Hey friend,

Every gym has them. The guys between sets, thumbs moving faster than their feet—scrolling, swiping, checking email, texting someone back. Not resting. Not recovering. Just… absent.

They showed up to build something. Then gave their attention away for free.

Two weeks ago, I told you about Cal Newport's A World Without Email and the irony of writing about it in a newsletter. Today, we're going broader. Because email is just one symptom of a deeper problem.

Our devices are not neutral tools. They were designed—intentionally, strategically—to capture and hold our attention. And most of us have never stopped long enough to ask a simple question: Is this trade-off worth it?

For veterans building purposeful lives, this isn't a lifestyle trend. It's mission-critical.

The Slot Machine in Your Pocket

Newport's book Digital Minimalism opens with an uncomfortable truth: the apps on your phone were engineered by some of the world's brightest minds. Their job wasn't to make those apps useful. It was to make them compelling.

The infinite scroll. The pull-to-refresh gesture. The red notification badge. None of these are accidents. They're features borrowed from the psychology of slot machines—variable reward schedules designed to keep you pulling the lever.

And they work.

The average American now spends over four hours a day on their phone. That's 28 hours a week. Over 1,400 hours a year. Let that settle for a second.

That's time not spent with our families. Not invested in building our businesses. Not given to sitting in silence with God. It's just… gone. Fed into an algorithm that gives nothing back.

The Veteran's Advantage

Here's the good news: if you've served, you already have something most people don't. You know what it means to get up before you want to. To push through when motivation disappears. To hold a standard even when no one's watching.

Digital minimalism asks for the same kind of intentionality. The same quiet discipline you carried in uniform.

Newport doesn't tell you to throw your phone in the trash. He asks you to do something harder. Audit it.

Look at each app. Each notification. Each small digital habit. And ask one question:

Does this support something I deeply value?

If yes—keep it. Sharpen how you use it. If no—or if you're not sure—remove it. For 30 days. That's it.

Then see what happens.

What You Might Gain

Newport profiles people who've run this experiment. What they describe isn't deprivation. It's relief.

They talk about rediscovering hobbies they hadn't touched in years. Conversations that go deeper because nobody's glancing at a screen. Evenings that somehow feel longer. Mornings that feel quieter.

One man put it this way: "I didn't realize how much noise was in my head until it was gone."

Now, you might not care how much time I spend on my phone. Fair enough. But I care about how much time you spend on yours.

For those of us trying to live with purpose—to steward our time and resources with intention—this matters more than we think.

Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." In the digital age, guarding your heart means guarding your attention. The two are more connected than we realize.

A Practical Starting Point

If a 30-day digital declutter feels like too much too fast, try this instead:

Remove social media apps from your phone for one week. Just one.

You can still check them from a computer if you need to. But the friction—having to sit down, open a browser, type in a URL, log in—will show you something. It'll reveal how often you reach for those apps out of habit rather than with intention.

Pay attention to what surfaces.

Do you feel anxious at first? Bored? Relieved?

Most people discover that the compulsive checking wasn't adding anything to their lives. It was just filling space. Quiet space. Space that was trying to tell them something.

And when you reclaim that space, you get to decide what fills it next.

Coming Up: The Main Event

Next time, we close this series with Newport's most well-known book: Deep Work. If A World Without Email was about communication and Digital Minimalism was about attention, Deep Work is about what becomes possible when both of those things are aligned.

It's arguably Newport's best book. It's definitely my favorite. And for anyone building something that matters—a business, a family, a legacy—it's essential reading.

One thing to try this week:

Pick one app you suspect is taking more than it's giving. Delete it from your phone for seven days. Not forever. Just seven days.

See what you notice.

Until next time,

Joshua Brooks, CFP®

Founder, Exponential Advisors

Army Reserve Chaplain

P.S. I'd love to hear what app you chose to remove—and what showed up in its place. Hit reply and tell me. These conversations are one of my favorite parts of writing this newsletter. And see below for one of my FAVORITE newsletters on Kit. 👇

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Disclosure: This content is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, tax, or legal advice. Please consult with a qualified financial advisor regarding your individual circumstances.