Minisode: Inside Mandi’s Solo Retreat (and Why You Should Try One Too)

mgraziano45
Oct 6
2 min read

In this mini-episode of Adventures in Business, Amani and Mandi look at a favorite topic of creatives and entrepreneurs alike: the solo retreat. Mandi is heading out for one of her signature two-night writing getaways, and the conversation quickly turns into a chat about why retreats work, how to structure them, and why you don’t have to be a writer to benefit from one.

What’s a Solo Retreat?

For Mandi, a solo retreat means checking into a spot within driving distance, locking down her schedule, and focusing on her writing projects without distraction. No meetings. No busy work. Just an agenda filled with writing, reflection, and intentional breaks.

Her plan this time?

Restructuring her Business Bedside Manner speech so it aligns more closely with her upcoming book
Resetting her “Best By 51” goals (six categories that keep her grounded in health, finances, spirituality, and more)
Exploring ideas for her Substack, a space she envisions as “Mandi’s Brain Trails,” where she can share anything from sales strategies to day-to-day musings

The Importance of Rest

One thing Mandi emphasizes is the importance of rest. Living with anxiety means she has learned to optimize her performance by taking breaks every 90 minutes, whether that’s a walk, a bike ride, or simply sitting in silence to daydream.

Amani adds that on his own retreat, using a Pomodoro timer (20 minutes of writing, followed by a short break) kept him on track. He also made space for long walks, good meals, and even audiobooks to recharge his creative flow. He said this structure completely changed the trajectory of writing his book, so he will be utilizing it again in the future (whenever he’s ready to write again).

Why Solo Retreats Work

Solo retreats aren’t just about cranking out chapters of a book. They’re about creating the mental space to reflect, process, and reset. Bill Gates famously takes “reading vacations,” and entrepreneurs like Sara Blakely swear by solo trips for sparking big ideas.

As Mandi points out, you don’t need to be a writer to take yourself on a retreat. A couple of days away, without your usual distractions, can be the perfect way to recalibrate, refocus, and come back to your work and family as a more grounded, energized version of yourself.