Your Phone Is Sabotaging Your Solopreneur Success (Here's the Fix)

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If you are a solopreneur who wears long work hours like a badge of honor, this episode may change the way you think about what it actually takes to succeed. Carly Ries sits down with Justin Hai, author of Stress Nation and co-founder of Rebalance Health, to unpack the direct connection between your devices, your cortisol levels, and your ability to perform at your best.

What This Episode Covers

This conversation explores why the phone in your pocket may be the single biggest barrier between you and the productivity, rest, and clarity you need to grow your business. Justin explains the science behind cortisol, how notifications trigger a fight-or-flight response throughout the day, why that keeps you from falling and staying asleep, and how chronic sleep loss cascades into fatigue, weight gain, anxiety, and poor business decisions. He also challenges the hustle culture narrative that glorifies sleep deprivation and offers practical, low-effort changes solopreneurs can start making immediately.

Key Takeaways for Solopreneurs

Your phone is keeping your cortisol dangerously high

Every buzz, vibration, and notification signals your brain that you might not be safe. This keeps your cortisol elevated well past the point in the day when it should be dropping, which prevents your body from handing off to melatonin and preparing for sleep.

Poor sleep makes you a worse business owner

Your body produces all of its essential hormones — testosterone, estrogen, progesterone — during uninterrupted sleep. Even waking once in the night is technically a bad night's rest. When solopreneurs consistently sleep four or five hours instead of seven to eight, decision-making, creativity, and energy all suffer dramatically.

Multitasking is not the time saver you think it is

While some people can juggle multiple devices and tasks effectively, many solopreneurs are actually less productive when they split focus. Fragmented attention compounds stress and lowers the quality of everything you produce.

Willpower alone will not fix your screen addiction

Technology is engineered to be addictive. Social media algorithms are designed to keep you scrolling for dopamine hits. Trying to resist through discipline alone is like asking someone with an addiction to simply stop. Structural changes to your environment — removing apps, silencing notifications, scheduling screen time — are far more effective.

Setting boundaries does not mean losing clients

Being available 24/7 is not exceptional customer service. It is training your clients to expect access at the expense of your health. Responding to texts and messages at scheduled times and establishing clear on and off hours allows you to deliver better work when you are on the clock.

Isolation is a hidden solopreneur risk

Technology creates the illusion of connection but does not replace real human interaction. Solopreneurs who spend all day speaking to a screen are at higher risk for loneliness and depression. Scheduling a few in-person meetings or outings throughout the week makes a meaningful difference.

Actionable Tips From The Episode

Remove social media apps from your phone and access them only on desktop with intention. Turn off all notifications except phone calls. Establish a consistent sleep and wake time seven days a week, including weekends. Avoid exercise, heavy meals, and alcohol close to bedtime. Keep your bedroom cold, dark, and quiet. Respond to messages in batches at scheduled times rather than in real time. Prioritize single-tasking during your peak focus hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does technology affect cortisol and sleep for solopreneurs?

Every notification from your phone triggers a stress response that keeps cortisol elevated throughout the day and into the evening. When cortisol is high at bedtime, your brain cannot wind down, which prevents you from falling asleep or staying asleep. Since your body produces essential hormones during uninterrupted sleep, chronic disruption leads to fatigue, weight gain, anxiety, and diminished decision-making — all of which directly impact how effectively you run your business.

Why is multitasking bad for solopreneur productivity?

Splitting your attention across multiple devices and tasks fragments your focus and raises cortisol over time. Many solopreneurs who believe they are saving time by multitasking are actually producing lower-quality work and burning through energy faster. Focusing on one task at a time during peak hours and protecting your sleep so you operate at full capacity is a more effective strategy than grinding at 50 to 70 percent all day.

How can solopreneurs set boundaries with technology without losing clients?

Start by recognizing that 24/7 availability is not sustainable customer service, it is a habit that trains clients to expect constant access at the expense of your health. Remove social media from your phone, turn off non-essential notifications, and respond to messages at set times. Pair that with a consistent sleep routine and screen-free wind-down period before bed so that when you are working, you are performing at your absolute best.

Resources Mentioned

Book: Stress Nation by Justin Hai

Website: rebalancehealth.com

About Justin Hai

Justin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Rebalance Health, where he is redefining hormone and stress management through clinically backed, award-winning innovation. He has spent his career at the intersection of design, biotech, and wellness, launching ventures that fuse science with real-world impact, including Alastin Skincare (acquired by Galderma), GLO Pharmaceuticals, and now Rebalance Health.

He is also a New York–published author and the writer of Stress Nation, a national-release book from Wiley & Sons that exposes the silent epidemic of cortisol imbalance and its impact on mental, hormonal, and physical health.

Justin studied product design at RISD, earned his MBA from Pepperdine, and has pursued advanced studies at Harvard, MIT, and Yale. Along the way, he has received recognition from Fast Company, CNBC, Inc., and NASA for his work in innovation and health-tech.

Under his leadership, Rebalance has been named Glossy Beauty's Wellness Brand of the Year, won Best in Small Business for Innovative Product, and was honored in TIME's Best Inventions of 2024 for its breakthrough approach to menopausal health.

What drives Justin is deeply personal. He has lived the consequences of chronic stress, burnout, and hormonal disruption, and knows firsthand how urgently people are searching for relief. His work is rooted in scientific rigor, personal experience, and a belief in the body's ability to rebalance. Whether through innovation, education, or storytelling, he is on a mission to help people feel like themselves again.

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