Strategic Coach Resources

Freedom-focused.

As an entrepreneur, you have a unique opportunity to shape your life in ways that aren’t available to people working in bureaucracies. Working with thousands of entrepreneurs from many different industries and countries, we’ve discovered that the best focal point for this development is the constant expansion of your personal freedom. With freedom as your aim, you can reach ever-greater levels of success while maintaining a balanced life in which you have room to enjoy that success, too. In this article, you’ll discover the key to finding that balance: The Freedom of Free Time.

Doing hard time.

Far too many people labor under a “punch-clock” mentality. Most people’s first jobs involved being paid by the hour, a system that actually rewards taking a long time to do things. And if working longer doesn’t work, you can always take the classic route of working harder. We give great respect to those who are “hard-working.” But what’s often overlooked is that you can work long and hard and still not get the results you want. In fact, working that way leads to burn-out, which guarantees poor results. Luckily, as an entrepreneur you can side-step this whole process. Your success is actually not related to time and effort at all. It’s related to being in the right state of mind at the right time with the right people who can write big cheques. But in order to be in that right state of mind, you must have a life that rejuvenates you. This isn’t a luxury; it’s a basic requirement.

Enter the Free Day.

The first thing we get entrepreneurs to do when they enter our programs is to start taking Free Days™, 24-hour periods during which none of their activity is focused on work. That means no contact through phone calls or e-mails, and no business-related reading or thinking. This is a real challenge to a lot of people, whose identity is tied up in always working. When things get scary, they work even harder. But workaholics have no time to think about the deeper issues of their lives, so success often comes to them at a great price. Think of it this way: Your staff likely have every weekend off plus two weeks’ vacation. That’s 128 days a year. You’ve often heard the expression “Pay yourself first,” but are you “time-poor” compared to your staff? Your focus is critical to your company’s growth and success, and needs to be protected from the troubles that come with such time poverty. Free Days are the booster shot for this condition. They have the power to rejuvenate — which literally means “to make young again” — restoring your body, mind, and creativity; improving your relationships; and producing a jump in your productivity and effectiveness. Free Days make every other freedom you have as an entrepreneur possible.

Anatomy of a Free Day.

Each Free Day is a 24-hour period of uninterrupted time spent engaged in non-business activity. You can imagine what a contribution this is to your partner, family, and other communities, to have the benefit of your complete attention and presence. Happy side-effects are the confidence and growth your team experiences when trusted to take over day-to-day operations in your absence, and the surge in energy and inventiveness you’ll feel when you return. Many of history’s greatest inventions were the result of a problem that was put aside, where it seemed to work itself out magically, presenting a novel solution through a dream, a doodle, or a conversation.

Exercise: A true Free Day.

Try putting it into practice: In the next 30 days, experiment with taking a true Free Day. This is not left-over time, but time planned in advance, a 24-hour period of uninterrupted time, containing no business-related activity. It might feel odd at first, but it’s the best gift you can give yourself, the people you love, and your business. Taking Free Days is a bold statement of ownership over your time and your work that allows you to design your own lifestyle, one that you love.