The seven · 04 / 07

The question

Can I choose how I spend my time — am I living it my way?

Every Sunday, Freedom gets a number from 1 to 7, the same as the other six. The scale is the same for all seven:

1

Abandoned. Not in the plan at all.

3

Maintenance. Showing up, going through motions, no intention behind it.

5

In it. Deliberate effort, visible progress, a plan being run.

7

Fully lived. Lived at full intent. You would put this quarter on the record.

Goals people set here

Ideas, not assignments. Each one names a number or a date, so you will know whether you did it.

• Keep standing meetings to eight or fewer a week.
• Reserve Friday mornings for deep work — no calls, no exceptions.
• Take four full weeks off, all booked before March.
• Spend 60% of my working hours on the work only I can do.
• Hand off one recurring task a month until the calendar has room.
• Say no to one thing a week I would have said yes to last year.

Things worth doing once

From the fifty-two actions — one a week, the same for everybody, chosen and never assigned. These are the Freedom ones.

• Set up a password managerMove every login into it, email and bank first. One password to remember, and none of them used twice.
• Put your own time in the calendar firstThe morning, the evening or the Saturday you want kept, booked before anybody else can book it.
• Give your keys a homeA hook or a bowl by the door for keys, wallet and glasses. The minutes spent looking for them come back every day.
• Have your no readyTwo or three kind sentences for turning something down. With the words ready, you stop saying yes for want of the other answer.
• Get tomorrow ready tonightTen minutes before bed on a work night: clothes out, bag packed, the first thing on tomorrow written down.
• Give the life admin one afternoon a monthForms, returns, renewals and calls, all in one afternoon. The rest of the month, they wait for it.
• Set a focus mode for your best hoursYour phone can hold calls and notifications for the two hours you do your best work. Set it once and let it run.
• Unsubscribe instead of deleting, for a weekEvery sales email that lands this week, unsubscribe rather than delete. By Sunday the inbox is quieter for good.