Slow Down to Speed Up
Protect quiet routines so clearer thinking improves the rest of the day
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 96%
Reinberg's daily routine uses deliberate quiet and physical training to protect decision quality. He begins with 20 minutes of meditation and avoids his phone for the first 30 minutes. He then trains for an hour before entering the office. While traveling, he preserves the pattern by finding a gym outside the hotel rather than abandoning the routine. He also uses intermittent fasting, herbal tea instead of caffeine, and another meditation in the late afternoon before winding down at night. The underlying mechanism is to reduce internal noise before demands arrive. Reinberg says slowing down helps him think more clearly, make better decisions, manage emotions, communicate across different personalities, and maintain the energy required by people who rely on him.
Origin
Reinberg began meditating about two and a half years earlier after a friend and mentor encouraged it, then continued after learning Ziva meditation from Emily Fletcher.
Core principles
- 01A slower start can produce faster and better decisions
- 02The phone should not set the mind's first agenda
- 03Physical training supports sustained daily energy
- 04A second meditation can reset the late afternoon
- 05Emotional regulation improves communication under stress
How to run it
- 1
Protect the opening
Avoid the phone for the first 30 minutes so outside demands do not immediately create mental chaos.
Pro tip Make the phone boundary part of the routine rather than a daily decision.
Watch out Checking messages first recreates the rushed pattern this method is intended to replace.
- 2
Quiet the mind
Meditate for 20 minutes to slow thought and establish emotional balance.
Pro tip Learn a meditation style from a credible teacher if starting alone is difficult.
- 3
Train the body
Complete a focused workout before beginning the workday, preserving the practice while traveling.
Pro tip Find a gym outside the hotel when travel makes the normal routine unavailable.
- 4
Support steady energy
Use eating and drinking habits that work for your body and help sustain energy through the day.
Pro tip Reinberg uses intermittent fasting and herbal tea, but presents them as what works for him.
Watch out Do not treat one person's nutrition choices as a universal prescription.
- 5
Reset and wind down
Meditate again in the late afternoon, finish remaining work, and transition deliberately toward the night.
Pro tip Use the second meditation to interrupt accumulated stress before the evening.
In the wild
When traveling, Reinberg keeps the same wake-up and workout pattern. He finds a gym outside his hotel, trains, returns, and continues the rest of his routine rather than treating travel as an exception.
→ The routine remains consistent across locations.
Common mistakes
Starting with the phone
Immediate phone use lets incoming demands replace the quiet start that supports clear thinking.
Rushing every activity
Reinberg contrasts his current deliberate pace with his younger habit of trying to do everything fast.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for people who make many decisions and carry responsibility for others.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for someone seeking a rigid universal diet or exercise prescription.
From the transcript
“I meditate for 20 minutes and I just growl myself I do not look at my phone for the first 30 minutes”
“when you could slow things down you could speed up a lot of things and you think better and you're clear”
“it allows me to manage my emotions and when I could do that everything else Works in life”
From the episode
Trailblazing Wealth ft. Visionary Ben Reinberg
Visionary Ben Reinberg