This as-told-to essay originates from an extended conversation with David Barnett, the visionary founder and former chief executive officer of PopSockets — the popular brand behind the well-known phone grips based in Colorado. The narrative you are about to read has been carefully refined and condensed to ensure clarity and conciseness without altering the authenticity of Barnett’s voice or experience.
Before Barnett’s entrepreneurial journey began, he lived an entirely different professional life. As a philosophy professor at the University of Colorado, his daily work revolved around analyzing abstract concepts and wrestling with questions about logic, ethics, and the nature of consciousness. Yet, amid this intellectual environment, he encountered an unexpectedly mundane irritation that would eventually change the course of his life — his phone headset. Each time he attempted to make a call, the cords tangled in his bag or pocket, causing constant frustration. Instead of ignoring the inconvenience, Barnett’s problem-solving instincts kicked in. Driven by curiosity and exasperation, he decided to create a practical solution.
He drove to his local Joann Fabrics store, not yet realizing that this errand would mark the first chapter of an entrepreneurial story. There, using simple materials — a few oversized clothing buttons and glue — he fashioned a rudimentary prototype. He affixed the buttons to the back of his small iPhone, allowing the headset to wrap neatly around them. The homemade contraption looked awkward and somewhat comical; friends teased him for its eccentric appearance. Yet, while others laughed, Barnett saw possibility. Over the next year, through persistent iteration, countless design revisions, and precise miniaturization, his crude creation evolved into a compact accessory. Eventually, he transformed that original concept into a fully fledged business, launched from the confines of his mountain garage in Boulder, Colorado, in 2014.
Today, more than a decade later, the scope of that homemade experiment is staggering. PopSockets has sold close to 300 million phone grips across seventy-five countries, expanding into an extensive product line that includes phone cases, mounts, wallets, portable batteries, and wireless chargers. Despite the remarkable commercial success, Barnett emphasizes that technology accessories were never his true passion. What motivates him, he explains, is the desire to make a meaningful, positive impact on the world. The PopSocket, as he tells it, was a serendipitous invention — something that “fell into his lap.” He did not initially aspire to lead a company, nor did he consider himself a skilled or trained executive. When the enterprise began to grow, he simply lacked the financial resources to hire a professional CEO, so he stepped into the role himself.
Over time, Barnett came to recognize that while he had built something extraordinary, his personal strengths and enduring interests lay elsewhere. His dedication to social good and purposeful innovation outweighed his enthusiasm for managing corporate operations. Therefore, in 2024, after ensuring the company’s continued success, he made the deliberate choice to step down from his position as CEO. He sought a successor better equipped to guide PopSockets into its next chapter while he redirected his time and energy toward pursuits aligned with his philosophical ideals and creative curiosity.
Barnett’s current daily routine is a striking contrast to the frenetic lifestyle he led during PopSockets’ early years, when he regularly worked eighty-hour weeks. Sleep deprivation plagued him; he often awoke at three in the morning, his mind racing with entrepreneurial worries, then spent hours wrestling with insomnia. Having learned from that strain, he has since restructured his life around slower rhythms that nurture both mental clarity and well-being. He believes that cultivating openness and creativity is essential for any entrepreneur — the capacity to perceive opportunities that others overlook depends on a flexible and imaginative mind. Consequently, his daily habits are designed to foster that creative state.
He usually awakens naturally around seven o’clock without the aid of an alarm clock. Barnett refuses to use alarms except in rare circumstances, such as travel, because they disrupt the serenity of his rest. Even the anticipation of an alarm, he says, is enough to interrupt his sleep prematurely. He prefers to let his body’s internal rhythm dictate his mornings. Once awake, he begins his day with a large mug of what he calls “graffee,” an original concoction he invented that blends green tea with decaffeinated coffee. The beverage symbolizes his balance between opposing desires — his wish to enjoy coffee’s taste and health benefits without the restless side effects of caffeine. By combining it with green tea, he gains a subtle lift and additional antioxidants, creating a drink that pleases both his reason and his palate.
Friends and family often find his dietary choices peculiar, questioning how such mixtures could possibly taste good. Barnett, however, argues that his sense of taste is guided by reason rather than impulse. Drawing from his background in philosophy, he reflects on the notion that reason is often subservient to passion — people justify what their cravings dictate. For him, success means inverting that relationship. Controlling one’s preferences through rational intention, he insists, allows a person to live with greater discipline and purpose.
