English equivalent of מסגרת, used to describe a person who gets along in a routine with a rigid routine, responsibilities, etc

Question

My native tongue is Hebrew, and we have a word that I just don't know how to effectively translate to English. My American-Israeli friends tell me that they just say it in Hebrew because they can't find a good substitute in English.

That word is מסגרת. Literally, it means "frame", which could be a picture frame, or framework.

It also has a figurative meaning, which is the one I'm interested in. I'll try to describe it. It means things like school, work, military. Any kind of environment you're in that has a routine, responsibilities, people you work with, and usually a boss or some kind of authority figure.

I wanted to say "I'm not a מסגרת person", meaning I'm not the kind of person who gets along in a routine with a rigid routine, responsibilities, etc. Whether it's school, work, etc. Can you figure out how to say it succinctly in English?

Answer 1

I'm not a structured person/guy.

It's succinct and I think it has a nice parallel with the Hebrew word for frame used figuratively.

structured (adj.)

following a set method, arrangement, or pattern m-w

Having and manifesting a clearly defined structure or organization Collins

If you're happiest when your day is planned out, with lists of things to do, and a tightly-packed schedule, then you like living a structured life. When something is structured, it's arranged according to a specific plan. vocabulary.com

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Sometimes I can't believe I have become such a structured guy, given my island heritage and my tendency to want to relax without a lot of demands. ref.

Structured — non-structured. Structured individuals are precise and formal. They tend to be self-controlled and don't like ambiguity or lack of organization. Non-structured people are informal and casual, tend to be tolerant of others and have a relaxed manner. ref.

The methodological abilities are the required skills to organize and enhance a personal work. A structured person follows specific order to carry out activities in the short and long term. ref.

My attitude toward cooking could well be the reason why I did not stay long at all in that restaurant job. I tried to follow the rules, but to be honest, I found it boring most of the time ... Although I consider myself a structured person to some extent, I tend to like freedom, variety and creativity. ref.

Answer 2

An English phrase for someone who likes routine is a creature of habit, so you could say that you’re not a creature of habit.

This has the merit of not suggesting anything negative—or positive—about how you actually live your life.

This NGram link offers a variety of quotations about “creature of habit,” most finding it undesirable to be so.

Answer 3

This idiom isn’t terribly succinct, but it does suggest the sense of a frame — a boundary:

color inside the lines

To think or act in accordance with set rules. Likened to the way a child is encouraged to neatly color within the lines of a coloring book.

_{That poor girl is so rigid. I think she’s only capable of following rules and coloring inside the lines.}

_{Source: The Free Dictionary — color inside the lines}

Conversely, we have:

color outside the lines

To think or act in a way that does not conform to set rules. Likened to the way a child might color outside the lines of a coloring book.

_{My coworkers don’t always understand my ideas, especially since I like to color outside the lines.}

_{Source: The Free Dictionary — color outside the lines}

So:

I’m not a color-inside-the-lines person. I like to color outside the lines.

Answer 4

If I understand the question correctly, you could start off by saying something like "I am a free spirit." and then add something like. I won't be pigeon-holed. I would hate to be tied down by..." and then you would give some examples of such ties which you would hate - e.g.

"I would hate to have a nine to five job, a wife and children, and a mortgage."