Mortgage Free by the Sea

Personal Development

The Freedom Diaries Week 7 - Structuring Your Time

The Freedom Diaries: Week 7 – Structuring Your Time When You’re Self-Employed

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This week has felt like my first proper week of being fully self-employed. When I left my teaching job in July, although I knew I wasn’t returning, it mostly felt like I was heading into the summer holidays. It didn’t actually feel very different.

Now that the holidays are over and the schools have returned, it finally feels like I’ve left and I’m embarking upon my new adventure.

One thing I’ve noticed this week is that I’m struggling to structure my time. With the holidays over, I feel like I’ve thrown myself head-first into the list of everything I want to do but I’ve given myself very little time to breathe.

And that’s why, 7 weeks into the freedom diaries, I find myself writing a post about structuring your time when you’re self-employed.

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The Freedom Diaries 6 - Run 60miles in September

The Freedom Diaries: Week 6 – Run 60 Miles in September Challenge

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To kick start my Naughty 40’s, I’ve decided to take part in Cancer Research UK’s Run 60 Miles in September Challenge. I’m aiming to raise £400, £10 for every year I’ve been on this planet.

It was a very last-minute decision. I’d mentioned to CP that one of my goals within the next 3 months was to increase my running distance to at least 25km per week and a few days later I saw an advert for the challenge. It felt like another part of the breadcrumb trail had been revealed – it’s a way to work towards my goal while raising money for such an important charity.

After I’d seen the advert, it played on my mind and I felt compelled to take part. So on the 31st of August, I hurried to sign up, set up my Facebook donations page and prepared my best running legs for the month ahead. And so far, it’s been amazing.

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The Freedom Diaries 5. Sitting with inspiration

The Freedom Diaries: Week 5 – Sitting with Inspiration

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Sitting with inspiration is a new concept for me. I’m more of an impatient magpie who picks up a new nugget of inspiration and flies with it, only to drop it when it becomes too heavy. Admittedly, this tends to be because I’m endlessly attracted by new, shiny ideas and tend to over-burden myself.

This week, or should I say last week, was the second week of CP’s holiday, so we spent lots of our time doing lovely things. We visited The Deep, went up Withernsea Lighthouse and frequented many local cafes, comparing cappuccinos and sampling cake.

It felt amazing just to kick back and spend some quality time together. And I can’t wait to create more memories together.

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The Freedom Diaries Week 1

The Freedom Diaries: Week 1 – When the universe has other plans

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So now I’ve quit my job, I thought I’d document my journey as I take the steps to create my new life. And what better title to give this series of blog-logs than The Freedom Diaries.

My plan is to publish a new diary each week with the discoveries I’ve made, steps I’ve taken and my current thoughts. It will be a way to track my progress while I explore this new way of being in the world.

When I left work last week, my plan was to have a restful week and allow myself some space and time to reflect. It seems the universe had other plans…

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letting go of busyness

Be Productive, Don’t Panic! Surviving Busy Times & Staying Sane

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Hello April, you seemed to crept by rather quietly. Or maybe it was me, wrapped up in my own cocoon of busyness and becoming oblivious to the passing of time. Busy times can turn us into modern day zombies if not kept in check. Eat, work, sleep, repeat.

Despite taking a social media sabbatical, I’ve been very busy behind the scenes. In fact, there were times when my days seemed to become one endless to-do list. It’s all for very good reasons, my business is growing and I’ve had more work coming my way, but at the back of my mind the nagging concern remained that life is for living and, as regular readers know, time freedom is very important to me.

However, I’m also aware that I have a very contradictory aspect of myself that prides itself on being busy. And it is for that reason, I decided that my aim for April’s Year of Letting Go challenge is to let go of busyness.

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