Wellness Podcast

In this episode, I talk about my love of plants and gardening, and how plants can help give you something to take care of, dig in the dirt, give you a little greenery even in a small apartment, and teach us so many lessons about life/death/taking care of things and letting go. Action item: if you can, go out and buy a plant to take care of this week (even for $5 or $7) and start benefitting! Last...

In this episode, I talk about my experience with neurodiversity both in my students and my own family, about the Parenting ADHD podcast by Penny Williams which is saving me right now, I define neurodiverse and neurotypical and talk about some of my thoughts about "getting our minds right" (from Penny Williams) about ourselves and others who are neurodiverse. Action item: let's start...

In this episode, I talk about transitions, liminal spaces (basically a fancy word for transitional periods), the past, present and future and how we can get through change, which is one of the few things that is consistent about life (that it always changes). Action item: give yourself time and space for reflection and to recharge during times of transition, to think about the past and future but...

In this episode, I talk about nearing the end of the semester (project/whatever) and appreciating that in life, we are constantly going through cycles of being really busy, then resting, and we need to not forget the rest part at the end. This can happen at the end of a semester, but also when you have a big work project or even a baby. Action items: if/when you are going through a busy period, ma...

In this episode, I talk about my experience with meditating for 50 days in a row, including increased focus and calm, I talk about the reasons I finally started meditating and discuss the book Peak Mind by Dr. Amishi Jha, which explains that 12 minutes 5 days a week of meditating seems to be the key to increased focus. Action item: try to meditate! You can use the free version of the Calm App, Hea...

In this episode, I talk about how we need both comfort and discomfort to get us to a better place when it comes to anxiety. I wrote this episode while I was reading 2 books at the same time- The Comfort Book, By Matt Haig, and Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents, by Reid Wilson & Lynn Lyons, and both were giving what seemed like opposite advice. The first was telling me to get over anxiety (and depr...

In this episode, I talk about Flow (from "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience", by Mihaly Csikszentmihaly), define what Flow is and is not, and give some examples of activities that can induce flow in our lives. I explain that more flow = more happiness, according to positive psychologist Csikszentmihaly. The action item for this week is to find and incorporate more activities that induce f...

In this episode, I talk about the tools in my own wellness toolbox, I talk about what exactly a wellness toolbox is and about how it can help boost our brain power. Action item: start building/editing your own wellness toolbox and be sure to practice when you "don't need it" so that you know how to use the tools when you really need them! It will sneak up on you!

In this episode, I talk about some science-backed ways (and tested by me ways) to read better, for academic or work purposes (anything you want to read to learn from, rather than "fun" reading). Action item: try one (or more) of these 6 ways to read better and see if you can retain more information and work smarter, not harder!

In this episode, I talk about how we can bring the beauty of a snow day into our lives (even if/when we don't "get" a snow day) to appreciate our lives a little bit more and to mix things up. Action item: think of one thing you can do today/this week, no matter how tiny, to just mix up your routine a bit and do something a little bit out of the ordinary.

In this episode, I talk about what you can do to study/review material when you have 5 minutes, 30 minutes and 1 hour. I talk about all my favorite things here, including brainstorming (5 minutes), doing practice problems/quizzing yourself (30 minutes) and creating mind maps and outlines (1 hour), all ideally trying to use recall first (aka not looking at your notes!). I also talk about spaced (be...

I am trying something new that I learned from the Happiness Lab and creating a mini-season based on what I know about learning, the brain and (meta)cognition. In this first episode, I define learning, using the book Distracted: Why Students Can't Focus and What You Can Do About It, by James Lang. The 3 steps of learning are 1) attention, 2) processing/encoding (starting with holding information in...

In this episode, I talk about the ways in which we talk to ourselves and how that affects what we think of ourselves, which in turn affects what we do (or do not) believe we can do to "do better". I define shame and guilt, using Brene Brown's book Atlas of the Heart, and talk about how all humans make mistakes every single day and we can believe that we ARE bad (shame) or that we DID something bad...

In this episode, I talk about not quitting. It's the end of January and I'll bet we have mostly quit our New Year's Resolutions at this point (I've forgotten what mine were?), which a lot of the time involve exercise. You don't have to use the advice in this episode for only exercise/running, but I talk about how I have not (yet) quit running over the past almost 3 years. My trick: tricking(?) my...

In this episode, I talk about how I realized I was burned out (rather than just feeling icky about starting a new project), and my plan for fighting burnout, using ideas from the book Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, by Emily and Amelia Nagoski. #1 go for a long walk/coffee/call a friend (checks off both exercise and positive social interaction), #2 write all my thoughts in my jo...

In this episode, I give 6 quick steps to get your project organized and out the door! I also talk about how some projects can be done/completed but others go on forever, and that is OK too (like my house project). Action item: think of a project, and come to this episode ready to listen with a pen and paper (If you want to work on organizing your project into manageable tasks) or just listen for f...

In this episode, I talk about the different ways walking can help you (think/calm down/feel grounded when stressed or anxious, etc.) and how a walk can be short or long, slow or fast, and how it is a great way to help those who may be starting a stressful time now (finals, holidays, whatever). Action item: go for a walk!

In this episode, I define "nerding out" (using my own vast experience of being a nerd for basically my entire life), I give some examples from my own life (and an awesome example from my mom), and talk about why "nerding out" is good for your mental health. Hint: it has to do with connection!

In this episode, I talk about the definition of success that I grew up with, which focused on money, power and stuff, I talk about how I think the definition of success (at least for some people) is changing, ever so slowly, and what my own definition of success is for me (having meaning in my life, love and kindness). Action item: make a list of a couple of things that define success for you and...

This week, I talk about how to get back on track when you get derailed from your plans/schedule. 4 quick tips 1) Accept your situation 2) Make changes/drop things/figure out what you NEED to do now and what can wait until later 3) Enjoy as much as you can what you DO have rather than wishing for what cannot be and 4) promise yourself you will get back on track next week! Action item: Next time you...

In this episode, I talk about 6 ways to tackle the holidays this year so that they are less stressful and MAYBE more fun?: 1) create a brain dump of all the things you need to do 2) edit it 3) edit it again (based on, do you really need/want to do each thing or does someone else you care about really need/want you to do that thing 4) delegate what you can 5) start now! and 6) try to change what yo...

I know this is a tough one, but I talk about 4 things that could be happening to someone we perceive to be lazy (or to you, if others perceive you to be lazy). 1) Procrastinating perfectionists, 2) just effing tired/overworked and need a break/nap/coffee 3) dealing with mental health issues/anxiety/life issues 4) prioritizing other things. Action item: the next time you come across a "lazy" person...

In this episode, I talk about how we are often taught (especially those of us who are women or grew up/were socialized as women) that self care is selfish and that we should put others' needs in front of our own, when really that's not true. One way to help us break out of this is to talk to ourselves like we would talk to our friends. I also discuss What is self care and 2 tests of if something i...

In this episode, I talk about how, despite our best efforts, sometimes we just need to push hard to finish a big project or a bunch of school assignments or whatever. I give 5 specific ways that we can make this process less stressful/scary and less hard on our bodies/mental health as well.

In this episode, I talk about how you won't actually feel happier "when" you get that first job, graduate, or get married/have a kid. Your "real" life is now, and so this means that you need to take care of yourself as if your real life is happening now, not later, "when..." I give examples from momming and tenure and also college students and "pushing through" extra busy times (which I think is a...