It is a struggle for most people to find more free time in their lives. It can be hard to get away from the demands of work, chores, and other obligations that keep us busy. But there are some ways you can create more freedom in your life!
We’ll start by discussing how you can work fewer hours in order to give yourself more free time. Then we’ll discuss ways you can reduce living costs by living more simply. Finally, we’ll talk about some strategies to spend less time on things to give you more free time for the things that are more important in your life.
1. Work fewer hours
Working can take up a very significant amount of time in our lives. Finding ways to work fewer hours can provide much more freedom. Here are some ways to work fewer hours.
Part-time job
A part-time job can provide you with the security of an income, and still add more balance to your life for other things that matter. Finding a work-from-home job can also add more time to your day.
Seasonal job
If you have the opportunity, a seasonal job may be worth considering for more freedom in your life. Seasonal jobs often offer more hours and higher wages than permanent positions do because they are only available during certain seasons of the year. This type of job can offer more free time during the off-season.
Many seasonal jobs are outdoorsy, such as being a ski instructor or tourist guide. However, there are also other seasonal jobs worth considering, such as working as an accountant during tax season or working on an oil rig or cruise ship.
Freelancing
Many people choose to freelance in order to have more freedom in their lives, though there are other reasons as well! Freelancing offers a number of benefits including more control over your work schedule and location, which can result in more free time for you. There are clear downsides to freelancing, however, like having to manage clients and accounting, and may not suit everyone.
Contracting
Taking on contracts instead of a permanent position can also allow you to have more freedom in your life. Contracts often allow for flexibility with scheduling which means more control over when and where work is done. It also provides more opportunities for remote jobs or freelancing, making it possible to work more hours from home. These types of jobs are common in tech, for example for engineers or designers. But there are also other fields that can offer them, such as teaching or nursing.
Investing
Investing is another way to free up time. If you already have a well-paying job, you may be able to invest some of that money. With time, the interest from investments can provide a partial passive income. This is a popular strategy that gave rise to the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) movement.
2. Reduce living costs
Another option for adding more freedom into your life is to reduce living costs. Living more simply costs less and therefore adds a lot more financial freedom. It can also add the flexibility to be able to choose a lower-paying job with better work conditions.
Down-size
One effective way to reduce living costs is to down-size your home. Down-sizing can also be more time and energy-efficient because it eliminates the need for maintenance, lawn care, painting, or other tasks associated with owning a large house. In addition to that, it means more free time by reducing cleaning efforts.
Minimalism
Another strategy that can reduce living costs is to live more simply. Minimalism means owning just the things that are necessary and then eliminating anything non-essential from your life. This can mean more free time by spending less on material items, which also helps you focus more on what really matters in your life instead of always wanting more stuff.
Being frugal
Frugal living is a more extreme version of minimalism. This means spending as little money on items that aren’t necessary. The goal is to have more free time and more spending options in your life so you can live however you want.
3. Spend less time on things
Finally, we’ll also discuss some other ways to free up time.
Create systems
Another way to have more freedom in your life is to create more systems. This means finding ways that make daily tasks more efficient and less time-consuming. The goal with this strategy is so you can spend more of your day on the things that really matter, like relationships or personal growth.
Hire experts
This strategy may seem counter-intuitive as it would cost money. However, sometimes hiring experts to do tasks in your life can be worth it. If you have a lot on your plate, hiring people who are better than you at certain things may free up more time for more important activities.
Use screens less
Using screens less also means more free time. The addictive tendencies of screen usage can suck up an enormous amount of time. It’s not so much the screen use in itself that is so problematic. The big problem is that screen use can take up so much time –away from other more important things. Finding ways to drastically reduce screen time, can add new-found time and freedom into your life.
Conclusion
We all want freedom but getting it is not always so easy. Having some level of freedom in your life is important to be able to spend time on things that matter. Freedom allows for living a more balanced life.
We’ve gone through some strategies to add more freedom to your life: working fewer hours, cutting living costs, and some other strategies to spend less time on things.
What do you think? What are the best strategies to get more freedom in your life?