Creating more free time sounds easy until you start thinking about the consequences. Sure, you can drop your extra job or work fewer hours, but the lack of finances can be just as restricting as the lack of free time.
Your own free time is your most valuable resource. Even the best-organized, most-competent person only has 24 hours in their day.
Still, there are some actions that you can take that will give you more free time in the long run.
Invest in stocks
Earning money takes time. However, you only have a finite amount. This means that you can take an extra job or two, an extra project or two, and that’s it; you have no more free time whatsoever.
This is why it’s so important that you start investing.
Sure, investing also requires an effort. Starting out requires an effort, and you need the initial capital in order to get started. The thing is that once you get started, investing becomes semi-automatic and makes you money even while you’re sleeping or doing nothing.
It’s a one-time investment that generates value over a long period of time. In the words of Robert Kiyosaki, it means turning every dollar that you own into an employee, tirelessly working to earn you a new Lamborghini.
To get started, it’s important that you do your research in time. Checking out online brokers like those with the best accounts for beginners ranked here and reading a bit about them is a great thing to do before you get started. Each platform offers slightly different tools and some interfaces are clearer for new investors to follow than others too, so make sure you choose wisely.
Invest in time-management
Downloading a time-management app is like a life hack. You probably don’t even understand how much time you’re wasting per day or what you’re wasting it on. No one notes down everything they’re working on; they just notice, at the end of the day, that they didn’t get to finish all they planned or that they didn’t have that crucial “me hour” before going to bed.
By downloading an app, you’ll efficiently track what you do throughout the day. For instance, you might be surprised at how much time you spend in the line at the grocery store every week. This way, you can decide to order groceries online and have them delivered to your doorstep.
The thing is that, in order to solve a problem, you need to do a bit of diagnostics first. Sure, you can start this the pen-and-paper route, but it’s so much easier to do it with a time management app, especially when we live in an era where everyone owns a smartphone.
Learn how to say no
Most of the time, you’re aware that you don’t have the time, the energy, or the resources – you just don’t know how to say no.
The thing is that “no” is one of the most honest words out there. It substitutes everything from “I have to check my schedule” all the way to “I’m sorry, but I have something else planned.” What you mean is, “No, I don’t want to do it.” However, you just can’t bear to do it that directly or that bluntly.
You don’t even have to do it as directly. Namely, you could just phrase it more politely. What matters the most, however, is that what you really say is “No!” that they understand it as “No!” and that you don’t allow them to sway you later on.
Emotional manipulation is a hell of a tool; if you’re not careful, the other party will gaslight you into believing you’ve promised you’ll do it. They might even trip you into actually doing it.
Just remember one thing – the only people who are bothered by the fact that you have boundaries are those who benefit from you not having them in the first place.
Delegate and outsource
Most of the time, you’re taking on tasks and responsibilities that you can delegate to someone else. For instance, there’s nothing preventing you from going up to your supervisor and telling them that you won’t be able to end all your tasks by the end of the week.
Provided that this is reasonable (from the workload standpoint), that you have a good excuse (you’re taking a day off for a personal matter), and, the most important part, that you’re doing it early enough. Going up to them on Thursday and telling them that it won’t be done by Friday noon is not the same thing as doing it on Monday.
Even when it comes to your personal life, you don’t have to do absolutely everything. Ask your friend for a favor or give an extra chore to a family member. One of the best-kept secrets of networking is that people love doing you a favor because they like being owed a favor. Asking someone to do you a favor will make them feel good about themselves. Provided that it’s not too much or out of the blue, it’s one of the quick hacks to make people instantly like you.
Buy or create sources of passive income
The subheading may be a bit confusing. Sure, everyone knows that you can buy a rental property (if you have enough money) or even get shares that pay back dividends, and you’ll create a passive income. Like with investments, this makes money even while you’re sleeping.
So, how do you create passive sources of income?
Well, intellectual property is the most obvious answer. When you make a story, a novel, or an e-book, you can self-publish them and collect the royalty money. Sure, this may not be as much as you would like, but with enough quantity (especially with stock photographs), this can accumulate faster than you would expect.
Another way to create a passive stream of income would be to make an online course. This way, you create the materials once and collect money indefinitely.
Content creators, while they do invest effort into creating this content, collect indefinitely on it. Just think about it: if you have a large enough YouTube channel, even a video you uploaded 12 years ago could still be earning you money.
Set work hours
This is a problem that a lot of people have in the modern world, especially those who are working remotely or are on the verge of convincing their employers that they should be working remotely.
The problem is that the line between work and private life tends to fade quicker than you would think. Even people who work at the office want to check something when they get home from work, and this gets out of hand rather quickly.
It’s even worse if you’re working in intervals (between playing a game of LoL, watching a YouTube clip, or hopping into the video); you can work an entire day without ever getting anything done.
It’s important that you learn how to set work hours and focus exclusively on work during this period. This way, you’ll become the master of your own time once again.
Time is a resource, and you should treat it as such
Since it’s an essential part of human experience and consciousness, many people have trouble treating time as a resource. However, this is exactly the approach that you have to take. Instead of just recklessly spending, think about resource allocation and where your time will be best spent. Most importantly, treat yourself and spend some on yourself every day.