Friends are hard to find, but when life gets busy, friends are very easy to lose. That is the reality for many people. Regardless of our age, life throws all sorts of demands on our time, it is often if not usually our friendships that get left on the sidelines. That was the predicament that Daniella Granzotto was in until she discovered the Wednesday Waffles concept and decided to turn the weekly friendship ritual into an App. In this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and R...
Apr 24, 2026•28 min
B. Able stands at the forefront of a new narrative: one that challenges stereotypes and demands that the world “see the able, not the label.” Revolutionary recording artist, songwriter, actor and saxophonist B. Able blends hip-hop, R&B, soul, and jazz influences to create music that awakens awareness as much as it entertains. In this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and Recreation, B.Able explains to host Michael Millward how as a man who is openly on the autism spectru...
Apr 17, 2026•27 min
A fascination for facts led to a curiosity about the people behind the facts Rashad Woods is the host of T.R.O.N. the hit podcast that developed out of his fascination with facts and the people who worked on the projects that resulted in the fact. In this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and Recreation, Rashad describes to host Michael Millward how having the encyclopaedia Brittanica resulted in him developing the ability to store and recall facts, making him the sort of pe...
Apr 10, 2026•29 min
Exploring empathy and understanding how to teach empathy. After a career in paediatric health care Roxanne Daleo decided to focus on helping children and the adults who care for them to manage their stress levels by understanding themselves and other people. That explains Roxanne in this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and Recreation is a good summary of what empathy is. Roxanne tells host Michael Millward why people who understand how to use empathy will have lower stress...
Apr 03, 2026•29 min
Exploring how LBGTQ+ people experience life and how we can all ally to be more supportive. For Zach Randles-Friedman podcasting started as a hobby, but the success of his two podcasts, Everything & Anything… and a Bit Gay, a long-form interview podcast and the daily short-form LGBTQ+ new programme Listen Up Girl provided him with the opportunity to consider becoming a full time podcaster. Zach has been acclaimed for his empathetic approach to helping guests tell their stories. In this episod...
Mar 27, 2026•29 min
Exploring what we mean by work life balance and considering if there might be a better way. Cindy Koehler is a transformational business and life coach, and founder of Mind Garage . In this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and Recreation Cindy explains to host Michael Millward that we are wrong to view success in life as the achievement of a good work life balance. Instead, Cindy proposes that we should aim to live a life in which our work activities and our non-work activi...
Mar 20, 2026•29 min
Karen Rudolf introduces the tool she has developed to help people live their authentic life. Karen Rudolf is the founder of the Tranquil Soulution and creator of the Mind Mosaic Clarity Tool. The Mind Mosaic Clarity Tool helps people to understand how they can avoid the pressures to just follow the crowd and instead live their authentic life. In this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and Recreation Karen explains to host Michael Millward the consequences of not living authen...
Mar 13, 2026•29 min
A.I. could be the secret to you having more successful dates and finding your ideal partner. Rakesh Naidu is the founder of Fate, a connection app that uses Agentic AI to bring empathy and authenticity back into how people meet. Fate users don’t have to engage in endless swiping. Instead, Fate users engage in voice-first interactions and adaptive matching guided by AI that learns from human tone, intent, and energy. In this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and Recreation Ra...
Mar 06, 2026•28 min
The way we work impacts how much leisure time we have and how well we can enjoy that leisure time. Jessper Maquindang is the founder of Familead Consulting a specialist in improving employee productivity and engagement. The expression is, work life balance, but many people believe that the order should be reversed, life work balance. This they argue is because life is more important than work. They may be correct, but Jessper Maquindang argues that without a strong work life it is very difficult...
Feb 27, 2026•27 min
Successful entrepreneur Aaron Christy describes how he spends his leisure time Aaron Christy is the founder and CEO of the Indianapolis based roofing company Indy Roof and Restoration . In this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and Recreation Aaron describes to host Michael Millward how he likes to spend his leisure time and the how his leisure time decisions impacted the way in which he leads his team. Aaron describes his philosophy for business and life, and how this has h...
Feb 20, 2026•29 min
Myla is a Ukrainian American DJ and producer of rave music. In this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and Recreation Myla and host Michael Millward discuss Myla’s career and how she likes to relax. Myla has an international profile on the dance scene. She has played on specialist rave Caribbean cruises, in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and the Netherlands, as well as the United States of America. Myla explains how she plans her DJ shows and how she tries out new music with audie...
