Rest and Recreation

Can gratitude, meditation, and self-discovery help you find happiness during life's most difficult moments? In this episode of Rest and Recreation, host Michael Millward speaks with happiness expert, author, and speaker Terri Lynn Murphy about her remarkable personal journey from loss and emotional pain to purpose, fulfilment, and lasting happiness. Following a painful divorce and years of separat...

In this insightful episode of Rest and Recreation, host Michael Millward speaks with Washington State-based psychologist Alisa Murray about how to organise your life better, reduce overwhelm, and build routines that actually work. Alisa specialises in ADHD, executive function challenges, and high‑sensitivity personality traits, and she shares practical, compassionate strategies for improving focus...

How to Manage Money to Finance the Life You Want Host Michael Millward meets Wealth Planning Expert Dominic Baldwin to explore the important, yet misunderstood parts of work‑life balance: managing money so that it supports the life you want to live. Dominic, has spent 35 years helping families make confident, values‑driven financial decisions. He founded Xentum , to address the financial managemen...

A milestone is reached Episode 100 of Rest and Recreation is a milestone celebration and a reflective journey through the themes that have shaped the podcast — work–life balance, identity, creativity, emotional wellbeing, relationships, and personal agency. In this special episode, host Michael Millward revisits the most powerful conversations from past guests, including insights on stress respons...

I must write my story… and in writing my story, I will also be sharing part of my mother’s. Host Michael Millward has a thought-provoking conversation with author, leadership coach, and former Meta leader Ingrid Hu Dahl about her powerful memoir Sun Shining on Morning Snow . Drawing on deeply personal experiences, Ingrid explores themes of identity, loss, grief, intercultural heritage, and living...

A Month Living in the Lake District Joanne Brook‑Smith , founder and editor‑in‑chief of Crave Magazine , joins Michael Millward to share what it’s really like to spend an entire month living and working in the Lake District. Drawing on her background in journalism and lifestyle writing, Joanne talks candidly about how she started Crave during the pandemic from her kitchen table, before diving into...

Rest, rituals, and nervous‑system awareness can help people reclaim a sense of self Dr. Stephanie Steele‑Wren of Psychology Works joins host Michael Millward for a deeply human conversation about identity, burnout, neurodivergence, and the small, practical shifts that help us reconnect with who we really are. Drawing on nearly twenty years in psychology, Dr. Stephanie explains how chronic stress k...

Singer‑songwriter True Istina joins host Michael Millward for a deeply personal and uplifting conversation about creativity, resilience, and growing up with a dream to perform. True shares how music became her lifeline during the isolation of COVID 19 lockdown a place where she could express emotions she “could no longer put into words” and begin healing through songwriting. Across the conversatio...

Aligning how you see the world and how the world sees you In this thought‑provoking episode of Rest and Recreation, host Michael Millward explores what it really means to live a limitless life with mindset and abundance coach Natalie K. Wynn , author of Manifest Your Limitless Life and founder of Inspire Life 365. Drawing on neuroscience, lived experience, and her signature ATM Method — Awareness,...

The value of putting yourself first In this thought‑provoking episode of Rest and Recreation, host Michael Millward speaks with elite copywriter turned inspirational-writer Anton Volny , creator of the blog and newsletter Permission to be Powerful . Drawing on a 15‑year career writing for industry giants including Tony Robbins, Neil Patel, and Ramit Sethi, Anton shares the personal journey that le...

Living Within Your Means, So You Can Live Life on Your Terms Angela Tipton , founder of FireYourCareer.com and host Michael Millward discuss one of the most powerful, and challenging life skills: learning to live within your means so you can live life on your terms. Angela shares her journey from scientist to Fortune 500 lab manager, to MBA graduate, to marketing professional, and ultimately to so...

Rediscovering purpose beyond work when career identity breaks down Loss of career identity can feel disastrous, but what if it’s also an invitation to rediscover purpose? In this thought‑provoking episode of Rest and Recreation, Michael Millward talks with Avi Maderer , the “optimistic futurist” whose work sits at the intersection of human meaning and artificial intelligence. Avi uses his experien...

