Habit Nerd

Have you noticed that as our work gets busier, the things that help us cope are the first things we drop? Our calendars fill up with work, and then we quietly remove the very things that help us do our jobs well and sustain momentum. We stop exercising, sleep less, work longer hours, stop planning our meals, see the people we love less, and work through lunch. We tell ourselves we’ll get back to i...

Hi there, Habit Nerds. Today’s episode is OG Habit Nerd style. Have you ever noticed how dramatically we overestimate what we can do in a week, and how completely we underestimate what we can do in a year? I see it all the time. Someone decides they’re going to get fit. They download the app, buy the active wear, sign up to the gym and create a colour-coded training plan that would make an Olympic...

Today’s guest is someone I’ve admired for a very long time. Sabina Read is an experienced psychologist, human behaviour expert, speaker, media commentator, podcast host and mentor who has spent decades helping people better understand themselves and navigate life’s challenges. You might know her as the long-standing resident psychologist on Melbourne’s 3AW, as co-host of the Human Cogs podcast, or...

Hi there, Habit Nerds. It’s episode 100. I cannot believe I’m writing that. If this is your first episode, welcome. If this is your 100th, thank you for being here. And if you’re somewhere along the journey, I’m so delighted to have you. To mark the milestone, I thought it was the right time to go back to a bit of habits 101. I’ve welcomed a lot of new followers over the last couple of weeks, so c...

I recently read a new book called Less Achieves More by Cyril Pupion, and its central argument stopped me in my tracks: the answer to achieving more isn't doing more, it's focusing on less. At first glance, that felt really counterintuitive. Like many of you, I've spent my whole life being rewarded for more effort, more commitment, more responsibility. But this idea made me rethink wha...

Bonus Episode: The Final Quarter of the Year Is Here — Let's Reset Hi there, Habit Nerds. It's October 1st, and I love a temporal landmark , that psychological principle where you use a marker in time, like the first of a new month or in this case, the final quarter of the year, to reflect, to celebrate, and to take stock. This is a short bonus episode, a little mini-reset to mark the star...

Today's guest is someone whose honesty and generosity left a real mark on me. Shaye Gundry is the founder and director of Blossom Hair and Beauty in Sydney's Sutherland Shire, with more than 20 years of experience in the beauty industry. But beyond the salon, Shaye is a passionate advocate for sibling grief awareness, a form of grief she says is so often overlooked. This episode also touch...

Have you ever noticed that some people seem genuinely productive and successful, yet they never look rushed? They're not sprinting into meetings, not constantly apologising for being late, not visibly overwhelmed and meanwhile the rest of us are wondering how on earth they do it. In this episode I unpack something I recently came across called Rich in Never Rushing, and I think it's onto s...

In this episode, our guest is one whose words have been responsible, in the best way, for most of my tears over the past six months. Jess Urlichs is a Sunday Times bestselling author, a poet, and a mother of three, whose writing has resonated with millions of parents around the world. Through her books and her social media, Jess shares honest, heartfelt reflections on motherhood, identity, mental...

Today I want to talk about something that sits underneath almost every health goal, productivity strategy, and leadership challenge we face and it's not time, and it's not motivation. It's energy. This episode comes from a keynote I recently gave called "Protect Your Spark" for the Iconic Women Group (thank you for having me!). And I want to give full credit upfront to Dr. Am...

I'm joined by Sarah Gray — a qualified pharmacist, nutritionist, and certified menopause practitioner, and the founder of the Nutrition Pharmacist. Sarah is passionate about helping women cut through the overwhelm of perimenopause and midlife health, and she combines the latest evidence in nutrition, supplements, and lifestyle medicine to deliver solutions that actually work in real life. We&#...

Have you ever sat down to do something important, and somehow found yourself checking email, scrolling Instagram, tidying your desk, or suddenly remembering you really need to book that dinner reservation? Most of us blame our phones, our notifications, our busy workplaces, or our own lack of discipline. But what if distraction isn't actually the problem, just a symptom of something deeper? In...

