Below are seven ways to break free of the things that hold you back in your daily life that can be used at both home and work to lead you to more freedom.
By Evan J. Cholfin
It’s all too common to feel stagnant or trapped in our daily life. Whether it’s at home, work, or running your own business, it’s easy to feel shackled in a world that seems to be moving faster and faster around us.
People often ask me how I’m able to juggle so many things and get so much done.
So I want to offer some “Freedom Hacks” to help release people from the traps they find themselves in and strive to reach their goals, and ultimately, happiness.
Freedom Hack #1 - Write Things Down (Free Your Mind)
Now this may seem obvious, but it’s important to understand why the act is so helpful. Use the act of writing things down as a way to release the information from your busy brain onto another source. Think of it almost like offloading information to an external hard drive. It’s still there and accessible, it just doesn’t have to take up space in your head.
Freedom Hack #2 - Make Your Checklist
There are countless organizers and apps that allow you to organize your tasks into checklists (a few that I've used and really enjoy are Asana and Monday.com, but there are plenty of others out there). The important thing is to break these checklists down further by category so it’s easy to find the information later. Mark highest priority items with a color or keep them at the top so they are easier to find. When you check one off, remember to add the next relevant task(s) to obtain whatever objective or goal you have set out to achieve. Surprisingly, staying organized like this is actually very freeing, as it allows you to choose and plan what you need and want to accomplish, and frees up time to do the things you enjoy.
Freedom Hack #3 - Schedule All Your Tasks In Your Calendar
This is a more advanced version of your checklist that is extremely helpful in getting tasks done. Block off time in your calendar to accomplish each task, and make sure to give a little extra time in case the task may take longer than you are expecting, unless you are under deadline. You can always move tasks around if you need more time or need to re-prioritize, keeping in mind your own external or self-imposed deadlines. Surprisingly, it even helps to block off your non-work tasks (i.e., lunch, walk the dog, pick up kids from school, dinner with friends, etc.) to protect them from work incurring into your personal life. All this will not only help you to prioritize and realize what’s truly attainable time-wise and where you may need external resources to accomplish a task, but it will also free your mind from having to choose between a multitude of tasks every day which result in decision fatigue before you even start your work.
Freedom Hack #4 - Your Checklist Becomes Your Win List
This is one of my personal favorites. Each time I complete a task, I check it off and watch it go to the bottom of my checklist with pride. But I don’t let it end there. Each week on Friday, I make a list of all the “wins” of the major tasks I’ve accomplished, and also make a list of what wins I want to accomplish the following week. I share this with a group of like-minded entrepreneurs, and we cheer one another on. Whether you share your “Win List” or not, you will notice that you’ve actually accomplished a lot more than you recall and it will make you feel good. These wins, no matter how big or small, will be motivation that will build to help you grow. By writing down next week’s wins, it will help you to plan what you want to accomplish and leave you feeling a sense of freedom and power over your own life.
Freedom Hack #5 - Give Yourself The Freedom For Self-Care
This is an important one. It’s all too easy to become a workaholic and not see the light of day. While we think this helps us to succeed, the truth is that we actually end up burning out. I take this to heart from personal experience. It took me years to learn that I had to listen to my brain and my body. If they were telling me I needed to stop and take a break or take some time off to take care of myself, I learned how important it was to do it. Each time I listened to myself, I came back stronger and was much more productive than I ever would have been otherwise. This can be as simple as getting up to stretch when your back starts to ache. Breathing exercises. Going for a short walk outside to get fresh air. Heading to the gym. Practicing yoga. Staying home and binge-watching episodes of your favorite TV show. Going to see a matinee movie. Taking a beach vacation. The possibilities are endless. Do what’s right for you to take care of yourself, and you will set your mind and body free.
Freedom Hack #6 - Give Yourself The Freedom To Make Mistakes
It’s so easy to be hard on ourselves when we make a mistake. Sometimes it feels like the end of the world, especially to A-type personalities. The truth is, everyone makes mistakes. No one is perfect 100% of the time, and that’s okay. It may hurt in the moment, and some mistakes are clearly more costly than others, but we have to not only learn from them, but just as importantly we need to forgive ourselves and ultimately let go. Ruminating on mistakes is one of the worst traps we can fall into. Listen to yourself, learn, let go, and move on. Live in the moment and focus on the positive accomplishments you’ve made and plan to make. You will feel the freedom to get back up and keep going while being at peace with yourself.
Freedom Hack #7 - Give Yourself The Freedom To Succeed
Finally, it’s surprising that one of the biggest obstacles to our success is ourselves. We let fear drive us. We tell ourselves we’re not good enough, that we don’t belong in the position we’re in, and that we’ll never move forward or upward. Whether it’s imposter syndrome or just plain fear holding us back, we have to take a moment to listen to ourselves. It’s okay to feel that way—it’s human. But we can also remind ourselves of all the amazing things that we can do, what we have accomplished, and that everything will be okay no matter what happens. And in success, we will look back and be proud that we pushed ourselves outside our comfort zone and grew into the people we’ve become. This is the part that’s truly freeing.
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