

So...

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Very Excellent Habits
136 - Managing Perfectionism from 2019-12-11T03:35

In this episode, we're revisiting a topic we’ve done in the past: perfectionism.

The weird thing about perfectionism is relatively few people realise that certain behaviours they&rs...

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Very Excellent Habits
135 - Re-Writing The Stories You Tell Yourself from 2019-12-03T16:02

QUICK NOTE: We apologise for the quality of Kelly's audio in this episode. She's not sure what she did differently to normal, but it created a quality of audio that couldn't be ...

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Very Excellent Habits
134 - Is Failing 15% of The Time the Key To Success? from 2019-11-27T00:54

QUICK NOTE: We apologise for the quality of Kelly's audio in this episode. She's not sure what she did differently to normal, but it created a quality of audio that couldn't be ...

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Very Excellent Habits
133 - How to make good decisions when you're tired, anxious and depressed from 2019-11-20T00:57

This is a listener-driven episode thanks to Renee who asked in the Straight and Curly Facebook group:

Any tips from the brains trust in how to not let emotion cloud your judgement (es...

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Very Excellent Habits
132: How To Have Good Energy Even When You're Exhausted from 2019-11-12T17:00

Kelly is battling grief. Carly is in the first year of a baby. We're both exhausted. Yet we have to show up with good energy each day for our kids and our family and our clients. Here's how we d...

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Very Excellent Habits
131: When Things Don't Add Up You Need To Start Subtracting from 2019-10-22T17:00

We talk a lot (a lot!) about adding things to your life and changing behaviours but what if you flipped the script and took things away? 

Here are 12 things you can safely take out o...

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Very Excellent Habits
130: 6 Steps Towards Getting Out of Your Own Way from 2019-10-15T17:00

Often in life, our greatest obstacle is ourselves. We indulge in self-sabotage and self-defeating behaviour and this gets in the way of us achieving our goals or even simply living the life we w...

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Very Excellent Habits
129: Using automation to streamline your life from 2019-10-08T16:00

Something interesting Carly and Kelly read recently suggests most productivity challenges come down to an issue in one of three areas:

Time, Energy, Attention.

Automation is a tool...

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Very Excellent Habits
128: How to Sit With Multiple Things Being True At Once from 2019-10-01T22:47

This episode is perhaps the natural continuation of Episode 127 when we spoke about why the all or nothing approach to life and self-improvement is unhelpful.

Because the media doesn't op...

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Very Excellent Habits
127: The truth about the all or nothing approach from 2019-09-24T22:24

In the world of self-improvement, it's all or nothing baby. We don't allow slip-ups from ourselves. And we don't allow the people we listen to (influencers if you will) to be anything less than ...

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Very Excellent Habits
126: 6 tips for building resilience from 2019-09-17T21:38

Resilience is the ability to cope with adversity while you're experiencing that adversity. And also the ability to bounce back after adversity. 

Today Kelly and Carly share 6 simple ...

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Very Excellent Habits
125: A simple guide to setting strong boundaries from 2019-09-10T16:00

Boundaries are guidelines that establish how others are able to behave around you, and how you want to be treated.

In today's episode, Kelly and Carly share some simple tips for people wh...

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Very Excellent Habits
124: Straight and Curly is back from 2019-09-03T16:00

As long-time listeners know, Straight and Curly has been on hiatus this year after Kelly lost her beloved husband, Anthony, in a freak accident in January.

8 months on, Kelly's heart is s...

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Very Excellent Habits
123: Checking in with Carly from 2019-03-19T16:05

Welcome to this second special episode of Straight and Curly, one where Kelly was keen to shift the focus from the sadness of losing her husband Anthony, to the joy she felt for Carly in welco...

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Very Excellent Habits
122: Checking in with Kelly from 2019-03-19T16:01

Welcome to this first of two special episodes of Straight and Curly. As many of you know, Kelly tragically lost her beloved husband Anthony in a freak accident in January. In this raw and vulner...

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Very Excellent Habits
121: 2018 Year in Review from 2018-11-27T17:00

It's the last episode of 2018 for Kelly and Carly. We'll be back in 2019 with more life improvement hacks. 

For today, we're talking about the year that was 2018. 

Topics...