Today's guest is one of Australia's most trusted voices on parenting, adolescence, and wellbeing — Michelle Mitchell. Michelle is a bestselling author of 10 books, a speaker, and a parenting educator who has spent three decades helping families raise resilient, emotionally healthy young people. We're spotlighting Michelle's timely new book, Friendship Smart, a research-informed, de...

A few weeks ago I was on a flight home from the Gold Coast, scrolling LinkedIn on the free Wi-Fi (the small joys), when I came across a post that genuinely knocked me for six. It was from a coach named Jude Fredman, and it was about the thing none of us want to hear: that the work is going to take years, it's going to be slow and boring and uncomfortable, and there is no shortcut. In this epis...

Have you ever wondered why it feels almost impossible to stick to healthy habits, stay patient, or make good decisions when you’re running on low sleep? In this episode of The Habit Nerd , I am so excited to be joined by psychologist, resilience expert, and founder of Salutagenic Psychology, Maria Ruberto ! With over 30 years of experience, Maria translates complex neuroscience into practical, lif...

Let me ask you a quick question: Have you ever reached 10:00 AM on a weekday and felt completely mentally exhausted, even though you haven't actually accomplished much yet? If so, you are definitely not alone. So many of us walk around using our brains as glorified storage units! We carry around appointments, to-do lists, groceries we need to buy, and emails we haven't answered, expecting...

Have you ever found yourself completely stuck, facing a situation that feels so overwhelming or scary that you assume the outcome is entirely out of your hands? Lately, I’ve been right there with you. In this episode, I’m getting incredibly vulnerable about a personal challenge I’m navigating right now: going through a grueling, highly competitive annual promotion process at the university where I...

If you can just hear the absolute delight in my voice, it is because today’s guest is a total "pinch-me" milestone for me. Her short Before Breakfast episodes have been in my headphones just about every single day for years, and her research has heavily informed and inspired the messaging I use in my own keynotes, workshops, and high-performance coaching. The brilliant Laura Vanderkam is...

If I’m being completely honest, this episode comes from a place of real discomfort and vulnerability for me. I’ve always been pretty good at saying things like, "When things feel overwhelming, just start, just get on with it." I want to be helpful, but expecting people to take raw knowledge and automatically self-optimize isn't a realistic ask. For many people, especially on days whe...

Today’s guest is an absolute powerhouse, and to say I am excited about this conversation is a massive understatement. Joining me on the podcast today is Liz Watson , the extraordinary captain of the Australian Diamonds Netball team and the Sunshine Coast Lightning, and one of the world's absolute leading netballers. Liz has represented Australia at the highest level since 2016, racking up Comm...

Before we dive into today’s topic, I wanted to take a quick moment to express my immense gratitude. Our community is growing significantly, and we are officially being listened to in 90 countries across the globe! Whether you are a brand new listener tuning in on your morning walk, or a loyal member of our community who joins me every single Monday morning in the car or while doing the dishes, tha...

If you’ve been hanging around my corner of the internet for a while, you know one of my ultimate core pillars in life is simplify to amplify . We have an absolute knack for overcomplicating everything, especially when it comes to our health, fitness, and nutrition. We tell ourselves we need to cut out entire food groups, sign up for three different gyms, or wait for the "perfect emotional moo...

If you’ve opened Instagram or TikTok recently, you’ve probably seen a lot of people talking about "regulating your nervous system." They’ll tell you to sip herbal tea, lie on a yoga mat, stare at a sunset, or pat a cat. Now, look—I’m not against any of that. I can absolutely get around a weighted blanket and a warm drink. But today, I want to strip back the surface-level trends and look...

Have you ever found yourself trapped in the exhausting start-stop-repeat cycle? You know exactly what I mean, the classic diet-mentality conditioning where one bad day or a chaotic week makes you feel like you’ve completely failed, forcing you to wait until Monday to "start over." In this episode, I sit down with health and self-leadership coach Courtney Townley to completely dismantle t...

Have you ever closed your laptop at 5:00 PM, looked at your messy desk, and realized that despite being completely exhausted, you didn't actually move the needle on any of your important projects? We have all been there. But lately, I’ve been paying close attention to those rare, beautiful days where I put my head on the pillow feeling genuinely satisfied with my output—no lingering sense of d...