Mini-Retirement 2025 (Weeks 4 & 5)

Good morning!

I hope this finds you well.

Welcome to another edition of The Matt Viera Newsletter.

The newsletter with the goal to inspire you to invest in life experiences.

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My best friend and his wife flew in from Scotland to join us here in Bologna, just like they did during our past mini-retirements in Barcelona and Budapest.

And just like every other time we've done this, the days flew by.

I'm incredibly grateful.

Grateful for the experience.

Grateful for our time together.

Grateful to have lifelong friends willing to hop on a plane to join us.

I am also grateful for the time away from work.

Because 14 years ago, I was commuting to a courtroom in New York City almost every day.

While I enjoyed the game of law, I didn't enjoy the hours, the lack of benefits, or the limited time off.

So I made a change.

I transitioned into a career that gave me more time, more freedom, and more space to live.

It's not a perfect career (what is?).

But even on the toughest days, I have something to look forward to.

Cross-country road trips. Off-grid getaways. Mini-retirements.

This summer though, I made a mistake.

I brought too much with me to my current mini-retirement. Not luggage. Projects.

I thought I could use this six-week break to tackle a list of personal goals and productivity tasks I'd been putting off.

But I overestimated how much I wanted to do and underestimated the weight it would carry.

I had too many projects on my plate. Too many expectations. And not enough motivation.

Then, one day, I simply did…

Nothing.

And that's when the clarity showed up.

Not during the walks through Bologna. Not during the long lunches. Not during the quiet mornings on the balcony.

But in the stillness of doing nothing at all.

Because that's the point of a mini-retirement: to step back, to reflect, and to realign with what matters most.

Here's what I realized:

When I return to New York City in September, I'll take a more balanced approach.

Sure, I'll focus on what I need to do, but not at the expense of my health, my hobbies, or my relationships.

I'll still pursue personal goals, but I'll set constraints.

Because when everything becomes urgent, nothing is.

And when everything feels important, life becomes one big to-do list.

So I'll be intentional with my time and energy. I'll protect what matters most. And I'll leave space for the experiences that recharge me.

Because the truth is: what's the point of time off if you're swapping one form of productivity for another?

You don't need to fill every moment of your life off with tasks, goals, or personal projects.

Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is slow down, do nothing, and listen.

We live in a world that equates stillness with laziness.

But if you don't slow down, you can't hear what your life is trying to tell you.

Let your time off be just that…

Time off.

From the grind. From the pressure. From the noise.

Because life is too short to miss the clarity that comes from doing nothing.

Quote that caught my attention:

“A life, a history, whole patterns of existence altered, simply by doing nothing.”

―Aminatta Forna

This article is coming to you on a Friday because I didn't have the time to write and publish an article this past Tuesday.

Truth be told, I didn't want anything to get in the way of my time with my friends.

By the time you read this, I'll be en route to Rome.

Then I'll fly back to the States before embarking on a cross-country road trip to Wyoming, Montana, and Canada.

As such, I will not publish an article on Tuesday (8/12/25).

I will publish an article on Tuesday (8/19/25) from Wyoming.

I'll have to play it by ear with respect to publishing articles on 8/26/25 and 9/2/25 because I'll be driving cross-country out west and may not have the time or connectivity.

If I can, I assure you I will.

You can find the collection of financial tools & resources that helped me grow from a 6-figure debt to a 6-figure net worth by clicking here.

Thanks for reading!

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