Aren't you exhausted yet? Aren't you tired of waking up to your phone’s alarm clock, only to be sucked into an infinite scroll of digital doom. But there’s an escape! And all you have to do is step outside of the chaos, put your phone away, and collaborate with humans in deep work.
Dare to imagine a bold new American workplace reality where Boomers, Generation Xers, Millennials, and even Gen Zs are having fun collaborating together. And who's going to invent this new kind of workplace? Obviously it has to be the Millennials, right...?
By Mike Reid | April 2026
Ok, look. Quite obviously the American workplace is completely and totally broken — and it's only getting worse as AI improves.
And whose going to clean up the mess?
A mess that may (or may not) have been created by the Boomers?
Obviously, it's going to have to be the Millennials, right?
And look, I'm not particularly happy about that either.
Q: Are Millennials finally ready to grow up and realize that Boomers and Gen Xers don't know what they're talking about anymore?
A: No. Not really. It's kind of a bad time for us, honestly.
But Millennials are the only generation that can successfully bridge the gap between the tech Neanderthals also known as Gen X (who get along quite well with Old Millennials) and the extremely tech savvy (and uncooperative) younger generation called Gen Z.
Because meanwhile, the Young Millennials — those born in 1996, 1995, maybe even 1994 — get along with the Gen Zs perfectly well.
Sadly, YouTuber Eddy Burback (born in 1996) doesn't remember when Rainforest Cafes were genuinely cool. (But he does have Gen Z friends.)
But I think it's the Old Millennials — those born between 1981 and 1984, and maybe even 1985 — that need to make the hardest pivot, realize that we're now old, that things aren't like they were in the "good old days," and that there's no going backward, only forward.
Why?
Well, let me ask you this: Do you remember watching Aladdin when it first came out in 1992?
(Because 1992 was 34 years ago...)
Or, what about hearing the screech of dial-up internet in 1997?
Or remember signing onto thefacebook.com in 2004 — back when it still felt like a secret?
Or how about the feeling of eating a Chipotle burrito in 2006, back when it somehow tasted like the thrilling future?
Or remember staying up all night and finally reaching the last page of the last Harry Potter book in the summer of 2007?
(By the way, if you were 11 years old when the last Harry Potter book came out — and still hoping that maybe, just maybe, your letter from Hogwarts was still coming — you're a Young Millennial born in either 1995 or 1996...)
Or remember the feeling of getting a Netflix DVD in the mail in 2009 and thinking, "Wow, this just shows up on my front door now, how crazy is that? This is SO much better than Blockbuster Video!"
Or remember opening Instagram.com in 2011, when every photo felt like a tiny piece of art — and there were literally NO ads at all?
Or remember the vibe in the mid 2010s, when you could walk into a Warby Parker like you’d just discovered something hip and new?
Or what about walking into a SoulCycle as recently as 2019, when it felt less like a workout and more like a spiritual movement?
Or — dare I even say it — remember joining a Zoom call with old friends in April 2020 and feeling….excited to be on it?
At the time, each of these experiences felt extraordinary.
Even magical.
(To a lot of Millennials at least.)
But today?
Well, here in 2026, all of that feels kind of…ordinary. Or worse, right?
"Sure, Mike, you're right. But what can little ‘ole me do about any of this, anyway? I might as well just keep my head down and just keep grinding," perhaps you’re thinking, especially if you're a Millennial?
Ok, I mean "maybe someone else will deal with the problem" is the exact opposite attitude that Hermione, Harry, and even Ron had all of those books, but ok, sure.
Or perhaps you're thinking: "Sure, Mike. I’d love to shift into a new reality, but I can’t because a better reality doesn’t exist!"
Well, yeah. Exactly.
And that’s exactly where things get interesting.
Perhaps even exciting.
Perhaps even….magical?
Because you’re absolutely right: the coolest stuff doesn’t exist yet.
The coolest things in our sad Millennial lifetimes are yet to come!
And someone — maybe even you the sad Millennial, and definitely with the help of our Gen Z digital savants — gets to invent it.
Because the tools of creation — web design software that doesn’t require HTML, video editing tools that you can run on a MacBook Air, and (yes) even AI — have never been more powerful.
And yet, we’re all somehow trapped inside something miserable.
Click.
Scroll.
Click.
Scroll.
Ugh.
It's all just dreadful, isn't it?
So I say, "enough is enough!"
Why not say goodbye to the barrage of digital junk forever!
Or to start — for just one day?
Or perhaps three days?
Or maybe even a week or two?
Or perhaps even longer...?
Beacuse yes, a lot of things in America are fundamentally broken, but that’s exactly why right now is the perfect moment to create something brand new — and better than ever before.
So why not step outside your ordinary routine — and step away from the daily barrage of digital junk — to give yourself the time and space to create something new and better?
Imagine shutting off your cell phone and putting it in the closet before going to bed.
Imagine waking up naturally, without an alarm clock.
Imagine having a cup of coffee — and a conversation with another human — without cell phones in your pockets.
Imagine collaborating IRL with other humans on big ideas, exciting plans, new inventions that will create a better future for everyone.
And yes, ok. Eventually there will be a need to grab a laptop, maybe even a cell phone.
But what if, instead of using your personal devices, you grabbed work laptops and cell phones when neccessary — devices that only had the tools you needed, and then you didn’t take them home?
Wouldn’t that be a vastly more enjoyable — and also a much more productive — way of collaborating than what we’re all doing now?
This reality is 10,000% possible.
And all you have to do is experience it is to escape the ordinary.
For one day.
Or for three!
Or perhaps even for a week or two!
Or maybe even longer...!
And not only will we pay you $50/hour for your deep work, but we’ll cover your travel, your hotel room, and your meals, too.
Everyone's invited — Millennials, Generation Xers, Gen Zs, and yes, even Boomers. So what, exactly, are you waiting for?