Journey Back to Human
Restore connection, simplicity, nature, movement, and nourishing food.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 88%
Journey Back to Human is Bartlett's five-part lifestyle reset: reconnect with people, simplify daily life, spend time in nature, move more, and improve food choices. He derives the model from his reading and personal reflections on how earlier humans lived, then contrasts those conditions with isolation, screens, convenience, and overstimulation. The practical use is an audit, not a claim that modern life should be abandoned. Check each area, choose a small change, and observe whether it improves your own wellbeing. Bartlett cites walks, time with his dog, and a month in the Costa Rican jungle that he describes as tranquil and his most human experience. His broader claims about depression and anxiety are personal interpretations presented without supporting study details in the transcript, so the framework should complement, not replace, professional assessment or treatment.
Origin
Extracted from The Diary of a CEO
Core principles
- 01Meaningful relationships are a basic human need.
- 02Reducing complexity can create room for attention and rest.
- 03Time in nature can counter a life spent indoors and on screens.
- 04Modern convenience can remove ordinary movement.
- 05Lifestyle practices can support wellbeing without replacing healthcare.
How to run it
- 1
Audit human connection
Review whether your week contains frequent, meaningful contact with friends, family, colleagues, or a wider community. Identify where work or habit has displaced those relationships.
Pro tip Prioritize reciprocal, meaningful contact over simply being around people.
Watch out The host cites broad health claims without naming the studies in the transcript.
- 2
Create pockets of simplicity
Choose a recurring part of the day and remove avoidable transport, notification, work, or status pressure from it. Replace complexity with a simple activity that holds your attention.
Pro tip Bartlett uses walking and playing with his dog as personal examples.
Watch out Simplifying one routine does not remove structural pressures outside your control.
- 3
Return outdoors
Schedule regular time outside, preferably in a natural setting available to you. Observe its effect rather than assuming every environment works the same way for everyone.
Pro tip Use a nearby park, river, or walking route if extended travel is unrealistic.
Watch out Bartlett's Costa Rica experience is personal evidence, not proof of a universal clinical effect.
- 4
Restore everyday movement
Identify conveniences or desk habits that have removed ordinary activity and add sustainable movement back into the day. Choose a level appropriate to your health and ability.
Pro tip Attach movement to an existing journey or routine.
Watch out Individual exercise needs and limits may require professional guidance.
- 5
Review food inputs
Notice how convenience shapes what you eat and select more nourishing options where practical. Track your own experience without turning the change into an unsupported treatment claim.
Pro tip Change one frequent default before attempting a complete diet overhaul.
Watch out The transcript does not establish a specific diet or clinical nutrition protocol.
- 6
Run a grounded review
After testing the changes, record what improved, what did not, and what support is still needed. Keep useful practices and seek qualified care for persistent symptoms.
Pro tip Evaluate each element separately so you can tell which change helped.
Watch out Do not reduce depression, anxiety, addiction, or loneliness to lifestyle choices alone.
In the wild
Bartlett says he began walking to and from the gym while listening to music rather than automatically taking an Uber. He presents this as one way he introduced movement and simplicity into an otherwise busy city routine.
→ The journey became a recurring pocket of simpler, more active time in his day.
Bartlett describes spending much of a month in the Costa Rican jungle as tranquil and personally significant. He concluded that regular time in nature needed to become part of his routine after returning to a busy city.
→ The experience changed his personal priorities, though the episode does not establish a universal medical effect.
Common mistakes
Presenting lifestyle as a cure
The episode does not provide evidence that these practices diagnose or cure depression, anxiety, addiction, or other conditions.
Trying to recreate prehistory
The transferable mechanism is to restore neglected conditions, not to make unsupported claims that all ancestral life was healthier or simpler.
Changing everything at once
A total lifestyle overhaul makes it harder to sustain the changes or identify which one affected your experience.
Is it for you?
Best for
People who want to test modest changes to connection, simplicity, nature, movement, and food alongside any care they need.
Not ideal for
Anyone treating lifestyle changes as a diagnosis, guaranteed cure, or replacement for qualified medical or mental-health support.
From the transcript
“we need each other that is non-negotiable”
“one of the things that i've tried to introduce into my life is a little bit more simplicity”
“making time in nature has to be a central part of my routine now”
From the episode
Why We're Getting More Depressed, Anxious and Lonely