The Think Day (Creating Space)
Engineer space between stimulus and response with micro-breaks and monthly think days.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 88%
Drawn from Viktor Frankl's idea that power lies in the space between stimulus and response, this framework fights the reactive loop entrepreneurs live in by deliberately building space. At the micro level, Bloom turns 30-minute meetings into 25 to create 5-minute breaks, citing a Microsoft EEG study where short breaks eliminated stress buildup and kept performance steady. At the macro level, he takes a monthly or quarterly think day, a 4-8 hour window in a new environment with a journal and set prompts to zoom out. Together they dissolve the anxiety that comes from unresolved open loops.
Origin
Bloom builds the concept on Viktor Frankl's line from Man's Search for Meaning about the space between stimulus and response, and reinforces it with a Microsoft study using EEGs to show that 5-minute breaks between meetings prevented stress buildup.
Core principles
- 01Power lives in the space between stimulus and response.
- 02Living in a reactive stimulus-response loop is dangerous and depleting.
- 03Space must be deliberately scheduled, not left floating in your mind.
- 04Combine a micro layer (short breaks) with a macro layer (think days).
How to run it
- 1
Shrink your meetings
Convert 30-minute meetings into 25-minute ones to create a 5-minute break between each.
Pro tip You mostly lose only the opening weather banter, so you stay just as effective.
- 2
Protect the micro-breaks
Use the gaps for a short walk and keep them phone-free so your mind actually resets.
Watch out Scrolling during the break defeats the purpose; it must be truly off.
- 3
Schedule a monthly think day
Once a month or quarter, block a 4-8 hour window in a new environment, away from your normal ecosystem.
Pro tip Go somewhere different, like a coffee shop, hotel, spa, or rented Airbnb.
- 4
Zoom out with prompts
Bring a journal and work through structured questions that force you to look at the bigger picture personally and professionally.
Pro tip Turn open loops into decisions and a roadmap so you can shift from worrying to executing.
In the wild
Researchers put EEGs on people doing back-to-back meetings versus meetings with 5-minute breaks; the back-to-back group saw stress build and performance drop.
→ The break group showed zero stress buildup and consistent performance, proving a tiny intervention has large effects.
Bloom and Hala both describe stepping out for a think or strategy day to resolve the 'should I do this or that' open loops piling up.
→ They leave with a roadmap and decisions made, and the stress and anxiety melt away into pure execution.
Common mistakes
Leaving space vague
Keeping reflection as a someday intention floating in the back of your mind means it never actually happens.
Being on your phone during breaks
Filling the gap with scrolling keeps the stimulus flowing and cancels the restorative benefit.
Is it for you?
Best for
Entrepreneurs whose days are wall-to-wall stimulus with no time to think.
Not ideal for
People who need in-the-moment crisis handling rather than reflective spacing.
From the transcript
“our power exists in in the space that we can create between stimulus and response.”
“once a month or once a quarter at a minimum, do what I call a think day.”
From the episode
Sahil Bloom: The 5 Types of Wealth You Need to Design Your Dream Life
Sahil Bloom