Being free is something we all feel we have an undeniable right to, and if this freedom appears to be threatened, you can be sure those hackles on our necks will instinctively stand up; the adrenaline will start pumping; our chimp will step forward with some visceral responses and our more considered responses are likely to burn with a sense of conviction that few other triggers generate.

When I founded Make Me A Plan, I wanted to serve the business and individual client markets, but also create a company that recognised the inextricable link between the personal and professional. Basically, I believe that businesses run better when they take account of the personal priorities of their people, and individuals live happier, healthier lives when they choose to have a work-life balance.

I wanted to talk a little more about what these kind of freedoms actually mean in practice: after all, most of us spend most of our time working, whether that’s as a business owner, in the home, as an employee or freelancer.

Are we as free as we think we are? Do we direct our energies and fight for our freedoms productively? What is our direction of travel on the Freedometer? What can we do about this?

First things first. You may find it useful to put pen to paper and jot down what you identify as being free personally, please note this is not always the same as what makes you happy, what you do as a matter of course, or even what you do occasionally!

But it is important to take the time to reflect on whether you actually are permitting yourself to enjoy the freedoms that are important to you – and if not, why not?

My top 3 freedoms are:

1. The freedom to choose what I want to do (work or leisure)
2. The freedom to be uninterrupted during these activities
3. The freedom to treat myself and others in accordance with my beliefs

At first glance, you’d think that I pretty much have these freedoms down pat. I run my own business, take part in a variety of sports and regularly visit friends, family, foreign countries – so that’s choosing what I want to do, right?

But at the same time, I’m arranging my schedule around when other people expect to hold business meetings, gym classes, race dates, commercial opening hours, transport schedules, speed limits, traffic congestion, tax responsibilities, insurance and visa requirements.

These are all first world problems, yes, but it’s interesting for a pseud like me to contemplate what moments I have that are actually truly free.

Being uninterrupted is another area in which true freedom is becoming more of a hot topic. Not the kind of interruption where you’d say “ssssh!” to someone in a library, by this I mean not incurring barriers during your chosen work or leisure activities.

Do you work in an open plan office with a steady stream of people passing by your desk? How often is your phone set to voicemail or silent, or is it always on? Are the social media platforms of your choice often open in your mobile or desktop browser? Do you arrange your leisure activities around the people you are doing them with?

OK, these are all likely to be considerations present in modern-day life – but don’t scramble so hard on the hamster wheel that you never take time to contemplate what the sweet taste of freedom might be like if you did exactly what you wanted for an hour, a morning, or even a day.

That’s one of the reasons why Make Me A Plan created Screen Free Sunday, to remind ourselves and others that it’s not only OK, but downright necessary to step away from our devices regularly and enjoy external pleasures.

Last but by no means least, the freedom to treat others in accordance with my beliefs. This one really resonates with me, it’s so interconnected with my interpretations of fairness and justice.

In particular since I have been employing people directly, instead of managing them on behalf of others, this is something where I am carving out the Make Me A Plan operating mode as I grow with the business.

The main principles I have are that I trust my team.

So although we obviously sometimes have meetings and events at certain times on certain days, and we check in with each other regularly as needed, as a guiding principle they can work their hours whenever it suits them over the course of a week.

Everyone gets paid at least the Real Living Wage, regardless of age and is free to use their own judgement and how they’re feeling on any given day to decide which of their work tasks they complete, in which order.

I find it so false and the opposite of freedom in traditional company environments, where you are supposed to pretend that your job takes precedence over your family, personal commitments, leisure activities, that you love doing battle with your fellow humans in commuter hour, when actually if you could fit your work around the school run, going to the gym, having a coffee with friends, or whatever floats your boat, chances are you’d have a lot more respect for your employer, you’d still get the job done as guess what, you’re essentially a decent person who takes pride in their profession, and reality check, your workplace would be full of people who also felt the personal and professional benefits of being that bit freer.

Here at Make Me A Plan we are building our vision for Plankind – let us know where you reside on the Freedometer currently and where you aspire to be.

I’ll be musing On Technology next fortnight – get in touch with any particular aspects of that topic you’d like me to write about.

Happy Planning.