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Very Excellent Habits
120: The Social Impact of Self Improvement from 2018-11-13T17:00

If you're listening to this podcast you're most probably into self-improvement right? But have you ever thought about the social impact your new health/productivity/exercise routine is having on...

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Very Excellent Habits
119: How To Live a Meaningful Life from 2018-11-06T17:00

This is a topic that pops up often and it's such a broad topic that it's difficult to do condense into a podcast episode... that's not going to stop us trying though! 

This week we'r...

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Very Excellent Habits
118: The Science of Happiness from 2018-10-30T17:00

Happiness is an elusive beast and the concept of it comes up quite often for our listeners. S&C fans know that we love to research the science behind everything so this week's episode is abo...

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Very Excellent Habits
117: How To Set Strong Boundaries from 2018-10-23T17:00

Boundary-setting is something that comes up for discussion again and again so we thought it was time to do an episode on it.  Topics discussed - Time boundaries Emotional boundariesRespecting othe...

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Very Excellent Habits
116: How To Set a Baseline Health Routine from 2018-10-16T17:00

In episode 110 we discussed The Four Burners Theory and how neither of us need to concentrate on our health burner too much because we've both spent time establishing solid routines. This means our...

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Very Excellent Habits
115: The Power of When from 2018-10-10T01:36

Kelly and Carly are kicking it old school this week with a throwback to their roots. Testing out at a popular self-improvement hack. Almost... this week we talk about circadian rhythms, The Power o...

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Very Excellent Habits
114: Publishing Books, Writing Courses and Getting a Job in Writing from 2018-10-02T18:00

Fun fact: As well as being self-improvement junkies, Kelly and Carly are both self-employed writers so it was about time to do a podcast on all the things professional writers get asked all the tim...

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Very Excellent Habits
113: Finding Your Passion from 2018-09-25T18:00

The concept of finding your passion can feel a little a little trite. What even is a passion? Do you need one? Can you have several? What counts as a passion? Does it have to be something considere...

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Very Excellent Habits
112: Ask Us Anything from 2018-08-28T23:17

At the end of each season Kelly and Carly answer all your burning questions that have added up over the season.  Questions such as - How do you quit something without feeling like a total failure?...

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Very Excellent Habits
111: The Lost Art Of Going Backwards from 2018-08-21T18:00

This week Kelly and Carly discuss why we're all so afraid of going backwards. RE-starting a project, re-painting a wall, driving back home to get something we forgot.  Why are we all so afraid of ...

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Very Excellent Habits
110: The Four Burners Theory from 2018-08-14T18:00

Have you heard of The Four Burners Theory? It a kind of a slightly more developed scaremongering theory, encouraging people not to multi-task but on a grander scale than say trying to do your taxes...

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Very Excellent Habits
109: Making Friends As An Adult from 2018-08-07T18:00

If you've found yourself at a loss for the last couple of Saturday nights and you're keen to get a crew of new adult friends, here are a few tips to get you on the road to rocking Saturday nights.....

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Very Excellent Habits
108: Maintaining Good Mental Health from 2018-07-31T20:00

This week Kelly and Carly give their tips for maintaining good mental health when you're feeling a bit stressed out and everything's a touch out of control. If you're feeling like you need some bra...

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Very Excellent Habits
107: Our Days on a Plate from 2018-07-24T18:00

Kelly and Carly have spoken quite generally about what and how they eat over the past 100 or so episodes. In this episode they go one step further and break down their days on a plate. ... For more...

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Very Excellent Habits
106: What Our Days Look Like from 2018-07-17T18:00

This week Kelly and Carly talk about what their days look like.  Kelly gets up at 4am and Carly is rarely asleep before midnight. Kelly schedules downtime in her day and Carly tends to just power ...

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Very Excellent Habits
105: Managing Impostor Syndrome + Fear of Failure from 2018-07-10T18:00

This week Kelly and Carly tackle the beast that is imposter syndrome and how to deal with success without feeling you like you don't deserve it at all.  The telltale sign of impostor syndrome is a ...

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Very Excellent Habits
104: Managing Life Admin from 2018-06-12T14:00

This week Kelly and Carly talk about managing life admin. How to stay on top of bills, how to split household responsibilities and tips and tricks to keep you from throwing all your paperwork into ...

