It's 4:42 AM and unfortunately I'm up before the sun is... again. I want nothing more than to turn over and dream again, but for the last couple of years once I'm up there is no returning to sleep. What has the hamster wheel of my mind turning so fast you might ask? It's the longing for Freedom and wondering how I can achieve it ASAP so I never have to attend another early Monday morning meeting that could have just been an email ever again.
What is 'Freedom to Nomad'?
TL;DR it's about reclaiming my time. However, let me explain what made me realize my time was mostly not mine.
Working with living on the side
For time to be the most valuable commodity in the world, why are so many of us stuck trading so much of it for so little in return? Let's do some math on the time most of us spend on a traditional 9-to-5.
- greater than or equal to 8 of 16 hours per day (I refuse to count the 8 hours you need to rest per day) equals at least 50% of most days
- 5 of 7 days per week equals 71% of most weeks
- 49 of 52 weeks per year (- 2 weeks of vacation/PTO + 5 major holidays) equals 94% of most years
- greater than or equal to 40 of 76.1 years equals at least 52% of the average life expectancy of a person living in the US
Considering those percentages are only the bare minimum estimates of time spent on one job, I find that unacceptable, and even more so for those juggling multiple jobs.
Living with work on the side
Would you rather spend your precious time A. living with work on the side, or B. working with living on the side? I choose A. living with work (that I love) on the side. For me, the freedom to nomad is the ability to spend the remainder of my time/life doing mostly what I love, which is being a #FAT loving, minimalistic, nomad. For one, it might be the freedom to start a family from a place of financial, emotional, and physical well-being. For another, it could be the freedom to be present in their family's life more often than not.
Steps toward freedom
At the time of this posting (3/24), I have not fully achieved the freedom to nomad. I still have a 9-to-5 that I don't love but also blessedly don't hate; which tempers my immediate desperation for freedom. So I can afford to spend a bit more time prepping so that I don't end up a starving homeless minimalist, out of necessity instead of choice, in my haste to be free. Before you ask "Isn't a nomad a homeless minimalist by definition?" I will answer, as a foodie it's the starving part that keeps me up at night. Without further ado, here's my freedom checklist for reclaiming my time, and with any luck maybe you can follow it to reclaim yours too:
1. ✔️ Freedom from the mundane
The first step is that aha moment when you realize every day is the same wake-up, work, eat, work, sleep, and repeat cycle and your time is not all yours. It mostly belongs to your boss. If that realization doesn't bother you because you feel the work is worth your time, congratulations! 🎉 You either spend most of your time loving what you're doing, or you don't give a lump who owns your time as long as they keep that phat paycheck coming.
2. ✔️ Freedom from bad debt
Not all debt is bad. Student loan debt is annoying and completely unnecessary, credit card debt is predatory and should be illegal. Debt on a money-generating asset like a condo/house can be smart, and medical bill debt is stupid. Why can't the US adopt national health care? Nothing makes me realize America is a third-world country in a Guuci belt more than having employer-provided medical insurance and still getting slapped in the face with exorbitant medical bills. Rant aside, step two is paying off all the bad debt ASAP.
I chose to live in my parent's home, so I could make super aggressive payments on my loans (high interest rate debt first) until all the bad debt was paid off. We all know what that means... no avocado toast, brand-name coffee, and only cereal for dinner. 🙃 It was rough, because there ain't $#!+ to do/eat out where my folks live, but now I'm completely debt-free. Now it's time to go back into (good) debt doing what Tokyo Llama, one of my favorite home-reno YouTubers, did and buy a beautiful akiya to fix up. With Japan being one of my favorite countries for its food, landscaping, Kyūdō, trains, and traditional architecture I want to ✨manifesting✨ will live in Japan for a couple of years. #journey-to-japan This means I should nomad around the country to find my favorite spot, right? #journey-in-japan
3. ✔ Freedom from cubicles: the world is your office
The quickest way to experience being a nomad while still having a 9-to-5 is to have the option to fully or even partially WFH (Work From Home). I started my career as a programmer analyst in the dreaded gray cubical with the option to WFH one day per week. and since the pandemic, I've been fully WFH. Last year, after receiving a good yearly performance review I asked if I could travel around the US while maintaining my normal EST hours. This year after another good yearly review I asked if I could travel internationally. Both times the boss said, "I don't mind where you work, but just make sure you continue to deliver good work, your state residency status doesn't change (something about HR and taxes), and keep your travels hush-hush because working from different locations than the one you set in your WFH contract is technically not allowed." WFH is not the same as remote work. Remote work has complete location independence. The taste of freedom I gain from being able to travel while WFH keeps the hunger for freedom at bay as I save enough 'F you' money for my peace of mind.
4. 🚧 Freedom from 9-to-5 EST
Some may stop at the freedom to 9-to-5 anywhere, which is a good step to end with, but I will continue, I will have nothing less than the freedom to nomad. I went to Japan while maintaining the EST 9-to-5 hours and while I enjoyed being back in one of my favorite countries the month of all-nighters during my visit was brutal. My job uses MicomanageSoft Teams and IYKYK keeping that stupid status icon green was a pain ☠️. But it didn't have to be so painful, as a web developer 🧑💻, most of my work is task-based. Once I get the requirements from the project manager and the mock-ups from marketing I have until the deadline to get it done. Why does it matter where and when the task gets done, as long as $#!+ gets done before the deadline? For the rare occasions, that an email is not enough I have no problems with scheduled meetings (even if it's scheduled at 1:30 AM local time). Their requirement that I stay at my desk 'wiggling the mouse' to keep the MS Teams status green even if there is little to do from 9-to-5 EST is why I'm passionate about reclaiming my time.
5. 🚧 freedom from the material
This step can be completed at any point in the checklist, but I'm a regular procrastinator so I still have a lot of $#!+ to sell, give, and recycle/throw away. For years I have bought clothing, shoes, and gadgets I like and put them in a box. As you can imagine by this point in time, the boxes have piled up, and even worse the clothing either doesn't fit or is not my style anymore. Last year was the first year I finally quit retail therapy and started to go through all the boxes to sort out what I could and couldn't keep. I like to think I quit so abruptly because last year was the first year I started to travel. I had squirreled away so much $#!+ but had carry-on room for so little. I realized what a waste of time, and space. I'd broken three cardinal sins for the time-reclaiming, space-saving, nomadic #minimalist I wanted to be. Query: a waste of time and space are only two sins, what was the third one? Answer: a waste of #funds. Although I rarely paid full price for anything, because catching it on sale was part of the therapy. I wish I'd taken a picture as a reminder to fund the experience over the material.
🏁 last step: Freedom
If you have already achieved freedom or can see the finish line, I'm so happy for you. You are free, or like me, are so close to it. Notes from A to Zen is about the finding the serenity of simplicity throught the journey to gain the the time, location, and financial freedom to insert your passion here. You already know the freedom to nomad is my passion, what's yours?