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Slowing Down: Here's Why I'm Doing Less This Year

Written by: Noah Learner Tags: newsletter, community

Published: Feb 24, 2026

A few weeks ago I ended up in urgent care (twice) from something I thought was no big deal. Long story short everything's fine, but it was a reminder about you know, life.

The past few months have been epic from a learning perspective. Except I got so sucked into building and testing and learning – 7 days a week for a stretch – that I stopped doing the things that keep me healthy and balanced. My framework for making decisions about time and rest was off track.

I think about my life as a square with four quadrants: family, work, The SEO Community, and passions. I was pulled too far in one direction, and the square collapsed.

So here's my decision: I'm doing less this year, not more.

To make the point stick, I'm in Utah this week skiing with friends and meeting up with folks at the Utah SEO meetup. Here's my view: 

I'm enough, and I'm doing enough. I take meetings to coach and mentor. I run Office Hours every Friday and with the hivemind on Tuesdays. And that's what making an impact looks like for me right now. I'm still excited to see you at SEOweek and brighton SD – I'm just going to be much more intentional about traveling.

These are the lenses through which I'm prioritizing my energy: Family first. Work in it's proper place. The SEO Community at the center, because the impact matters.

Here's my framework for knowing when to say no.

We all need permission to say: It's enough. You certainly have mine.