This town is quiet. Quiet is important.

The big projects require quiet. It’s hard to get the big stuff done when there’s so much going on all the time. The phone rings, people step into your office, and clients do the pop-in to check on things: there’s a never-ending stream of interruptions. And when you get home, it’s often worse.

That’s not the case in Kas. It’s quiet, especially in the morning.

In Vietnam, the cities came alive at 5:30 a.m. The streets were filled with people and motorbikes. The parks were packed with exercisers. The food stands on the street were surrounded by banh mi and noodle soup buyers. There was no time to think in the flurry of activity.

The same was true in Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, and Bangkok. Early in the morning, the streets were filled with market shoppers and monks carrying alms bowls. People were up and out early. I’d find myself navigating obstacles in my effort to reach a coffee shop. By the time I sat down with a cup of some hot beverage, my mind was already racing at the pace of the city. Quiet was elusive.

But here in Kas, the streets are quiet in the morning. There are only a few people and hardly any cars or motorbikes going by. The Mediterranean Sea is usually as smooth as glass and is disrupted only by the putt-putting of the small boats on their way to the fish. There is a magnificent quantity of quiet for thinking. Even when the call to prayer echoes through the town, it’s more of an enhancement than an interruption. It’s a feature, not a bug.

Quiet is essential.

You’ve got big projects. Some of them are for clients, and some of them are for the growth of your business. You’ve got to find the quiet if they’re going to move toward completion instead of just getting their due dates moved forward on the task management system. The quiet is where the big thinking happens, and it’s where the big stuff gets done. I’m excited by what I’m getting done and by my ideas percolating here in Kas. I’m feeling remarkably productive in this quiet place.

But the quiet will end soon. We’re only here for a few more weeks. Then we’re headed to Istanbul for a bit. It’ll be noisy there. Just thinking about Istanbul reminds me to soak up the quiet while I’m here. It won’t last long, and I need to squeeze all I can out of this brief time. I need the quiet just like you.

Traveling to Turkey to find some quiet isn’t practical for everyone. But you still need to find it for yourself. Some suggest waking up very early before everyone else is up. Some suggest turning off your phone, closing your door, and hiding out. Some suggest setting limits on your schedule and devoting scheduled time to quiet. There are many approaches to finding the quiet. They’re all good. Find one for yourself that works.

Quiet is essential if you’re going to get things done. You’ve got to get away from the busyness and the noise. The quiet is where the big things, the important things, and the things that matter get done. Search for it, find it, and make it happen. You need the quiet.