Stephing Up

Your acne isn't a mystery or a moral failing. It's a stack of small fixable things. Stop asking what's causing it... ask what you changed.
I've struggled with adult acne for a decade. Deep, cystic, painful acne all over my cheeks and jaw. The kind you can't cover, because you can hide the redness but you can't hide the texture. I'd avoid certain lighting. Some mornings I'd go to put my makeup on and it hurt so much I'd just cry.
I've spent thousands trying to fix it. Skin clinics, facials, peels, antibiotics, Roaccutane, expensive skincare, cheap skincare. If someone promised me clear skin, I tried it.
And a few weeks ago I woke up, looked in the mirror, and went: hell no. Not this again. But this time I knew what to look for. And the fix was so simple I couldn't believe it.
This week's episode is everything I wish I'd known years ago. The biggest shift was realising adult acne is almost never one thing... it's a stack of small things pouring gasoline on the fire. So now, instead of asking "what's causing my acne," I ask: "what have I changed?"
This is for you if:
You've tried everything for your adult acne and it still keeps coming back
You're sick of "just drink more water" advice
You want the real, unsexy stuff that actually clears skin
In this episode:
Adult acne is a stacking problem: ask "what have I changed?" not "what's causing it?"
Pore-clogging ingredients hiding in your skincare, haircare, and washing powder
Skin barrier damage: why burning your acne off makes it worse
Blood sugar and hormonal acne: the breakfast mistake that broke me out
My simple skincare routine and the one thing to start with today
…
Follow Stephing Up
I’m Steph Pase, your (somewhat) organised bestie in your ears. This podcast is about growth that’s messy, building a life that actually fits you, and what happens when life doesn’t go to plan. We’ll talk mental health, motherhood, business, ADHD and how to stop being such an asshole to yourself.
New episodes drop every Monday morning.
So set your reminder. Pop in your headphones. Because we’re Stephing Up together.
If today's episode helped, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify is honestly the best thing you can do to help us reach more women.
…
Let’s Hang:
Submit your Hot Mess Hotline question here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeUnWTcPntVMCQrdu2wSFqFHEnQkggznr_23Ux9zDBNvlh78g/viewform?usp=publish-editor
Stephing Up on Instagram: @stephing.up
Steph Pase on Instagram: @stephpase_
Steph Pase on Youtube: @stephpase.
Shop Planners + Organisation: Steph Pase Planners
Shop Steph’s book “Mastering my Messy Life”: Penguin Books Australia
Steph’s Amazon Storefront: https://www.amazon.com.au/shop/justanothermummyblog/list/17TTU785IMM53