Feb 13, 2026•27 min
When something unexpected happens, it is amazingly useful to have the key information in one place. As Suke Ridler lay in hospital listening to a doctor saying that they could not do anymore to help her, her first thoughts were not about herself. Suke was worried about the mess that she would be leaving behind for her family to sort out. Administering modern life is complex. Just like Suke very few people have everything organised in one place. This realisation led Suke to create MyLifeJars.com ...
Feb 06, 2026•29 min
Why do high achievers find it so difficult to adjust to life in retirement? Elizabeth Zelinka Parsons was a high achieving lawyer in a big firm, until the day she decided that she didn’t want to be. Moving into retirement was hard work. Once settled into a new lifestyle Elizabeth wrote the guide for transitioning from work to retirement. That book is Encore A High Achievers Guide to Retirement. In their conversation Elizabeth and host Michael Millward discuss Why high achievers at work find it d...
Jan 30, 2026•28 min
Dylan Garcia, uses funk and neo-soul music and his smooth vocals to tell stories about the emotional side of being a man Dylan Garcia is a successful singer and songwriter of songs that tell the emotional rollercoaster of life from the perspective of a man’s man. His lyrics evoke the inner strength of an honest man who is not afraid to show his vulnerability as he deals with the highs and lows of life. For Dylan the ups and downs of life have included managing serious mental health challenges In...
Jan 23, 2026•29 min
Exploring a user's guide to your life, with lessons from the life lived by Peter Samuelson. Peter Samuelson is a successful Oscar winning film producer and founder of seven not-for-profit organisations including the Starlight Children’s Foundation and First Star . Peter is also the author of Finding Happy. In this episode of Rest and Recreation, the work life balance podcast from Abeceder Peter describes to host Michael Millward how his career in film started, and the influence that had on his p...
Jan 16, 2026•29 min
Sometimes the most difficult thing you can do is working out how to be you G Scott Graham is an author of more than 30 books, a career coach, business coach, and psychedelic support coach based in Boston, Massachusetts. Scott volunteers as an EMT instructor, firefighter, and Master Gardener in his community. Scott also runs a farm animal rescue centre. In this episode of Rest and Recreation, the work life balance podcast from Abeceder Scott and and host Michael Millward explore what the tough st...
Jan 09, 2026•27 min
Me First Darling – a conversation with author Cheri Darling Meet Cheri Darling the author of Me First Darling A Sacred Guide to Healing, Boundaries, and Becoming Your Own Rescue. Cheri Darling is the hostess of the Ta Ta Darling, a one-of a kind wellness Airbnb nestled in the heart of Temecula Wine Country in California, USA. Cheri is also a military spouse, professional photographer, wellness advocate, entrepreneur. Every stage of her journey to achieving a balanced life has been poured into th...
Jan 02, 2026•29 min
Looking back on twelve months of Rest and Recreation Michael Millward the founder and managing director of Abeceder marks the first year as host of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and Recreation. Find out more about Michael Millward at Abeceder.co.uk . Audience Offers – listings include links that may create a small commission for Rest and Recreation Travel – Holidays can play an important part in preventing burn out. So take a break to anywhere in the world and pay trade prices on t...
Dec 26, 2025•6 min
A faith-based self-improvement book that defines four truths that can help us be successful, and the dangerous lie that can stop anyone from succeeding. By any standards Terry Tucker has had an extraordinary life. He has been a family carer, police hostage negotiator, and high school sports coach, amongst many other things. So, Terry was destined to deal with being diagnosed with a rare cancer in an extraordinary way as well. In this episode of Rest and Recreation, the work life balance podcast ...
Dec 19, 2025•29 min
Children of immigrants can be caught between cultures, or they can embrace both and build a business that is inspired by their heritage. Wendy Jensen was a corporate executive who became an author , artist, and the founder of Scandinavian Hearts . What started as a passion for sharing her family’s Scandinavian traditions has grown into a business built on meaningful stories, handmade gifts, and cultural connection. I’ve written four Amazon best-selling children’s books and created a line of home...