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Very Excellent Habits
103: What We Wish They'd Taught Us At School from 2018-06-05T18:00

This week Kelly and Carly chat about all the things they wish they were taught at school. Including things like self-management, good relationship practices and far better sex education. 

...

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Very Excellent Habits
102: Starting Out A Freelance Career from 2018-05-29T18:00

This week Kelly and Carly give tips and tricks on how to start out a freelance career. The pitfalls, how to do it right, where to find clients and how to keep plugging away when it feels like it's ...

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Very Excellent Habits
101: Positively Re-framing Criticism from 2018-05-22T18:00

This week Kelly and Carly tackle the topic of re-framing criticism so you don't collapse in a heap every time someone says something negative to you.  Topics covered -  * Using it as an opportunity...

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Very Excellent Habits
100: The Most Impactful Self Improvement Hacks Ever from 2018-05-15T18:00

To celebrate their 100th episode, Kelly and Carly talk about the most impactful self-improvement hacks ever. 

Topics covered:
Quitting sugar
Separating exercise from losing weight<...

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Very Excellent Habits
099: Your Authentic Self vs Your Best Self from 2018-05-08T18:00

How do you get the voice that tells you what you SHOULD do to be louder than the voice that tells what you WANT to do?

This week Kelly and Carly talk about the concept of the Authentic Sel...

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Very Excellent Habits
098: Non- Negotiables from 2018-04-30T18:00

What are the things you simply have to do every day to function well? Do you even know what they are? 

This week Kelly and Carly discuss the concept of non-negotiables and how you can find...

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Very Excellent Habits
097: What Vitamins and Supplements we use from 2018-04-24T21:43

Maca powder, sports gels, protein drinks, fish oil tablets, pills and potions. This week Carly and Kelly talk about vitamins and supplements. Which ones work for them, which ones they think are rub...

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Very Excellent Habits
096: How To Be More Confident from 2018-03-27T17:00

This week Carly and Kelly are tackling the concept of confidence. How to get it, how to keep it and how to use it. 

Topics covered - 
Therapy 
Seeking connection 
Checking for ...

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Very Excellent Habits
095: How To Get All That Crap Out of Your House from 2018-03-20T17:00

Kelly and Carly are both masters at decluttering and this week they've got tips, tricks and hacks to help you clear your home of all that crap. 

Topics covered 
Using up things 
Pl...

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Very Excellent Habits
094: Cool People, Movements and Things You Should Be Following from 2018-03-13T17:00

Recommendation episodes are by far the most requested episodes so this week Kelly and Carly and are going to tell you a few things you should be falling in love with including hilarious podcasts, n...

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Very Excellent Habits
093: Productivity Hacks For Parents from 2018-03-06T21:25

Kelly and Carly are very similar in a lot of ways but there's one fairly major difference between them. Kelly has kids and Carly doesn't. 

In this episode, Kelly gives her productive paren...

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Very Excellent Habits
092: Things That Are Saving Our Lives Right Now from 2018-02-27T17:00

Kelly and Carly know that you love recommendations so this week they've put together a bumper list of all things they're loving right now. 

Including - 

1. Moving house 

...

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Very Excellent Habits
091: Accepting Things That Are Out Of Your Control from 2018-02-20T17:00

This episode is basically a counselling session for Kelly. Carly is not a dweller and when things don't go her way, she moves on quickly. Kelly, on the other hand, is a card carrying control freak ...

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Very Excellent Habits
090: How To Create Good Habits from 2018-02-13T17:00

This week Kelly and Carly delve into the land of forming good habits and give their tried and true tips and tricks for creating habits that last. 

Topics include:
Shorter to do lists Listen

Very Excellent Habits
089: Our 10 Top Productivity Tips for 2018 from 2018-02-06T16:00

It's the first episode for 2018 so Kelly and Carly kick off with a bit of a catch up - sharing what they've been up to in the two months since they last recorded. From there, it's straight into 10 ...

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Very Excellent Habits
088: The Year in Review from 2017-12-19T16:00

It's hard to believe but the end of 2017 is nigh! In this, their last episode for the year, Kelly and Carly take the opportunity to reflect on what's felt like a really long year. They answer:
...

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Very Excellent Habits
087: 10 Lifestyle Detoxes We Should All Try At Least Once from 2017-12-12T16:00

What's a lifestyle detox? It's simply taking something out of your life for a bit - be it a day, a week, a month ... and seeing whether doing so makes your life better. Sometimes you take the thing...

