8 Ways to Embrace The Freedom Lifestyle

What does it mean to embrace the freedom lifestyle?

Each of us has only 24 hours in a day to achieve what we want to achieve, to find our purpose, to live with intention. Most of us are lucky to have freedom of choice (whether we feel it or not) to do what we want to do with our time. Embracing the freedom lifestyle means finding ways to maximize your time, minimize your stress, and expand the feeling of being “free” from the constraints of the modern world.

Now, when life gets crazy busy and pressures mount, we may feel like we don’t have as much freedom. We face deadlines at work, commitments on our very full calendar, no time for self-care, a mortgage or rent, and debt.

Sure, you might think, “I’d love to travel or embrace the freedom lifestyle, but I don’t have the time right now.”

But you can find the time! Simply by making shifts in your life, you will find more pockets of freedom than you imagined possible. Remember, we all get one life and one chance to discover our purpose.

Here’s how you can start to embrace the freedom lifestyle and move toward a life you love.

1. Embrace the Freedom Lifestyle by Simplifying Your Schedule

If you can’t imagine your life without all of the commitments and obligations on your calendar, step back and consider—are they really bringing you happiness? Does your schedule fill you with a sense of direction and meaning? Or is it simply stressing you out?

When I simplified my life, one of the first steps I took was clearing out the clutter on my schedule. If you have a full work schedule and a full social schedule you may feel as though you barely find time to think, let alone to take care of yourself.

If you want to start to embrace the freedom lifestyle, begin by cancelling a few of the “obligations” on your schedule. See what happens if you cancel one appointment. If it feels freeing, then next week, cancel two.

The idea isn’t to simply cancel all your plans, but to narrow down the commitments on your calendar to what really matters to you. If grabbing coffee with a friend is important, then by all means, keep it. But if you’d rather not attend the neighborhood block party, go ahead and cancel.

With those precious 24-hours, we must stay cautious and protective. Don’t say yes to commitments when you’d rather say no.

2. Embrace it with Health

When we think of ways to embrace the freedom lifestyle, we probably think of work, travel, and cutting out clutter. But, one area we should also focus on is our health.

Health doesn’t mean running a marathon or following a perfect diet all the time. Health means caring for your body to help you feel energetic, nourished, and fulfilled.

We’ve all heard you can’t fill up someone else’s bucket when yours is empty. When we don’t prioritize our health, we aren’t caring for the one thing each of us completely own in this world: our bodies.

Here are some important ways to focus on your health:

Get moving each day with exercise (sweat if possible).
Get 7-8 hours of sleep each night.
Eat whole, healthy, nourishing foods like plants, organic proteins, and grains.
Drink 8 glasses of water each day.
Avoid unhealthy habits like too much sugar and alcohol, smoking, or sitting for long periods of time.
Smile and do activities that bring you joy.
Prioritize your mental and emotional health, too.
Practice mindfulness with quiet time each day.
Get fresh air regularly.
Take a break to recuperate when you’re feeling ill.
Visit a doctor regularly for a checkup.

Now, there are many other ways to get healthier and this only scratches the surface. Simply remember your body is the only one you get, so take care of it! A healthy body offers us more freedom than a body that is sick, tired, or worn down.

3. Embrace it with a Mobile Office

Whenever we think of the freedom lifestyle, most of us think of work. Freedom lifestyle denotes working from home, on the road, or being able to work from almost anywhere at any time.

Fortunately, in today’s day and age, there are plenty of options if you want to work remotely. Chances are you don’t need to change careers to give your job a mobile makeover. Consider what parts of your job you could do away from the office?

Answering emails
Participating in webinars/professional development
Writing or running reports
Research
Planning and organizing

Many online-focused jobs lend themselves to mobile work completely. For other careers, you may need to talk to your boss and find remote opportunities when possible.

One great aspect of a mobile office is that you can work anywhere. One challenging aspect? You can work anywhere.

This means it’s important to balance your remote working time with the rest of your time. When you’re finished with work for the day, put your phone away, turn your emails off, and focus on the other activities that bring you happiness. A mobile office should give you a chance to get out of the office more, but not encroach on your personal time.

4. Embrace the Freedom Lifestyle with Shorter Work Weeks

Many of us think of the standard work week as 40 hours—8 hours per day, Monday through Friday. But why are we committed to this idea? After all, most of us find times at work when we’re less productive. We may scroll through social media, chat with coworkers, or take a longer lunch.

There’s a case for working more efficiently, rather than simply working longer days and fuller weeks.

In one study, employees performed more efficiently, reduced stress, and were 20% more engaged when they were given a 4-day work week instead of the standard 5-day week. When their weeks were shorter, they became more focused on the important tasks, prioritizing, and working efficiently.

If you’re in a job that lends itself to a certain amount of flexibility, talk to your boss about ways to shorten your work day or your work week. Is there a possibility of completing the same amount of work if you planned your approach more efficiently? Perhaps your boss would agree to a month-long trial to see if you can complete the same amount in less time.

