The Dreamlining Exercise
Calculate Your Actual Freedom Number
Most people don't know their actual freedom number. When asked, they just say something like "$1 million a year" or "a $1bn company"—unthinking, just parroting what they think is a good number.
But you need to know your ACTUAL number.
If you don't know what you're working towards, you'll never get there. This exercise will help you figure it out in 20 minutes.
What is Dreamlining?
A systematic process for outlining your ideal lifestyle and creating an actionable plan
Dreamlining is Tim Ferriss's technique from The 4-Hour Work Week for achieving personal dreams. It's based on writing them down, performing time and cost calculations, and most importantly—taking immediate action.
Unlike vague goal-setting exercises, dreamlining forces you to:
- • Define exactly what you want to have, be, and do
- • Calculate the actual cost of your ideal lifestyle
- • Break dreams into concrete, measurable actions
- • Start taking steps today, not "someday"
Key Insight: Your freedom number is likely much lower than you think. Most people discover they need far less than the arbitrary "$1 million" to live their ideal life.
The Exercise: 6 Steps
Grab paper and pen (or download the worksheet below). Set aside 20 minutes.
Create Your Timeline
Create two columns: 6 months and 12 months. For each timeline, list up to 5 things you dream of:
- • Having: Material things (house, car, camera, gym equipment, etc.)
- • Being: Personal qualities (fluent in Spanish, marathon finisher, published author, etc.)
- • Doing: Experiences (run Boston Marathon, 2-week trip to Japan, weekly salsa lessons, etc.)
Think Big and Be Specific
Your goals must be unrealistic to be effective. If you're having trouble, write down what you hate or fear, then write the opposite.
Don't limit yourself or worry about how you'll accomplish these things. Just write them down.
Convert "Being" to "Doing"
Make each "being" item actionable and measurable. Transform qualities into concrete actions.
✗ Vague: "Be a great cook"
✓ Specific: "Make Christmas dinner without help"
✗ Vague: "Be fluent in Spanish"
✓ Specific: "Hold a 30-minute conversation in Spanish about business"
Select Your Top 4 Dreams
From all your lists, pick the four dreams closest to your heart. These are the ones that, if you achieved them in the next 6 months, would make you feel like your life is exactly where it should be.
Calculate the Real Cost
For each of your top 4 dreams, determine the actual monthly cost. Be realistic and include:
- • One-time costs divided by 6 (for 6-month goals) or 12 (for 12-month goals)
- • Recurring monthly costs
- • Hidden costs (apps, software, equipment, lessons, travel, etc.)
Add up all four costs, then add: A + B + C + (1.3 × your current monthly expenses)
Divide by 30 to get your Target Daily Income (TDI).
This is your freedom number. Not $1 million. Not a billion-dollar company. This specific, achievable number.
Want help calculating this automatically? Freedom OS Module 2 includes an interactive AI tool that walks you through this entire exercise and calculates your numbers for you. Learn more →
Define Immediate Action Steps
For each of your four dreams in the 6-month timeline only, write down three concrete steps you could take to move toward that dream.
Then—and this is the most important part—take the first step right now.
Critical: "Right now" means within the next 24 hours. Not tomorrow. TODAY. Even if it's just sending one email or making one phone call.
Dreamlining Worksheets
Use these templates to complete your dreamlining exercise
Blank Template
Print this out or use it as a reference to create your own dreamline. Grab a pen and paper and start filling it in.
Filled Example
Here's a completed example to show you what a finished dreamline looks like. Notice how specific the goals are and how the costs are broken down into concrete numbers.
Notice: This person's Target Daily Income (TDI) is $586. That's about $17,500/month or $210,000/year. Far from a billion dollars—but enough to fund their actual dream life.
Prefer an interactive tool? The Freedom OS dreamlining module guides you through this process step-by-step and does all the math automatically.
Why Dreamlining Works
The psychology and practical benefits of this exercise
It shifts goals from ambiguous to defined
"Be successful" becomes "Earn $586/day". "Travel more" becomes "2-week trip to Japan in May". Specific goals are achievable. Vague goals stay dreams.
It creates immediate action, not distant planning
By forcing you to take one step within 24 hours, you break the paralysis of "someday" thinking. Action creates momentum.
It reveals that freedom costs less than you think
Most people discover their ideal life doesn't require millions. It might just require smart choices and focused execution over 6-12 months.
It forces prioritization
Picking just 4 dreams makes you identify what actually matters to you, not what you think you should want.
Your Challenge
Set aside 20 minutes today. Grab paper and pen (or use the worksheet above). Complete your dreamline.
Don't overthink it. Don't make it perfect. Just write down what you actually want, calculate what it actually costs, and take one step today.
Remember: You don't need a billion-dollar company. You don't even need a million dollars. You just need YOUR number—and a plan to get there.
Want the AI-Powered Version?
Freedom OS Module 2 automates this entire exercise with an interactive AI tool
Instead of filling out worksheets manually, Freedom OS walks you through the entire dreamlining process with AI-powered guidance that:
- ✓Helps you brainstorm your HAVE, BE, and DO goals with intelligent prompts
- ✓Automatically calculates your Target Monthly Income and Target Daily Income
- ✓Breaks down complex goals into actionable steps you can start immediately
- ✓Saves your dreamline so you can revisit and update it as your life evolves
Whether you use the worksheet above or the Freedom OS tool, the important thing is to do the exercise.
Get your number. Take one step today.