About Fewer Better Things
I started this newsletter in January 2017 to share well made and useful gear during my years living as a digital nomad across the world. But the story really begins in the spring of 2004 when I took a few months off my work in Silicon Valley.
I had worked long hours nonstop for about 10 years in the tech industry and was burned out. I had lost my drive and my passion – even myself – when just striving for more and more of everything, never really celebrating having enough.
During the months off I realized I wanted more out of life than just work and material wealth: I wanted the freedom to live on my own terms. So when I returned to work I made it clear that I was going to leave to pursue this mission.
The sabbatical taught me that I could live a richer life with less and I decided to design a new remote lifestyle where I could both work with what I love and have time, attention, and energy to pursue my interests and hobbies.
A few years later, in 2013, I left San Francisco to travel the world as a digital nomad for five years, giving talks about digital technologies and live out of a 35 liter backpack. That’s when I really understood the power of fewer better things.
When you have a limited freelance budget and very limited space, you really need to learn how to rethink your relationship with consumption and materialism, and only acquire the everyday bare-bone basic essentials to survive and thrive.
It was during this time I came up with the lifestyle Fewer Better Things: to only acquire frequently used, high-quality products that last, made by sustainable brands that care about social and environmental progress.
This idea, of course, was the antithesis of the reigning global norm, defining your value in life by how many things you can afford. In a world that celebrates “However has the most things when he dies—wins”, I was living the opposite lifestyle.
But shifting my perspective on the real value of time and money helped me free up time, attention, and creative energy to pursue a lifestyle and projects that I found really valuable in my life, and significantly lower my carbon footprint.
Today I live in Southern California and spend every day outdoors, pursuing my favorite hobbies: reading books and engaging in water sports. I no longer spend time or money on consumption, only repairs or upgrades of existing gear.
My focus has shifted from chasing more to appreciating having enough to do the things I enjoy doing every day. It has changed who I am and how I live in the world, creating both a rare peace of mind and a rich life satisfaction.
In my weekly newsletter Fewer Better Things I write about how to prioritize needs over wants, what drives overconsumption, how to have enough, how to regain time and attention, and much more relating to a simpler lifestyle.
About Per
I grew up in Gothenburg, Sweden and moved to Southern California for my senior year in high school. This experience completely transformed my life for the better: I discovered writing, photography, water sports, and computers.
When I returned to Europe I studied Economics, Literature, and Languages in Sweden, Switzerland, and Spain. I then moved to Stockholm to work for a media startup where we began exploring the opportunities with the Internet.
After a few years in this very dynamic and fun environment, I moved to one of Sweden’s first tech startups – Icon Medialab – and from there I got hired by Yahoo! to build up their European product management operations from London.
After a few years at the London office, with regular trips to our European offices, I was hired by our headquarters in Silicon Valley to manage and grow communications (mail, messenger et cetera) products across the world.
In 2005 I left for good to travel the world, return to the Valley a year later to join another startup but realized that I had lost interest and decided to pursue other interests and start a family.
In 2010 I began teaching executives around the world in digital transformation and subsequently, in 2013, began my five years as a digital nomad. Since 2018 I’ve been settled down in Southern California to enjoy my outdoor living and sports.
I’m still interested in traveling but prefer simpler road trips around California; spending quality time reading and writing; focusing on personal fitness and wellbeing; learning new skills; and spending time with my circle of friends.
Per
You can find my LinkedIn profile here, the only social networks I use, sometimes.
