The paradox of freedom

I'm re-reading the famous book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by the late Stephen Covey, and I never cease to be amazed by the valuable knowledge packed in that book.

Granted, it's not exactly a short book, but it still has the most "value per word" that I've ever seen in this kind of book. In fact, if someone asked me for a recommendation of the single most important book that they should read, I would most likely recommend The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Discipline and effectiveness

One of the most valuable lessons I learned from this book is the value of discipline. There is a famous quote that is attributed to a handful of people that goes something like this:

"Only the disciplined are truly free"

Regardless of who said that it is something I try to live by.

I like to joke that I don't have many talents in life, but I do have discipline. Lots of it.

As an engineer by training and project manager by trade, my professional life relies on strict discipline, and after many years on the job, my highly disciplined manners started to trickle down into my personal life, too.

Discipline and the paradox of freedom

In my case, being disciplined is not a gift; it's a necessity.

I have a full-time job, I'm building my own business, I'm a moderator of the Brazilian community on Hive and I also have a personal life and, to me, the only way I can keep all these plates spinning is by being very disciplined.

I scheduled my days in 15-minute increments, and I'm not talking only about my 9-5 working hours but every single 15-minute slot from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep. My ultimate goal is to know exactly what I'm supposed to be doing at any point in the day.

That works very well for me. It has for many years. But when I share my way of life with other people, they are usually shocked.

"But you then you never have free time!"

That's a common reaction and I find it funny because it could not be farther from the truth.

I have to get back to the quote, "Only the disciplined are truly free."

I do have free time, but the only difference is that I'm very intentional about it.

There is a concept called decision fatigue, which is one of the biggest energy-consuming and time-consuming habits that people usually have. I won't go into detail here and may cover this in a different article, but in essence, people usually have the illusion that free time is equal to the time that you don't have anything planned but, again, that's wrong.

If you are not intentional with your free time, then your time is not really yours because you will most likely be caught up with the draining trap of decision fatigue, or you will be drawn into someone else's plans, making your "free" time subject to other people's schedule. There is nothing wrong with that, really, but that's just not being free.

I make sure to have enough slots in my schedule that are meant for me to do whatever I want, but I still plan something for those slots because I don't want to waste a single minute of this rare and expensive time trying to decide what to do.

Even if it's a very mundane activity, such as lying on the couch watching TV, I make sure to have a damn appointment on my calendar. It may sound intimidating and emprisoning to most, but I guarantee it's the only way to achieve real freedom.

Final thoughts

Discipline is a superpower that sets highly effective people apart from those who just get on with their lives. Having a clear plan on how you want to spend every hour of your day and being intentional about it is the only way to actually take control of your time.

It may sound intimidating at first, but if you are not laying down the plan, someone else will be doing it for you. Only the disciplined are free.

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6 comments

This really made me pause and reflect. Thank you for sharing it so openly. The paradox of freedom through discipline is something I’ve heard before, but the way you live it and explain it gives it real depth. The way you live with such intention is inspiring. I love how you make space for every part of your life, not just work or productivity, but even downtime.

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Thank you for sharing your perspective!

When I first started planning my days, I was only focusing on results and performance but I soon realized that was not sustainable so I also started to include downtime, time for friends and things like that

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That’s such a smart evolution in your approach. I really admire how you adjusted your planning to include those things.😊

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I do have free time, but the only difference is that I'm very intentional about it.

You mention decision fatigue after this, which is right. I just wanted to reflect on my own experience with the issue most have, as they think structure is slavery. When what they are not realising is that their unstructured life means they have less free time because they are less effective. Be effective, have more "free" time, knowing that the "free" isn't about having nothing to do, but about knowing exactly what is wanted to do with that time.

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Perfect! That's exactly how I feel about it!

Thanks for sharing your perspective

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Interesting read! I think this notion of free time as the time we have nothing to do is really misguided. Because if you have free time, means you have time to do anything, and doing anything is just a whole wide net you can cast without really knowing what you'll grab.

I personally appreciate the scheduling aspect of your day through 15-minutes increments, less decision fatigue or friction from one activity to another :)

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Thanks! Yea, I'm all up for free time, but be intentional about it!

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Yes yes. We have to be mindful of what we spend our energy on, because it can be a good compounding effect on our actions either for good or bad.

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Damn that was a good read.

I learned a couple of years ago that the more layers of responsibility you can shoulder (without overburdening yourself) then the more whole you feel.

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Thanks, Ray!
Yea that's a good point! We must make sure we dont overburden ourselves and burn out. I think discipline also helps with that because I can make sure I schedule some time to relax and recharge the batteries

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Discipline helps me to keep things running, that's true. The intentional non-disciplinary time is something I value a lot. Or the unforeseen change in the day, when a friend comes up and asks for some time, inadvertently. It kind of screws up my to-do-list, but I like to take the luxury for that. BUT and that's a big one - I already built my business. I already went through many things that now give me that luxury. So, yes, in your state - keep up the discipline, it might push you forward very quickly! (But also mind your energy levels, a Burn-Out comes quicker than one thinks.)

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Thanks for sharing your perspective! Yea, I'm constantly monitoring my energy levels! I think being disciplined also helps with that because I can make sure to have some "me time" in the books

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I’m not as disciplined as you are but I have tried this a few times even without reading that book and I can assure anyone that it works. Being disciplined is no joke at all. It requires one to deny the present pleasures for something worth more in a long term.

I just added this book to my list of books to buy. Thanks for sharing this with us.

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Thanks for the comment! It's a very nice book, I hope you enjoy it! I've read it a few times now and I always learn something new

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Oh! Those kinds of book! They are the best. Books you read and learn something from everytime you read them.

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