If you’re working from home already, or running your own business, there’s an even greater argument for embracing the freedom lifestyle by working smarter, not harder. In the book The 4-Hour Work Week, author Timothy Ferriss outlines how to accomplish just as much in a much shorter work week.

Focus on all the exciting opportunities you would gain from a regular 3-day weekend or a 6-hour work day. What would you achieve in the extra time? This motivation may help you solidify your proposal to your boss (or yourself) when you request a shorter work week.

5. Embrace the Freedom Lifestyle by Becoming Your Own Boss

If you’re ready to take the plunge and fully embrace the freedom lifestyle, consider the options for becoming your own boss.

Now, being your own boss still means you must stay self-motivated, you must work hard, and you need to find ways to earn money. But how freeing and amazing is it to consider answering to no one? What if you could earn a paycheck doing what you wanted, working from home?

Career ideas for becoming your own boss:

Blogger/Influencer
Freelance writer
Online language teacher
Photographer
Artist/Illustrator
Child caregiver
Pet sitter/trainer/walker
Poshmark/eBay/Etsy seller
Life coach
Consultant

With the vast array of online opportunities, there are plenty of options for starting an online career or a work-at-home job and lots of resources to help you get started. Look at your areas of expertise. Is there an opportunity aligned with your experience?

Now, becoming your own boss doesn’t happen overnight for most people. You may need to set your financial affairs in order, save money, pay off debt, and plan carefully to manage the expenses. But there’s never been a better time to work independently.

Imagine the freedom lifestyle from setting your own work hours and doing a job you love each and every day!

6. Embrace it By Minimalist Living

For many of us, the thing standing in the way of our freedom is…too many things. We’ve become addicted to the idea of buying more than we can afford. We want the latest clothes, cute housewares, fun handbags, and more.

But all this “stuff” doesn’t really bring us joy, happiness, fulfillment, or freedom. In fact, we become trapped in a cycle of debt and consumerism. We keep sacrificing our time and our freedom to afford our addiction to buying more stuff.

When I first began to simplify my life, I was amazed at how freeing it felt to let go of the need for so much stuff. I just stopped. I stopped buying items I didn’t need. I stopped looking for cute items to give me my next “buying fix,” and I stopped living such a complicated life.

Embracing the freedom lifestyle of minimalism means letting go of the constant influx of stuff flowing into our lives. It means prioritizing purchases, separating needs from wants, living simply, and buying quality when needed.

It’s a total shift in mindset, but it’s also 100% freeing. The less you own, the less you need to worry about or take care of. Suddenly, you’ll find yourself with more time, fewer obligations, and more freedom.

7. Embrace the Freedom Lifestyle by Tiny or Mobile Living

This is a big step for many people, but, when you think about it, many of us already live tiny by necessity. If you live in a small apartment in a city, you’ve already learned to live in a tiny space.

Often, as we get older, we shift our focus to buying a bigger home in the suburbs. We may think we need more space to hold all the possessions we’ve accumulated.

Yet, living in a tiny home keeps our lives simple. Opting for mobile living means being able to pick up and go wherever, whenever you want. You’re no longer tied down to property or the idea of being committed to your house.

Is the tiny life for everyone? No, of course not. But if you are interested, there are plenty of great resources to help you get started:

We decided to give tiny house living a shot for a summer to see if it worked for our family. You can read about what we loved about a tiny house (and didn’t love) here. Fortunately, the experience really helped to shift my perspective about refocusing on the freedom lifestyle of simplicity.

8. Embrace the Freedom Lifestyle by Becoming Nomadic

Once again, to truly embrace the freedom lifestyle, there are plenty of people who don’t want to feel tied down to a home base at all.

Now, there are many differences between backpacking across Europe, Canada, or Australia during a gap year, and living a truly nomadic lifestyle. For certain people, neither option is ideal and for others, nomadic living is true freedom.

If you’re a person who craves structure, stability, and home, then nomadic living may not be for you. You can still embrace the freedom lifestyle by exploring your world with travel. Have an authentic travel experience wherever you go by putting aside technology, focusing on the present, and getting as involved as possible.

If, on the other hand, nomadic living is something that intrigues you, connect with others who live on the road or test it for a short time to see if it works for you. There plenty of nomadic couples and there are even families who choose to “world school” their children while travelling the globe and exploring.

Deciding to live nomadically may require careful budgeting and a mobile career to ensure you can finance your adventures. There’s nothing quite as freeing as exploring the world and seeking new, interesting experiences.

If you’re ready to embrace the freedom lifestyle (at any of these levels), start slow and enjoy. You might develop a strong taste for freedom, adventure, and new experiences. On the other hand, you may realize there are certain freedom lifestyles that aren’t for you and that’s okay too. Simply enjoy the journey along the way and find ways to live free each day!