The plan was simple: stay for two weeks in Nuweiba, analyze the clinic setup, find a junior dentist willing to live here, then go back to Alexandria.
I lasted three days before the plan collapsed.
The Setup
My friend in Dahab had been pushing me to partner on a clinic in Nuweiba. After months of back and forth, we finally got it done. The timing was brutal, I had to wait until late 2021 to make the move. Once that cleared, I came with a clear mandate: two weeks to figure out the operational model, pick the right junior dentist, set up the handoff, then leave.
Professional. Clinical. Temporary.
The Call
Three days in, my phone rang. My friend, half-laughing: “I know you’re only three days in. Definitely haven’t reached a conclusion yet. But do you have any idea how this is going to work?”
“I’m not bringing anyone,” I told him. “I’m staying here. Definitely.”
He paused. “You sure?”
I was sure.
What Happened in 72 Hours
I didn’t expect Nuweiba to work this fast. I thought it would take weeks to adjust, months to know if it was viable. Instead, the place dismantled me in three days.
The noise stopped. Immediately. No traffic except the occasional truck rattling past. No notifications that mattered. No ambient hum of a city pretending urgency is the same as importance.
The sea is 200 meters from the clinic. I could hear it from inside. At night, the silence was full. Stars, wind, the low hum of generators in the distance. Bedouins who spoke slowly because there was no reason to rush. Conversations that started and ended without someone checking their phone mid-sentence.
I realized: my ADHD wasn’t the problem. The environment was. My brain needed space to process, not speed to keep up. Depression thrives in chaos because chaos makes you believe the noise is normal. Nuweiba made it obvious.
The Aftermath
I stayed. Family and friends were supportive, or at least didn’t fight me on it. They may have hoped I’d change my mind after a few months, but I was decisive, so they accepted reality.
Six months later, WordReward became a thing. and Nuweiba gave me the clarity to build it properly. The off-grid life was the soil that made work possible.
Slow living isn’t about doing less. It’s about doing things at the speed your brain actually operates, not the speed other people expect. Nuweiba taught me that in 72 hours. Everything after that was just confirmation.
It is alive • Systems Over Willpower.. Why All Systems Will Fail ADHD Brains • Remote Operations Without Losing Control.. Building While Off-Grid
Tags: nuweiba ADHD off-the-grid slow-living
