There’s something you should know about me.

I currently work full-time at a remote company, earning a monthly income. I’m also a final-year student at the University of Lagos, studying statistics.

But at the same time, I’m the biggest advocate for autonomy—building your own venture, designing your life, and doing work that brings you closer to your goals.

So how do I align those two realities? By being real with myself.

I live in Lagos, Nigeria, where the economy is in shambles. The inflation rate is at an all-time high, and somehow, people are expected to survive on a minimum wage of barely $20 a month (yes, per month, lol).

Using a middle-class family as the baseline, the income of one person isn’t enough to sustain a household. You have rent, bills, school fees for the kids, allowances for feeding…the list goes on.

As the first-born male child, I had to step up, at least for myself—so I took up a job.

This is why I keep hammering that the only blueprint you need is your own. If you haven’t read that letter yet, you really should.

Not many people are this transparent about their situation or what led them to their decisions.

That’s why I believe a lot of creators lack depth—they’re creating content for you to look at, not content that lets you see. But I digress, let’s get back to the point.

If I’m in this situation, I’m sure many of you are too.

You know you’re destined for more, but your current reality—assigned tasks, a monthly paycheck just to make ends meet—makes you feel stuck.

Your mind demands more, but you don’t know how to create the time for the things you love.

That’s what today’s letter is about:

1. We’ll uncover where the need for autonomy comes from.
2. How you can carve out autonomy even if you’re surrounded by robotic tasks.
3. And finally, the structure I use to make extra money outside my full-time responsibilities.

Let’s dive in.

Understanding Autonomy

Have you ever made plans to carry out a task but the moment someone ordered you to do it, you lost all motivation?

That right there is autonomy in play. Autonomy is the ability to do work that aligns with your interests at a time that only you can design.

In my last letter, we talked about the intrinsic drivers needed to spark and maintain motivation.

I mentioned that they need to be stacked correctly, starting from curiosity, moving to passion, and finally leading to purpose.

Autonomy is another critical driver in that stack. Once you’ve found what you’re curious about, connected it to something you’re passionate about, and aligned it with your purpose, the next step is having the freedom to engage with it on your own terms.

If you haven’t yet, go read it.

For those who’ve already turned their passions into full-time jobs—whether they’re basketball players, footballers, content creators, or entrepreneurs—their lives are inherently autonomous. They have time freedom. They can choose when to work and when to rest.

But it’s different if you’re like me.

Maybe you’re still in school or working full-time to make ends meet, but you know you’re destined for more. You want to spend your time doing what you’re passionate about so that work feels like play—even as you earn from it. What you need is a dedicated, structured time to lock in and focus on it.

I’m eager to share how I’ve made this work, but first, you need to fully grasp the power of autonomy and the long-term effects it can have.

When done right, it can produce incredible results—just ask Google.

The 20% Rule

Google has a policy that has generated billions in revenue, built on a simple principle: autonomy.

Employees are allowed to spend 20% of their time working on projects they find personally interesting. That’s 1-2 hours a day where they can use company resources to work on whatever excites them.

This autonomy led to some of Google’s most innovative products: Gmail, Google News, and AdSense.

The same principle applies to your day. You may not have 20% of your time to spare, but what about 3-4 hours?

This is where my 4-hour workday comes into play.

The 4-Hour Workday

I structure my day to focus on tasks that bring me closer to my goals. I dedicate the first four hours after waking up to three core activities: writing, reading, and building.

These are non-negotiable because they move me toward my long-term vision.

This isn’t a novel idea—it’s influenced by thinkers like Dan Koe and Justin Welsh, who advocate for structured deep work in the mornings. I’ve adapted their approach to suit my life.

You might wonder why I focus my 4-hour block in the mornings.

The reason is simple: energy.

As the day goes on, energy levels drop, and distractions increase. Imagine your brain like a phone battery.

When you wake up, it’s fully charged, but as the day progresses, your mental energy drains with every task, conversation, and notification.

By the afternoon, your cognitive capacity has diminished, making deep, focused work harder to achieve. So, it makes sense to dedicate your best hours—the early part of the day—to the tasks that truly matter to you.

How You Can Implement This

1) Start Your Day with Purpose

Commit to your 4-hour work block first thing in the morning. Your mind is at its sharpest right after waking up, so this is the time to tackle the tasks that will move you forward.

Personally, I start at 4 AM and focus on writing, reading, and building until 8 AM. After that, I can turn to other responsibilities. That’s my schedule—find what fits your life.

2) Identify Your Leverage Tasks

If your goal is to design your life and control your path, you need to walk the path of a creator. By “creator,” I don’t just mean content creation.

A creator is anyone who makes things they want to see in the world—whether it’s software, business ventures, or new initiatives. Identify the one or two tasks that move you toward your goal.

If you’re building a brand, it might be writing. If you’re a developer, it might be coding. Whatever it is, make it your focus during this dedicated 4-hour block.

3) Stick to the 4-Hour Block

This time is sacred. During these 4 hours, eliminate distractions—no scrolling through social media, no side conversations. It’s just you and your work. After that, you can tackle your other responsibilities—whether that’s heading to class or starting your remote job.

But you’ll have already spent the best part of your day working toward your goals, and that progress will carry through to the rest of your day.

At the heart of this approach is the idea that your time is your most valuable asset. Whether you’re working full-time, studying, or managing other responsibilities, you still have the power to create space for what truly matters.

Autonomy isn’t about dropping everything to chase your passions—it’s about intentionally carving out time each day to move closer to your vision.

By dedicating just 3-4 hours of focused, undistracted time to your goals, you can slowly, but surely, design the life you want.

Remember, it’s not about following someone else’s path; it’s about creating your own blueprint and having the discipline to follow through.

In the end, autonomy isn’t a privilege reserved for the few—it’s something you can build for yourself, one intentional hour at a time.

That will be all for today, enjoy the rest of your Saturday.

~ Tolu.