After preparing his two children for school each morning, Barnett embarks on a two-hour walk through the forest near his home accompanied by his aging dog, who, at nearly sixteen years old, has been his steady companion for many years. These long walks serve not only as exercise but as essential periods of reflection. The solitude of the woods provides him with a mental workspace where he alternates between philosophical contemplation and practical business thought. His mind drifts fluidly from pondering questions about consciousness and the human mind to envisioning ways PopSockets can make daily experiences — such as propping up a phone on an airplane — more comfortable.
Around ten o’clock, Barnett consumes his first calories of the day: a smoothie that would test the commitment of even the most health-conscious eater. The mixture, which often takes him two to three hours to finish, begins with an almond milk base and includes a dense blend of steel-cut oats, psyllium fiber, chia and flax seeds, almond butter, walnuts, frozen berries, broccoli, and fresh ginger. To most palates, the flavor is startling. Friends who have sampled it frequently find it unpalatable, but Barnett sees their aversion as evidence of unrefined appetites ruled by passion rather than reason. For him, health and rational nutrition outweigh temporary sensory pleasure.
Maintaining physical strength also remains a priority. Three or four times a week, he performs a workout of his own invention known as “Barnett-ups.” This exercise, his personal variation on traditional bodyweight training, engages multiple muscle groups — the core, shoulders, chest, triceps, and back. The technique involves forming fists, anchoring them near the hips, lifting the body with control, and executing repetitions that progressively challenge endurance. He typically completes a sequence of forty-five repetitions, followed by thirty, and concludes with twenty-five. On weekends, when time permits, he abandons structure altogether in favor of outdoor adventures. He cycles along mountain roads, runs trails, swims with his children, or simply immerses himself in nature, emphasizing that no rigid routine governs those days.
During the late morning hours, while leisurely sipping his enormous smoothie, Barnett sits at his desk to handle professional tasks. Although he maintains involvement with PopSockets, particularly in areas such as intellectual property, legal oversight, and marketing, he deliberately limits the number of meetings he attends. He views an overloaded schedule as evidence of inefficiency, believing that creativity and focus flourish when one’s calendar is not dominated by constant appointments. At one point, he even asked the company’s project management team to track the proportion of employee time consumed by meetings and set targets to reduce it, reinforcing a culture that values deep, undistracted work.
By midafternoon, usually around three o’clock, Barnett pauses for lunch. His meals reflect the same experimental spirit as the rest of his lifestyle. One day he might assemble a warm burrito made from almond butter and hummus, enhanced with prunes and a drizzle of olive oil; another day, he invents new combinations from whatever nutritious ingredients are available. He aims for balance — sufficient protein, beneficial fats, complex carbohydrates, and antioxidant-rich foods — but avoids obsessing over dietary metrics. His only consistent rule is that food should leave him feeling strong, healthy, and mentally clear.
When his children return home from school between three and four in the afternoon, Barnett intentionally disconnects from his digital devices. Phones and computers are set aside to create space for real connection. The family spends time outdoors together — playing soccer, basketball, or simply wrestling around. Conversation takes a back seat to activity; Barnett believes that children often prefer shared movement to verbal questioning. In his view, asking them about school is far less meaningful than joining them in play.
Evenings in the Barnett household are calm and family-centered. His wife, who shares his largely vegetarian, occasionally vegan diet, typically prepares dinner five or six nights per week. The couple encourages healthy eating, though their children sometimes enjoy small portions of meat or fish. After dinner, Barnett may complete a bit of work before helping his kids get ready for bed. He concludes his day with a half hour or more of stretching and deep breathing, rituals that promote relaxation and prepare him for restorative sleep.
Ultimately, Barnett believes that the foundation of a productive day lies not in the day itself but in the quality of the preceding night’s rest. Sleep, the quiet architect of mental clarity and emotional balance, determines how effectively he can think, create, and lead. This philosophy — the pursuit of harmony between the intellect, the body, and the heart — has become the principle that guides his post-CEO life, shaping not only his business perspective but his entire way of being.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/popsockets-founder-david-barnett-shares-daily-routine-2025-10
