The Freedom of Location | The Four Types of Freedom

The Freedom of Location is the freedom to do what you need to do from wherever you choose to do it.

You can work from anywhere in the world you want to work from – whether that be a new country every month, or a new coffee shop every afternoon.

While this type of freedom is great for those who love to travel, you don’t have to be a jet-setting digital nomad in order to seek Freedom of Location. Perhaps you want to live in a specific tiny town in the desert of southern Arizona and not one of the main metropolitan cities of the southwest. Perhaps you want to live close to family, near the beach, or in an area that has certain tax advantages for you.

For some folks who seek the Freedom of Location, just being able to work from a new surface every day is enough. These people don’t want to have to trek to the same cubicle in the same office building day after day. They want to work from home, work from the library, work from a coffee shop or coworking space - and yes, maybe a van in the middle of the wilderness.

Our brains love novelty and it’s one of the ingredients we need to achieve a Flow State. Having new environments allows us this novelty and can help us be more productive than if we’re in the same space day after day after day.

Freedom of Location again, gives people who have other obligations more opportunity to be where they need to be and it helps those with specific preferences meet their needs in unique ways.

How might you incorporate more Freedom of Location into your life?

If you currently have a job, you might as your boss if you can work from home a day or two each week. You may be able to trade a desktop for a laptop and be able to spend a few hours working from the break room that has windows and natural light. You may be able to transfer to an office in a different city.

If you can’t do your work from home (someone who works in the service industry, for example), is there a place in the world that you’d rather do your job from? Can you move to another city, state, country, or planet and find a serving job in a location that is more enticing to you or is closer to friends and family or outdoor activities that you want?

If you’re already an entrepreneur working from home, can you use a laptop and move from the office to the couch to the dining table to the library? Can you figure out a system that works for you to move into a van and travel or to bop around from short-term rental to short-term rental?

Especially since the pandemic launched in 2020, the world has seen greater efforts toward and benefits from remote work. Companies are realizing lower overhead costs and more satisfied employees. People are finding more fulfillment in their lifestyles and enjoying being able to decide where they want to call home with more opportunity.

Your environment matters.

This goes for your immediate environment, your home life, but also where you spend your time working and the community/ies you live in. Finding like-minded neighbors or the right access to outdoor activities is a lot more impactful on our lives than we previously understood.

It’s worth examining your environment to see how you can make big or small tweaks to build it to suit your needs better.

Where do you work best?