Dec 12, 2025•28 min
Your hobbies and how you contribute to your community can shift—and that’s okay. It doesn’t have to stay the same every year (or even every month). Seasons change, and so do we. Gaby Estrada works in a start-up alongside working on her own business Poquillo as well. That coupled with volunteering in her community and a wide range of hobbies and fitness activities means that she is a busy person. In this episode of Rest and Recreation, the work life balance podcast from Abeceder Gaby describes to...
Dec 05, 2025•29 min
If you feel lonely more often than you feel connected to people, this episode of Rest and Recreation is for you. Surviving childhood abuse made Sharon Rolph crave invisibility. Later in life she realised that invisibility didn’t really suit her. In retirement Sharon Rolph discovered passions that led to her becoming a coach helping retired people enjoy a useful, seen and relevant life. In this episode of Rest and Recreation, the work life balance podcast from Abeceder Sharon describes to host Mi...
Nov 28, 2025•28 min
Understanding how to sleep in a healthily Bart Henderson was set on a legal career, until he started looking at how he was contributing to society. The ensuing thought process resulted in him setting up the Agora Guild , a community for men that is built on kindness, strength and chivalry. In this episode of Rest and Recreation, the work life balance podcast from Abeceder Bart and host Michael Millward discuss the role of sleep in a healthy lifestyle, and healthy sleep habits. Their discussion c...
Nov 21, 2025•29 min
Sometime digital nomad Wendy Sellers reminisces about her travels in the USA and beyond. Find out how she did it. Where Wendy Sellers grew up, people weren’t really expected to travel. You went to school, you got a job, had a family and then the next generation repeated. All that changed when Wendy was working as an independent HR consultant and a friend invited her to go travelling. Now Wendy is an avid traveller. She has visited all fifty US states and also travelled internationally as well. I...
Nov 13, 2025•29 min
A woman reflects humorously and insightfully on the coping strategies that helped her deal with the challenges of working in a male-dominated environment. Southern debutantes like Lauren Lusby Fernandez are not supposed to want a career in law enforcement, nevertheless she joined the US Secret Service . In her book Talkback Barbie Lauren describes the lessons others can learn from her experience. In this episode of Rest and Recreation, the work life balance podcast from Abeceder Lauren and host ...
Nov 07, 2025•28 min
Dog owners need to learn how to speak dog if they want to live happily with their dog. Drew Brashier is a professional dog trainer with Paw and Order in South Carolina USA. In this episode of Rest and Recreation, the work life balance podcast from Abeceder Drew explains to host Michael Millward how any dog owner can have a successful relationship with their dog and live happily together. Drew and Michael discuss the common challenges that dog owners face and some straight forward solutions. Thes...
Oct 31, 2025•29 min
Living the American dream led to burn out for Serban Mare, who then learnt how to recover from burn out. Serban Mare believes that achieving high performance at work should not result in someone losing their health or sacrificing their happiness. Serban was born in Romania and emigrated to the USA when he was 23 years old. Over the following ten years he lived the American dream until he stopped living that dream and realised, he had reached the point of burn out. In this episode of Rest and Rec...
Oct 24, 2025•30 min
Sharon Critchlow sold her share in the business she had helped to build. She could afford to stop working. This is what Sharon does now. Sharon Critchlow is an entrepreneur who sold her share of the business she had helped to grow. That sale meant that Sharon could have enjoyed a comfortable life, but sitting back is not Sharon’s style. In this episode of Rest and Recreation, the work life balance podcast from Abeceder Sharon explains to host Michael Millward how she reinvented her life so that ...
Oct 16, 2025•29 min
Focus on understanding and achieving the end goal Stephen Shortt is a career talent strategist who has developed the Happy Work Life Map . Stephen is on a mission to make the world a better place, with happy people in fulfilling, rewarding careers! An important part of having a happy career is being happy across every aspect of life. Stephen explains why he defines happiness in life as being making progress towards purpose – whatever your purpose is for you… Michael and Stephen explore how happi...
Oct 10, 2025•30 min
God will never make you poor, if you give to the poor Dr Matee Rajput is the Surgical Director at KSL Clinic , and one of the leading hair transplant surgeons in the UK. Dr Matee is also, with his four brothers a founder of the SAMR Trust . a charity that was inspired by the way his father lived his life. In this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and Recreation Dr Matee explains to Michael Millward how his father instilled in his children the importance of helping people who...
Oct 03, 2025•29 min
