As we greet this new year of 2026, the 250th anniversary of our freedom and independence as a nation, I think we’d do well to reflect on this idea of freedom. Not only is it central to our identity as Americans, but it is an imperative of our identity as Catholics. And yet, most people don’t likely feel very free at all. There are triggering emotional wounds, difficult family members, family and work obligations, financial issues and time constraints and pressures that get in the way and can make you feel downright enslaved.
So, what is standing in the way of you feeling and being truly free?
I want to use this year to reflect deeply on freedom and help you to experience it. What does it really mean to you? What’s getting in your way? And what you can do about it to attain true and lasting freedom, as intended for the child of God that you are?
So, over the next several months, we’ll cover the following categories:
- Emotional freedom
- Mental freedom
- Financial freedom
- Freedom of time
- Freedom of purpose
- Freedom of relationships
Today, I want to start in the middle of the list: Freedom of Time. Why? Because unless you learn to use your time well, it will be hard to feel free in any of the other areas of life.
Time is the great equalizer. Everyone has the same amount daily, weekly, monthly and yearly. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 28-31 days a month and 365 days a year. Time levels the playing field. The cafeteria worker at school, your doctor, the letter carrier, Elon Musk, and Mark Cuban are all equally rich in time. How you use your time makes all the difference in the world.
So how can you achieve freedom of time?
First, audit how you are actually spending your time. Write down in 15 min. increments for 2 weeks what you are actually doing with your time. It may surprise (or even shock) you to see it in writing.
Are you doom scrolling on social media? Watching useless reels for a quick dopamine hit? Procrastinating simple chores? Allowing constant interruptions that destroy your focus? Doing low value tasks and ignoring the bigger, more productive ones? Binge watching whatever show caught your attention and glued you to the couch?
Let me be clear—no judgment here. We all waste time—it’s just so easy to do in this hyper-connected and distracting world in which we live. And yet, so few stop to actually analyze it and take control.
I caught myself the other day reading a social media post that posed the question: Why is there a little loop on the back of men’s dress shirts? I got curious for a second and nearly clicked but then caught myself—who cares?! I don’t wear men’s dress shirts. My husband rarely even does. Why would I be tempted to fill my brain with such useless information?
The answer is simple: because it’s there. And if I hadn’t been on social media, I never would have known or wondered. And let’s face it, just being there is a trap to draw you in and steal your most precious resource: Time.
Can you relate?
So, to achieve time freedom—and by that I mean that you get to choose how you use at least some of your time, you need to first audit your time to see where it’s currently going. The reason I said “at least some of your time” is that, realistically, you all have jobs, businesses or other obligations, and the time expected of you there may not seem to be your own.
The ultimate goal though is for you to choose how all of your time is spent. Working a job or maintaining a business is actually a choice you are making (to pay the bills, to feed your family, to travel etc.), even though right now it may seem like an obligation or even slavery. But once you understand it as a choice, it will open the notion that you can perhaps make other choices to achieve the same end. You’re not truly a slave—unless you choose to see yourself that way. Perspective here is everything.
Taking the time to look within and discern and decide how you would actually like to be spending your time, is the absolute key to achieving time freedom.
But let’s be real—it’s not always easy to do that on our own. Habits do die hard—and can put up quite a nasty fight in the process. Entrenched mindsets can sabotage even our greatest intentions.
Make this year different!
Engage the help of a coach to create a vision and map out a realistic plan to implement that vision for your life. And dream big!
Unlike therapy, which may be longer term, coaching can be short term, even just a few sessions and can pay HUGE dividends. It’s way more affordable than you may think.
When July 4th comes this year, what new personal freedoms do you want to celebrate? It’s possible! Write them down.
Nothing would make me happier than to hear your stories of success and transformation this year—it’s what makes me tick.
And by the way, if you’ve already been helped by a coach, I want to hear your story. Comment and tell me all about it and together, we can pay it forward to help others to become the people that God created them to be and set the world on fire for Christ.
Wishing you all a most blessed and prosperous new year!
Allison is also the Founder and President of www.CatholicTherapists.com, and CatholicLifeCoaches.com, which provide nationwide networks of screened and dedicated Catholic therapists and Catholic life coaches.
- Ep. 352 How Do You Know What God Wants? - August 19, 2026
- Ep. 351 Is Your Therapist Reinforcing a Victim Mentality? - August 12, 2026
- Hate the Sin but Love the Sinner…Do We Have That Backwards? - August 12, 2026
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