I Just Want More Free Time

I just wrote a A Simple Guide to Financial Freedom based on my experiences with Financial Freedom. Consider giving it a read if you are interested in this topic.

I like long vacations. A trip with enough time for me to just ‘do nothing’.

My travel recipe:

1. Go hike/camp/something outdoors for a few days
2. Rest and relax in a new town for a while
3. Repeat

The last couple of years I have enjoyed this travel recipe. Last year I went to Norway twice doing this. Camping and hiking in the mountains, followed by rest days with no plans. I had a blast — and I’m planning on going again this summer.

But I’m starting to wonder if some of the more expensive ingredients in my recipe are required.

The biggest expense on a long trip for me is accommodation. I sometimes also rent a car, but in countries with good public transport I’m getting better at skipping this.

Last week I went on a 5 day hike in my home country, Denmark. Followed by 3 days with no plans at home. I decided to see if I could replicate my travel recipe at home — on a tight budget.

I could.

I have already written about the hike. But the 3 days afterwards are even more interesting to me.

To replicate a travel scenario I deliberately had no plans. I would just go home, relax, recover, and do whatever I wanted for 3 days.

When I’m on vacation I love these days as I get to just think with few interruptions. Let my mind wander. I usually end up reading and writing a lot. I’ll get up in the morning, write a bit. Then maybe read some. At some point I’ll get up and go for a walk. Then I’ll come back for more reading. And that’s pretty much it.

I think, read, write, and walk.

So that is also what tried to do at home. And it worked wonderfully well. 3 days was just enough that I had time to lock in — more days would have been better though. But I managed to replicate what I have experienced on my travels.

I used to think part of the recipe was a new environment. That I somehow needed a change of scenery to let my mind wander. Now I’m not so sure anymore. I also used to think I couldn’t ignore mundane chores if I stayed at home. But I somehow managed to do a few chores and it didn’t bother me much. I can’t sit in a chair all day anyway. Moving my body a bit feels good.

So what is the verdict?

I’m not sure I have any conclusions yet. But at least this experiment seems to point in a positive direction: I may not need to spend long vacations in apartments or hotels (which is expensive). I may be able to replicate much of the good vibes here at home.

Maybe what I need is just more free time.