Listening to podcasts is a great way to gain wisdom, destress from school or make commutes more productive. If you’re new to podcasts, it might be a little overwhelming to select a few to get started. Or maybe you’ve been a long-time podcast listener and want more recommendations to learn new things or raise your vibes. No matter your reason, this list of podcasts will surely indulge in increasing your knowledge and information gathering.

In each recommendation, I list out a few of my favourite episodes. These are also great places to start from if you are new to their podcast. I’m so excited to be able to share with you my favourite ones for personal development, health and even formal educational content. Let’s dive right in!

1. The Perfectionism Project

This is my all-time favourite podcast for practical advice. Sam Laura Brown gives constructive suggestions and calls you out when you need to take massive action. She has helped me to work on my ‘perfectionist’ mindset and apply concepts right away.

I had trouble narrowing down her episodes because I just love her content so much. I highly recommend listening to the rest of her episodes, especially the ones about goals, self-image and her personal life updates.

• Ep 45: 10 Signs You’re A Perfectionist
• Ep 65: How To Pursue Multiple Goals At Once
• Ep 129: Should You Work From A To-Do List, Planner or Calendar?
• Ep 152: Why You Never Have Enough Time
• Ep 161: 3 Procrastination Tips That Don’t Work For Perfectionists

2. The Life Coach School Podcast

You might have heard me mention The Life Coach School Podcast before in my first blog post. Brooke Castillo is the ultimate mindset coach. Be prepared for your mind to be blown – she changed the way I looked at everything (my whole perspective on life). I even listened to the same few episodes and found a new takeaway each time. You’ll definitely want to take notes while listening (and re-listening) to this one!

• Ep 2: How to Feel Better
• Ep 87: Discipline
• Ep 132: Stop Buffering
• Ep 246: Modern Mental Health
• Ep 295: Pain Now or Later

3. The Kimberly Wenya Podcast

This is my go-to podcast if I want to raise my vibration and energy (in a modern girl way). It is perfect if you are more interested in the spiritual aspects of life, yet want a modern take on it. I also enjoy her Daily Manifestation Tips (DMT) on her Instagram Stories.

• Ep 75: A Day of Getting Into Alignment Before A Uni Assignment
• Ep 136: How To Trust Your Intuition & Recognise When The Universe Is Trying To Tell You Something
• Ep 151: Beginner Manifestation Tips For Modern Girls (+ Good Vibes)
• Ep 165: What To Do In Phases Of Feeling Bleh [Transition Phase]
• Ep 173: When You Feel Like You’ve Lost Momentum (Or Even Gone Backwards)

4. Language Pod 101 Series

I found this podcast series very useful when I wanted to learn conversational phrases for Cantonese and German before my trip to Hong Kong and Germany respectively. Although there are many other language learning tools out there, I found this especially helpful in learning pronunciation and the meaning behind words. If you want to learn more quickly, pair the podcast with the transcripts/exercises from their website. They have plenty of languages to choose from, including Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Thai and Arabic. This podcast is also perfect for your international exchange, overseas internships or wanderlust travels.

• GermanPod101 (I borrowed the audiobook and resources from the library (using Overdrive/Libby)).
• FrenchPod101
• CantoneseClass101

5. The Melissa Ambrosini Show

The Melissa Ambrosini Show is an excellent source of information for health and wellness. Most of her episodes are conducted in an interview style, but I love her Monday Motivation series which is designed to clear out mental clutter and uplift my spirit so I can dive into my week feeling more love and excitement.

• Ep 61: Could Your Phone Be Killing You? With Daniel Debaun
• Ep 128: Create Space
• Ep 137: What The Heck Should We Eat With Dr Mark Hyman
• Ep 157: Rebuild Your Brain, Learn To Speed Read & Unlock Your Full Potential With Jim Kwik
• Ep 194: Be Gentle With Yourself

6. Manifestation Babe

All things manifestation with Kathrin Zenkina. She talks about money mindset as well as relationships. Learn to set those big goals and slay your 2020 (even if the episodes are for 2018 or 2019).

• Ep 19: The Magic 10/10/10 Rule
• Ep 28: How I Manifested Away My Shyness
• Ep 77: Why Your 2018 Goals Didn’t Manifest As Expected
• Ep 81: 5 Unconventional Wealth Tips That Will Bring You More Money in 2019
• Ep 102: Phrases to Never Say If You Want To Be Successful

Bonus Tips On Listening To Podcasts

You may be wondering how you are going to find the time to listen to all these podcasts when your schedule is already so packed. Well, one way I manage to squeeze in podcast time is to listen to it while I am doing chores or mundane tasks. Other times you can listen is while you are getting ready for school/work, commuting or unwinding before bed.

I also use the 1.5x playback speed on Apple Podcasts and click on the (+15 sec) button to fast forward ads or skip parts which are not as interesting/relevant. If possible, I try to take notes while listening (or after listening) and write down how I am going to implement what I have just learnt.

There are many other podcasts that I’ve listened to but I’ve personally found these relevant for my different moods, struggles and aspects in life.

Have you listened to any of these before? Let me know if you have any other podcasts to recommend (especially ones about meditation)!