There was a point in time when I lived in Paris for 6 glorious months. I found a language program in its first year being held in conjunction with the Sorbonne. The thing about those first year programs, that’s usually the most affordable year. It was incredible and the stuff that you see in movies. One of the aspects of Parisian life that I loved was the incredible amount of free time French people seemed to have to live their best lives on a daily basis. The French lingered over cups of coffee while having deeply philosophical conversations about the world that they lived in. Parisians enjoyed walking down the Champs Élysées with their romantic partners, people enjoyed long meals topped off with several glasses of wine, and people had time to be a part of the constant protests, or manifestations as they’re called, that seemed to crop up weekly. As an American as was fascinated by their time freedom but I couldn’t articulate what it was that fascinated me. In this episode I will talk about time freedom, Slow F.I.R.E. and some things to consider as Americans begin the painful transition out of the COVID pandemic. And, I’ll share several tips on how you can bring some time freedom into your lives right now.
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Show Notes
One of the most striking things that I realized when reflecting on my numerous trips to Europe is a complete lack of anger around time. No one ever expressed frustration over not having enough time to do the things that they wanted to do. In fact, I was so fascinated by this lack of time anger that I wanted to experience time freedom too! It would actually be a number of years before I actually could experience time freedom and I actually ended up experiencing the exact opposite experience.
- I worked on average well over 40 hours a week, not including the time it took to commute
- I had 3-4 hour daily commutes if you counted the time roundtrip
- Extreme exhaustion, anxiety and stress became my new best friends
- The was an unsustainable overlap between my personal life and work life.
- I experienced increasing difficulty sustaining outside interests because of work.
- One day I had enough and I finally decided to reimagine my life. Thank God for technology and the internet.
- One of the most fascinating aspects of the F.I.R.E. movement is how people spend so much time talking about the numbers of F.I.R.E. and completely ignoring the most deeply entrenched goal of F.I.R.E.-Freedom. The freedom to do what you want, when you want, and how you want.
- But, for most people, the concept of time freedom is a pipe dream. It’s something that can’t even be imagined. And, for many people, the quarantine and subsequent changes that many business made were the first experiences of significant time freedom that many adults have ever had.
What is Time Freedom?
It is the one lifestyle experience that most Americans crave and never get to experience. In fact, many Americans fight the very policies that would help insure they get some time freedom in their lives. Basically, time freedom looks like this.
- Having vacation time and actually being able to use it without being shamed
- Accumulating more than 9 days a year for vacation/time off
- The ability to go to the doctor/dentist at a time that works best for you
- The possibility, within reason, to work flexible hours
- Time to meet up with friends/family whenever it’s convenient-without it being stressful
Time freedom is glorious because it allows citizens to show up as their best selves. Rested, not needing to rush, and a lack of anxiety around time. And, real talk, millions of American works are to demand more because the geni is out of the bottle. I actually spoke to someone who works at a tech company. The three months of at home leave paid for by the company was the first time in their entire working life that they had so much time to do whatever they wanted to do. Ok, their was a pandemic raging around us. Despite that, they loved the time. Basically, they worked a unique role that required they work in person, but they couldn’t. The company paid them and kept them on. It’s a huge company making bank. Don’t worry about the company’s bottom line, trust me, they’re doing GREAT.
F.I.R.E. focuses so much on the numbers but many people miss out on something so simple. Lifestyle design. There is a reason why I love Slow F.I.R.E. so much. I’m not a millionaire. But, I can guarantee that I live a millionaire lifestyle. I knew that I had a long debt repayment journey ahead of me, so I focused on designing my ideal lifestyle now as I worked towards my financial goals.
I truly believe that time freedom is what most American focused F.I.R.E. peeps are seeking and why it’s so popular in the US compared to other countries.
A Day in the Life
Here’s what my life has looked like since 2015.
- I wake up naturally. If I had kids I would wake up when they did or wake them up for school
- I’m able to take fitness classes whenever is best for me during the day
- I’m able to work from wherever there is internet connectivity. That’s why I work from the mountains about every 5-6 weeks for a week.
- My work day typically begins at 9:00 am and I do the bulk of my work between 9:00 am-3:00 pm
- Most of my work is front-loaded between Mondays-Thursdays. Friday-Sunday I may work but it’s typically quick projects, no meetings, and I don’t respond to emails.
How Can YOU Bring Time Freedom Into Your Life?
- Spend time considering what you want your life to look like-especially after COVID. Right now is a huge opportunity to redesign your life
- Ask yourself if the industry or business that you work for have opportunities for flexibility or are they signaling that they will embrace some types of work flexibility in their business model?
- Paid Time Off (PTO) one of the things I hate is when PTO doesn’t roll over. Check and see if it does. Some years you may need less time off than other years.
- Vacation Policies-How many days off can you accumulate? Does it rollover?
- Scheduling flexibility-I used to work 4 day weeks when I first was hired at the university and I loved it. The 3 day weekends were amazing.
- Does the job watch your output via a laptop or installed software vs. just letting you get your work done (nickel and dime scenario)
Please Remember
It’s not selfish to optimize and maximize your time.
- Your work colleagues aren’t your family, unless you’re working in a family business
- Always look at your job from the following perspective-How is this position bettering my life? Be ruthless in your assessment as it makes it easier to say goodbye to a job that you aren’t deeply emotionally attached to, even if you enjoy what you do. Here’s what to consider
- Compensation
- Stability
- Health insurance
- Dental insurance
- Life insurance
- Retirement plans
- Time off
- Work autonomy if that’s something you need. I’m at the far end of the spectrum which is why I prefer working for myself.
- Entrepreneurs you need to look at how you run your business and the boundaries that you set. If you don’t your time freedom will get eaten up. Business boundaries to review:
- Your email response policy. I do NOT respond to emails after 12:00 pm MTN Friday through early Monday morning. I have other things to do during the weekend and if you need me urgently, you’ll call. Or, I would know that we’re dealing with an urgent business issue.
- When you intake new clients. This is a funnel issue. But, you don’t want to be on the phone Monday-Friday.
- Do you batch your tasks?
- Have you built out a team or have support if needed?
Time Freedom
Has allowed me to show up as my best self because I’m rested. I can set myself up for success within my schedule and I’m not ever going back to a way of working that takes my time freedom away.
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Waking up naturally and not feeling rushed about everything every freaking day is my dream life too. And you’re right–time is so important! It’s literally the only thing in life we can never get more of. We are only given so many days on this planet.
And we (Americans) need to stop wearing “I’m so busy” as a badge of honor. It’s unhealthy.
I think you can have time freedom while working a full time job, if you find a job that feels like a favorite hobby and not like work. I did that, I looked forward to Monday mornings just as much as I did to Friday afternoons. My work was great fun and my time off with family and friends was equally great fun. I never felt like I was doing anything except exactly what I was born to do. There was no great change when I retired, I just switched to only working a tiny bit and playing a lot more. But since work always felt like play, it wasn’t really much of a change at all.
When I worked a 4 day week I would agree that it’s possible to have time freedom. And, you can’t have a commute.