The Freedom of Downshifting: How I Reclaimed My Time Without Leaving Medicine

This Week’s Real-Life Lesson:

The Freedom of Downshifting: How I Reclaimed My Time Without Leaving Medicine

For most of my career, I wore my busyness as a badge of honor. I was the classic small-town family doc—running from the hospital to the clinic, to the football field, and back again. I loved medicine, but somewhere along the way, the practice I loved stopped loving me back.

Like many physicians, I had spent years operating at a full sprint inside a system that rewarded volume more than value. The pandemic years only amplified that imbalance. I found myself reflecting deeply—not about “leaving medicine,” but about redefining how medicine fit into the life I wanted to live.

So, I began to downshift.

Finding My Own Definition of Freedom

Downshifting wasn’t about quitting. It was about designing a new professional rhythm—one that honored both my clinical skills and my personal calling to help other doctors reclaim their agency.

I stepped back from full-time work as an independent contractor a little more than a year ago and created a job-stacked portfolio career:

• I continued practicing through locums assignments that kept me clinically sharp without tethering me to a single job in the same location.

• I added telemedicine work by creating ChatRx which allows me to serve patients from anywhere.

• And with the new margin I gained, I moved from dabling in PEA-SimpliMD, to intentionally building it into a platform for inspiring and equipping physicians to become entrepreneurs in their own right.

I didn’t leave medicine—I built a life around it, rather than under it.

Through this process, I discovered that the greatest freedom doesn’t come only from financial independence—it comes from time sovereignty. When you can control your time, you can finally live out your purpose.

What Downshifting Really Looks Like

Downshifting is both mindset and mechanics.

The mindset part means recognizing that you don’t need permission to design your career. No hospital CEO or recruiter gets to decide how—or when—you practice medicine. You do.

The mechanics come down to systems. I formalized my work through my own professional micro-corporation—Tod A. Stillson, MD, PC—which became the foundation for managing my locums, telemedicine, and business income streams.

Once I was in control of my entity, everything changed. I could negotiate contracts, set my schedule, create tax efficiency, and reinvest profits into my entrepreneurial ventures. What began as a personal shift soon became a movement—the Physician Entrepreneur Academy (PEA-SimpliMD)—to help other doctors experience the same transformation.

If you’re exploring this path, my free e-book, Doctor Incorporated: Stop the Insanity of Traditional Employment breaks down the steps I took to transition from employed to empowered.

The Surprising Lesson: Space Creates Significance

Here’s what I didn’t expect—once I created more space in my professional life, I actually became a better doctor.

Locums work sharpened my clinical instincts. Telemedicine taught me efficiency and communication clarity. Entrepreneurship taught me strategic thinking.

Most importantly, I discovered a renewed empathy for my colleagues who were still trapped in the grind. I knew I wanted to help them build the same freedom I had found. That purpose became the heartbeat of PEA-SimpliMD.

Now, through courses like Doctor, You Are a Business and Creating a Practice Without Walls I teach physicians how to think and act like owners—because ownership, not employment, is the path to autonomy.

Downshifting gave me my life back. It gave me space to think, dream, and build again. It reminded me that medicine can be one of many meaningful expressions of purpose—not the sole definition of it.

“Is This Deductible?”

Last week, I was invited to attend a community event hosted by the hospital where I serve as a locums physician. It was one of those classic small-town evenings—a dinner, a silent auction, a chance to reconnect with the administration and staff I work with during my shifts.

As I bought my ticket and considered bidding on an item at the auction, I paused and smiled—because I realized what I was doing was exactly what I teach: thinking like a business owner.

So, is it deductible?

Here’s how I approach it: If the event directly relates to your professional relationships or your medical work through your micro-corporation, it may qualify as a legitimate business expense—a form of marketing, networking, or professional goodwill. But if it’s purely social, or your spouse’s name is on the ticket instead of your PC, probably not.

The key is intent and documentation—just like we document clinical decisions, we must document business rationale.

If you want to learn how to confidently make these distinctions, download my free guide A Doctor’s Guide to Everyday Business Expenses 

Owning your career also means owning your numbers—and it starts one receipt at a time.

Join the Movement

“Freedom doesn’t mean leaving medicine—it means practicing it on your terms.”

Every week, I meet physicians who are rediscovering joy through autonomy, flexibility, and entrepreneurship. They’re no longer defined by their job titles but by their impact.

Are you ready to join them?

👉 Join the PEA Explorer Membership — your first step into a community of physicians reclaiming control through micro-business ownership.

And as a bonus, download my free e-book Design Your Career Around Your Life: The Physician’s Guide to Professional Longevity to start reimagining your career with intention.

Because you don’t have to leave medicine to find freedom— you just have to design it.