Have you ever realised you’re holding your breath while answering emails? I hadn’t—until I did. This episode of Joy At Work dives into a phenomenon called email apnea, and trust me, once you notice it, you won’t stop noticing.

I’ll share how a former Microsoft exec stumbled on this strange breathing pattern, why it matters to our energy, focus, and joy, and what I’ve been experimenting with to breathe better—even while emailing.

You’ll hear:

• The origin story of email apnea
• What dancers and test pilots know about breath that we don’t
• Six small, weird (but wonderful) experiments to reset your breathing
• How movement, breathing apps, and even watching a dog can help!

This one’s short but mighty. If your workday feels heavier than it should, this may be why.

🎧 Prefer video? Watch all my Joy at Work Experiments on YouTube:

🔗 Watch the Experiments on YouTube

🔍 Explore more episodes on joyful movement & breathing:

• Pain-Free Work with Rune Abo
• Movement is Medicine with Jon Field
• Lawrence van Lingen on YouTube

🌬️ Curious to experiment more?

👉 Check out all the Joy At Work Experiments

Ever felt the urge to just stop? To hit pause on work, travel a bit, try something new—or just breathe?

In this episode, I answer a question I hear often: "If I take a sabbatical, will I ruin my career?"

If you’re in midlife and considering stepping off the treadmill—even briefly—you’re not alone. I share stories of people who’ve done it (including me), talk about why the old model of work is crumbling, and offer a perspective that might help you rethink what a meaningful, joyful work life can look like.

We explore:

• Why sabbaticals are no longer career suicide
• How midlife reinventions are reshaping what "career success" even means
• What actually makes a work life feel worth returning to

And I’ll introduce you to the kind of rethinking we do inside my Fierce Emporium programme—where the first thing we redesign is your idea of work itself.

🎯 Learn more about Fierce Emporium:

👉 https://www.midlifeunstuck.com/the-fierce-emporium

• 📘 X Change – Lucia's Book
• 🎧 Returning to Uni in Midlife

When a listener wrote in about leaving their job to return to uni for a post-grad, I had flashbacks to my own midlife university adventure — and all the mistakes I made.

In this episode, I share why I rarely recommend a full-blown post-grad as the first step in a career redesign, plus the three red-flag scenarios where it’s usually the wrong move. I also tell the very real (and slightly messy) story of my own year back at university, balancing motherhood, academia, and a dwindling supply of energy.

You’ll hear the rare situations where post-grad study does work beautifully, the key questions to ask before you enrol, and some low-risk ways to test your interest without draining your savings or sanity.

If you’re considering going back to uni, this one’s for you.

👉 Join the Fierce Emporium and work through my exact clarity process before you invest your time, money, and self-worth in a huge leap. Explore The Fierce Emporium.