The luxury of doing less

A few days ago, I shut down my laptop at 3 pm and sat in silence for an hour. I didn’t look at email or social media. I didn’t touch my phone.

Just silence and a bit of writing with pencil and paper.

Five years ago I would have felt like I was wasting time. But today, I consider moments like these the ultimate luxury.

Because we're living in a world that profits from our attention and rewards constant output.

If you watch productivity channels on Youtube, they'll tell you to wake up at 4:30 am, take an ice bath, meditate, schedule every minute of your day, and optimize your life for maximum output.

And don’t get me wrong — there’s nothing wrong with any of those things. I'm actually drafting this newsletter at 5:13am. But if you're always “completely optimized," stop and ask yourself this.

Am I really living the best life possible?

I'm encouraging you to think through that question, because pondering that helped me a lot. My calendar used to have every block filled. And I felt productive. Important, even. But I wasn't producing anything meaningful.

I was just staying busy.

The Hidden Cost of Always-On

A good friend of mine is a successful tech founder, and he recently shared something that really stuck with me.

"I make $800,000 a year," he told me over dinner. "But I can't remember the last time I had a moment for an original thought."

I realized I was seeing this play out in real time, over a meal with my successful friend.

Throughout our dinner, he had two phones that kept lighting up with notifications. His Apple Watch buzzed with messages he wanted to check. And even during our deepest discussions, he glanced down at his tech spread out on the table.

His mind was racing, and he was multi-tasking. But he was never really thinking.

And I know he's not alone. I’ll bet you’re thinking about a time where this very same thing happened to you over lunch or dinner with a friend or family member.

Or maybe you were that friend or family member who did this.

What Nobody Tells You About Success

The most successful people I know aren't the ones racing from meeting to meeting, bragging about their 80-hour workweeks, or screenshotting their jammed calendars on social.

They're the ones who create space on their calendars (and in their lives) for deep thinking and true rest.

Many successful entrepreneurs read for three to four hours a day or take "think weeks" to disconnect completely. Yet we keep celebrating the hustle and treating rest like a weakness.

The Real Definition of Wealth

True luxury isn't about expensive cars and penthouse apartments anymore. It's about having the freedom to think and live with clarity and intention.

• To think, uninterrupted — creating space for original ideas and deep work.
• To sleep without an alarm — allowing our bodies to follow natural rhythms.
• To move at our own pace — rejecting unnecessary urgency.
• And to live without constant noise — choosing a clear mind over chaos.

And money can't buy us any of these things. We have to consciously choose this lifestyle, by saying no to things that seem important (but aren't).

The Path Forward

These days, I try to treat my attention like the precious resource that it is.

I keep my phone on Do Not Disturb, 24/7/365. Only my wife and mother can get through. And everything else can wait.

I schedule one hour of "thinking time" every week. Just me, a pencil, and a notebook. No devices.

I use an auto-responder on most social channels. This helps set clear expectations, and I’ve found people usually respect boundaries when you lay them out.

I say no to 100% of "brain pick" requests. My mental space is non-negotiable. I’ve shared almost everything I know through social media, podcast interviews, and my digital products. My auto-responders redirect people to my content when they want advice.

I protect my sleep religiously. I’m in bed by 9:30 pm most nights. And I’ve started leaving my phone in the kitchen.

One of the surprising parts about all this is that my business hasn't suffered. Because clear thinking leads to better decisions, and better decisions lead to better outcomes.

The Bottom Line

The modern world will always try to steal your attention, fill your calendar, and speed up your life. And before you know it, you’ll be old and gray — realizing you missed the moments.

The realest luxury is your ability to resist the pressure and create space for what matters to you.

You don't need permission to slow down. And you certainly don't need to apologize for choosing to be distraction-free.

Because in a world that's constantly trying to distract you, shutting down the noise — like I did the other day — might be the most rebellious thing you can do.

And that's all for this week.

Protect your mental space, and I’ll see you next Saturday.