See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nobody knows what they’re doing, and that’s the good news. This is the story of how I started a business backwards. I launched Steph Pase Planners from a camp table with postnatal depression and no business plan.
If you'd told seven-year-old me, the one sewing Pokemon toys out of old bed sheets and selling them on the street, that she'd one day run a stationery brand, she'd have believed you (she had range). If you'd told twenty-five-year-old me, sitting in a one-bedroom unit covered in breast milk with postnatal depression, she'd have laughed in your face.
This is the story of how it actually happened. Not the highlights reel. The real one.
This episode is for you if:
You've ever had an idea but talked yourself out of it because you "didn't know how"
You're the multi-passionate one who's been called a jack of all trades like it's an insult
You're tired of business stories that skip the embarrassing, 3am, crying-over-spilt-ink bits
In this episode I break down:
Starting a business with no experience: why nobody, not even the founders you look up to, knows what they're doing
Doing it scared: how you achieve things by doing, not planning
Postnatal depression and the lounge-room blog that became Steph Pase Planners
The camp table, 10,000 planners, and 3am shipping labels printed one by one
ADHD, being a jack of all trades, and why the multi-passionate messes are winning now
Why the mess Steph spent her life hiding turned out to be the map
…
Episode Links:
Shop Business Planners: https://www.stephpaseplanners.com.au/collections/financial-year-business-planners
Shop Steph’s book “Mastering my Messy Life”: Penguin Books Australia
…
Follow Stephing Up
I’m Steph Pase, your (somewhat) organised bestie in your ears. This podcast is about growth that’s messy, building a life that actually fits you, and what happens when life doesn’t go to plan. We’ll talk mental health, motherhood, business, ADHD and how to stop being such an asshole to yourself.
New episodes drop every Monday morning.
So set your reminder. Pop in your headphones. Because we’re Stephing Up together.
If today's episode helped, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify is honestly the best thing you can do to help us reach more women.
…
Let’s Hang:
Submit your Hot Mess Hotline question here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeUnWTcPntVMCQrdu2wSFqFHEnQkggznr_23Ux9zDBNvlh78g/viewform?usp=publish-editor
Stephing Up on Instagram: @stephing.up
Steph Pase on Instagram: @stephpase_
Steph Pase on Youtube: @stephpase.
Shop Planners + Organisation: Steph Pase Planners
Steph’s Amazon Storefront: https://www.amazon.com.au/shop/justanothermummyblog/list/17TTU785IMM53
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do the hard thing first: why you're not lazy, you're avoiding a feeling. The hardest part of any task isn't the middle. It's the start. That's the wall. I’m a chronic task avoider, and in this episode I’m sharing my tried and tested ADHD guide to beating procrastination and the avoidance loop.
This episode is for you if:
You'll dread one tiny email and somehow clean the whole house to avoid it
You've called yourself lazy your whole life despite having a full, busy, can't-sit-still life
You've tried every new planner and schedule and still can't make yourself start
Here's what I break down in this episode:
Procrastination is emotion management, not time management: why you're avoiding the feeling, not the task
The avoidance loop: how "being busy" is actually how you dodge the thing that matters
Open tabs: why unfinished tasks drain your battery all day (the 1920s study)
Do the hard thing first: how to beat your own excuses to the door
Three hacks to start: the doable start, name the feeling, and the 2-minute timer
…
Episode Links:
Weekly Planner Notepad: https://www.stephpaseplanners.com.au/products/weekly-planner-notepad-undated
2026 Planners: https://www.stephpaseplanners.com.au/collections/planners
…
Follow Stephing Up
I’m Steph Pase, your (somewhat) organised bestie in your ears. This podcast is about growth that’s messy, building a life that actually fits you, and what happens when life doesn’t go to plan. We’ll talk mental health, motherhood, business, ADHD and how to stop being such an asshole to yourself.
New episodes drop every Monday morning.
So set your reminder. Pop in your headphones. Because we’re Stephing Up together.
…
Let’s Hang:
Submit your Hot Mess Hotline question here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeUnWTcPntVMCQrdu2wSFqFHEnQkggznr_23Ux9zDBNvlh78g/viewform?usp=publish-editor
Stephing Up on Instagram: @stephing.up
Steph Pase on Instagram: @stephpase_
Steph Pase on Youtube: @stephpase.
Shop Planners + Organisation: Steph Pase Planners
Shop Steph’s book “Mastering my Messy Life”: Penguin Books Australia
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A realistic, doable glow up with no 4am alarm and no 14-step routine? Welcome to my 10 sustainable changes to come home to yourself (created by a mid 30s Mum who lost herself for a minute).

This episode is for you if:

- You've started a glow up every Monday and quit by Wednesday (it's not you, it's the plan)
- You've disappeared so far into motherhood/work that you caught your reflection and didn't recognise her
- You want to feel put together without giving up your carbs or your personality

Here's what I break down in this episode:

