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Become a contractor. Work 1-2 months/year and spend the rest of the year doing what you want.

I did this. It's not quite true. I did stuff with the spare time, but as long as contracting pays the bills, it is still your primary focus. So free time ends up being spent in forms of marketing - writing books, blogging, certitications, networking.

Paradoxically, FT jobs are more liberating. You have less time, but you own that time. You can work on random things at 10 PM or 4 AM.

Would you mind expanding on that topic?

I keep seeing this suggestion many times, but I can’t understand what does it mean being a contractor, or how does one become a contractor. So would appreciate some explanation on the topic.

I'm assuming people who espouse that go through some sort of larger agency or something that can connect you with the work. Otherwise I'd also imagine that ramping up your lead gen again each time could take as much time as the contract itself. In my experience staying active in your network seems like a big part of being a solo/small contractor and isn't really amenable to "going dark" ten months at a time and then trying to jump back in.

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