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Very Excellent Habits
086: Dealing With Heartbreak from 2017-12-05T17:00

This week Kelly and Carly are covering the topic of dealing with heartbreak: break ups, break downs, loss of loved ones. 

Covered in this episode:
Heartbreak isn't just related to roma...

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Very Excellent Habits
085: Gretchen Rubin's Four Tendencies from 2017-11-28T17:00

Welcome the first Straight & Curly Book Club episode! Our lovely listener Lauren Osborne asked about a self-improvment book club and like the giant Upholder (we think) she is, went and started one ...

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Very Excellent Habits
084: Fasting vs Calorie Counting for Weight Loss from 2017-11-21T17:00

This week Kelly and Carly discuss the benefits of calorie counting vs intermittent fasting for weight loss. Kelly maintains her weight without too much difficulty while Carly's has had a life long ...

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Very Excellent Habits
083: Holiday Season Survival Tips from 2017-11-14T17:00

This week Kelly and Carly offer their best tips for surviving the Christmas and New Year period without going broke, fighting with your family, gaining 5 kilos or breaking up your marriage. 
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Very Excellent Habits
082: How To Fight Fair from 2017-11-07T17:00

This week Kelly and Carly discuss conflict and how to manage it without falling into a heap. 

Topics covered...
Understanding the cause of the conflict 
Admitting when you're wrong...

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Very Excellent Habits
BONUSODE: A Real-Life Guide to Diet and Lifestyle Detoxes from 2017-10-17T17:00

The first ever Straight and Curly book is here! It's called A Real-Life Guide to Diet and Lifestyle Detoxes and revisits eight shows Kelly and Carly have recorded on these topics since starting Str...

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Very Excellent Habits
081: How We Eat from 2017-10-10T17:00

In this episode, Kelly and Carly revisit their popular diet series and have a detailed chat about where they stand on things like sugar, wheat/gluten and meat.

They then go into detail abo...

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Very Excellent Habits
080: The Hidden Load At Home from 2017-10-03T20:42

What is the hidden load and why does it always seem to fall to the female of the hosuehold?

This week Kelly and Carly are dissecting the hidden role of women as the administrators of their...

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Very Excellent Habits
079: Life Hack Experiment - Single-tasking from 2017-09-26T18:00

Multi-tasking. We all do it. And most of us think we're really good at it. But research has shown there is really no such thing. What we all call multi-tasking is actually task switching - going ba...

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Very Excellent Habits
078: Should You Ever Work For Free? from 2017-09-19T22:00

In creative industries in particular, working for free to gain exposure and build relationships that allow you to ascend the career ladder faster goes with the territory. In other words, anyone who...

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Very Excellent Habits
077: Dealing With Information Overload from 2017-09-12T20:00

A wonderful yet highly challenging thing about the world we live in today is the amount of information we have access to. It's exciting to be able to access data on any imaginable topic, but many o...

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Very Excellent Habits
076: Phone Addiction from 2017-09-05T20:00

Carly removed the Facebook app from her phone ages ago. After watching Carly do it, plus listening to another friend espouse the benefits of it, Kelly also removed the app from her phone.

...

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Very Excellent Habits
075: Mastering Memory from 2017-08-29T20:00

Carly’s quite good at remembering things, Kelly’s totally rubbish. As in ‘forgot to pick up a friend’s kids from school on Monday’ rubbish.  

But that might be because Carly is an S on the...

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Very Excellent Habits
074: We tackle listener problems from 2017-08-01T23:20

To finish up the current season Carly and Kelly workshop some listener problems

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Very Excellent Habits
073: How to say no from 2017-07-25T23:20

If you have trouble saying No, this episode is for you!

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Very Excellent Habits
072: Waking up early from 2017-07-18T20:00

Kelly and Carly help a Straight and Curly group member with tips on how to wake up early and stop hitting the snooze button.

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Very Excellent Habits
071: Perfectionism from 2017-07-11T20:00

Kelly and Carly discuss was perfectionism is, how to know if you’ve got it, and how to manage it.

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Very Excellent Habits
070: How we got where we are today from 2017-07-04T20:00

Carly and Kelly share what paths they travelled after finishing high school and how they both ended up becoming writers.

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