I'm freelancing and bounce between working full-time and working on my own projects. I just mention this as an option because if you're up to working a full-time schedule for stretches, there's a fair amount of this sort of work available.

Financial discipline is important, as is time management. I have a routine that doesn't change much whether I'm working for other people or working for myself. I disconnect the internet at night so I have a block of time without it.

With the extra time I've accomplished a lot of reading, and exercise. I think my coding skill has improved by leaps and bounds because I'm able to experiment with new things. I'd like to start travelling for part of the year.

What I would have done differently and am trying to do differently: do a better job of sourcing work.