- Doable glow up, defined: why a realistic glow up is built for your worst day, not your best
- Wardrobe editing: the 5 questions that decide what stays
- Colour season: the cheat sheet that makes getting dressed stupidly easy
- 30g protein before coffee: the one habit with the biggest domino effect on energy, mood and skin
- Self-trust and kept promises: where confidence actually comes from
- Lowering the bar: why doing less on purpose is the reason it finally sticks
…
Episode Links:
Steph’s 30-day Declutter Challenge: https://www.stephpaseplanners.com.au/pages/30-day-declutter-challenge
2026 Planners: https://www.stephpaseplanners.com.au/collections/planners
Health Journal: https://www.stephpaseplanners.com.au/collections/health-diaries
…
Follow Stephing Up
I’m Steph Pase, your (somewhat) organised bestie in your ears. This podcast is about growth that’s messy, building a life that actually fits you, and what happens when life doesn’t go to plan. We’ll talk mental health, motherhood, business, ADHD and how to stop being such an asshole to yourself.
New episodes drop every Monday morning.
So set your reminder. Pop in your headphones. Because we’re Stephing Up together.
…
Let’s Hang:
Submit your Hot Mess Hotline question here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeUnWTcPntVMCQrdu2wSFqFHEnQkggznr_23Ux9zDBNvlh78g/viewform?usp=publish-editor
Stephing Up on Instagram: @stephing.up
Steph Pase on Instagram: @stephpase_
Steph Pase on Youtube: @stephpase.
Shop Planners + Organisation: Steph Pase Planners
Shop Steph’s book “Mastering my Messy Life”: Penguin Books Australia
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I thought meditation would fix me. Instead, I put my phone on silent for six years.
Here's the truth:
I am not the girl who lights a candle, sits cross-legged on a linen cushion and meditates her way to inner peace.
I've tried.
Instead, I spent years wondering why every wellness routine on the internet seemed to work for everyone except me.
The good news? Nothing was wrong with me.
My nervous system was just overloaded.
In this episode, I'm sharing the weird, unglamorous things I actually do to calm an anxious, overstimulated, ADHD brain. No bubble baths. No 5am ice baths. No pretending to enjoy meditation.
Just seven simple things that genuinely help me feel calmer, less overwhelmed and more like a functioning human.
Because weird works if it makes you well.

This podcast is for you if:
You've muted a group chat and felt immediate relief
You've sat in the driveway because you physically couldn't go inside yet
The sound of everyone needing something from you makes you want to hide in a cupboard
You've tried meditation and spent the whole time mentally reorganising your life

What you'll learn:
Why traditional self-care doesn't work for everyone
• How notifications keep your nervous system stuck in stress mode
• Simple ways to reduce overstimulation throughout your day
• Why movement can be more effective than meditation for some people
• The science behind expressive writing, behavioural activation and transition rituals
• Practical mental health tools you can actually use when life feels overwhelming
Here's what I break down in this episode:

Why We're All So Fried
Phone On Silent For Six Years
Batching Your Replies
Noise-Cancelling Headphones
The Two-Minute Car Sit
Move, Don't Sit
Feelings On Paper Before People
Clean One Thing
The Permission Slip
...
Related Episodes:
S2E8 – Phone Rules
S2E7 – 8 Weird Systems I Use For My ADHD Brain (Because Nothing Else Worked)
…
Follow Stephing Up
I’m Steph Pase, your (somewhat) organised bestie in your ears. This podcast is about growth that’s messy, building a life that actually fits you, and what happens when life doesn’t go to plan. We’ll talk mental health, motherhood, business, ADHD and how to stop being such an asshole to yourself.
New episodes drop every Monday morning.
So set your reminder. Pop in your headphones. Because we’re Stephing Up together.
…
Let’s Hang:
Submit your Hot Mess Hotline question here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeUnWTcPntVMCQrdu2wSFqFHEnQkggznr_23Ux9zDBNvlh78g/viewform?usp=publish-editor
Stephing Up on Instagram: @stephing.up
Steph Pase on Instagram: @stephpase_
Steph Pase on Youtube: @stephpase.
Shop Planners + Organisation: Steph Pase Planners
Shop Steph’s book “Mastering my Messy Life”: Penguin Books Australia
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.