Don't trust your love life to fate, take the scientific approach A thought‑provoking episode of Rest and Recreation, sees host Michael Millward and Mila Smith , a Berkshire based science‑backed relationship consultant, about one of life’s most misunderstood transitions: how to go from being single to becoming part of a healthy, lasting couple. Drawing on her journey of unhealthy relationships and...

What happens when the job you worked so hard to achieve no longer fits the life you want to live? A licensed clinical psychologist, life coach, and long‑time yoga teacher, Alise Murray joins host Michael Millward to discuss: What happens when your ideal job no longer fits the life you want to live? Alise spent years building a career she loved — clinical work, teaching, and eventually a coveted as...

Recruiting and managing a virtual assistant is more complex than you expect. Michael Millward chats with Rachael Davila – founder of Extra Hands Virtual Assistants , VA mentor, and author of Do I Need a VA? – for a conversation that goes far deeper than the usual “hire a helper” advice. Drawing on more than 20 years in the virtual assistant industry, Rachael explains how small business owners can...

How to manage the conflicting demands of work, career ambitions and family aspirations and not be a burned out working Mom? A raw, relatable, and quietly powerful episode of Rest and Recreation for anyone trying to juggle work, identity, and a brand‑new baby. In this conversation, licensed mental health counsellor Christi Gmyr shares with host Michael Millward the truth behind returning to work af...

Kate Hendrickson is a business coach and author whose first novel Christmas Switch draws on her own experience to tell the story of Ali, a woman who experiences burnout and decides to switch life with Tommy, her husband to create a better life for herself and her family. In this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and Recreation, Kate and host Michael Millward discuss burnout an...

Reverend Sydney Francis provides trauma-informed spiritual healing who helps people transform emotional pain into spiritual purpose In this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and Recreation, Rev Sydney and host Michael Millward discuss her latest book Activating Lunar Alchemy . During their conversation Rev Sydney and Michael cover: Rev Sydney’s journey to ordination, and the f...

Numa , defined as the singer of SELF EMPOWERMENT, is a multifaceted and eclectic artist engaged in humanitarian and animal rights activities. Singer, songwriter, producer and artistic director, she has released several successful musical singles, (in Italian, Spanish and English) and, in combination with the message of "positive thinking", promotes her music all over the world. In this episode of...

Mark Steven Porro’s Multi-Tasking Adventures of Caring for Mom. And How He Survived to Tell the Tale Mark Steven Porro is an entrepreneur, actor and writer, who gave it all up to become the full-time carer for his mother. What do writers do when they have a life-changing experience? They write about it! That is exactly what he did and created A Cup of Tea on the Commode. My Multi-Tasking Adventure...

The mental health benefits of Jigsaws. Bethany Ofosuhene is passionate about jigsaws. Not just as a fascinating hobby, but also as a tool for improving mental health and well-being. In this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and Recreation, Bethany describes to host Michael Millward how the ideas for her business Jigsaw and Gist developed. During their conversation Bethany expl...

Understanding stress is the first step to achieving balance in your life? Noel McDermott is a psychotherapist, founder of Mental Health Works a comprehensive mental health service and host of The Well Being Show a weekly live video-based podcast available on YouTube and Facebook. In this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and Recreation, Noel explains to host Michael Millward w...

Is Workaholism a mental health issue? Taking an alternative approach to mental health led to Lilia Bogoeva being known as the Inner Demon Crusher . Lilia advocates for a more constructive approach to mental health that goes beyond the diagnosis of a problem and focuses on understanding how someone functions. In this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and Recreation, Lilia and h...

Making it possible for disabled drivers to participate in motorsport A motor cycling accident resulted in Paul Fullnick , having a leg amputated. Devastating, but the prospect of not being able to ride his bike was worse. Then Paul discovered Team Brit and the prospect of being involved in motorsport was rekindled. In this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and Recreation, Paul...

Building self confidence and self-awareness is the key to recovering from trauma and mental illness. Anu Verma has lived experience of numerous different types of abuse. Anu now works to support other survivors to understand their experiences and learn how to develop the confidence and self-awareness so that they can regain their individual power and live authentically. WARNING This episode of Res...