Since the pandemic’s beginning, many have become familiar with remote work formats.
It provides many advantages: in most cases, the employee chooses the schedule that suits them, and you as an employee can choose to work from home or travel.
Freelancing and remote work is a trend nowadays, especially in the tech industry.
However, this format of employment has much more cons than pros.
If you are a complete beginner, first things first, you need to find a remote job that enables you to pay your bills and tickets while you travel.
For example, you can be a programmer, create apps, or run your blog on YouTube using video-making tools. The list of remote job vacancies is endless, so choose whatever you like the most.
Digital nomads can work from any part of the world; just make sure you have a stable internet connection, the ability to meet deadlines and to do all of your yearly working hours.
That is why many digital nomads go to other cities and countries without ceasing to earn money. Therefore, we have collected tips and tricks to help you become a successful digital nomad and not lose your earnings abroad.
6 Tips to Become a Digital Nomad
Remote work allows digital nomads to combine work and travel, but it’s not as easy as it might seem. Here are some tips to help you explore the world without compromising your career.
1. Choose Comfortable Places to Work and Travel Format
To make your work comfortable and efficient, choose suitable travel destinations.
Cities and prominent tourist locations are best suited for digital nomads with a high-quality internet connection. It’s critically important to stay in touch with your managers while you travel.
The most popular countries among digital nomads are Spain, France, and Thailand. You can always find all the civilization stuff you might need, such as Wi-Fi, lovely coffee shops, and coworking spaces.
The time zone could be different from the time zone of your employers and colleagues, but you need to discuss it with your manager. Experienced digital nomads note that the maximum time difference should not exceed five hours.
2. Choose Your Travel Format
Not all travel formats allow you to combine work and travel. For example, it is unlikely that you will be able to sit with a laptop while rafting on a mountain river or meditating in a Buddhist ashram.
The slow-travel format is most suitable for remote work: travelers stay in one place for several months.
This way, you can create the necessary routine for life and work and get to know the new place.
Of course, all digital nomad jobs are different, but you need to show progress and meet the deadlines anyway. Also, don’t forget to stay engaged and stick to a proper working schedule.
3. Try to Create a Working Environment
People tend to believe that the digital nomad working on the beach under palm trees is a myth. The sound of the waves, sticky hot weather and bright sun make it difficult to concentrate on your work and show the results.
On the other hand, productive work requires proper conditions, and everyone has their own: someone needs a desktop and complete silence, while other people feel more productive working in noisy coffee shops.
In any case, try to recreate a friendly working environment for yourself. When choosing accommodation, pay attention to the speed of the internet and the location of shops and cafes nearby.
Sometimes you have just 5 minutes between the meetings to get some lunch. Use earplugs or headphones with music that sets you up for work to distract from external sounds.
4. Establish a Proper Working Schedule
It’s essential to find a balance between work and leisure when traveling. Otherwise, you risk failing deadlines or not having time to get to know a new place. Having a strict working schedule helps to indicate the time for work, sightseeing, walking, and rest.
There are numerous mobile apps that allow you to set your working schedule and create to-do lists, such as Trello or Todoist.
Create your everyday routine based on the amount of work you need to finish and activities you want to do when you have spare time. For instance, in Thailand, the time zone allows you to lay on the beach in the morning and work in the afternoon because of the +4 hours of time difference from Europe.
Productive work requires energy, so do not overload your travel days with additional work tasks. Some people choose to work in coworking places during weekdays and explore new places on weekends. Select the schedule that works best for you.
5. Take Care of Your Safety
It is more challenging to solve emerging problems abroad than at home. For example, your devices may break or lose essential files, and you may have some health issues and need to go to the hospital. So before the trip, take care of comfort and safety:
- make copies of important work files and documents;
- use cloud storage software;
- pay for medical insurance;
- have several credit cards from different banks: this way, you will not be left without money if the card is lost or blocked (some banks may stop the card due to frequent working money transfers);
- save passwords in a secure place;
- purchase a SIM card with the internet for travel or install eSim using the Airalo app;
- use a power bank (portable charging) for a smartphone or laptop.
6. Have Savings for a Rainy Day
The working traveler must have some extra money. Because anything can happen in a new country (illness, problems with a visa), and to avoid being left without cash during a break in work, always have savings for a rainy day.
Before buying tickets to a new country, please read the reviews of other remote workers about this place.
There are numerous forums like Quora that can give you answers. If you want to know how to become a digital nomad, earn good money, and have an opportunity to work from any location in the world, don’t forget about these necessary details.
For example, the internet may disappear during rains and storms in Indonesia. In addition, sand storms are a common phenomenon in Dubai that may cause power outages and, as a result, influence your work.
Pros and Сons of Being a Digital Nomad
Digital nomad has some benefits:
- Flexible working hours: you decide when and how much you work. Some people prefer to work in the morning and then rest during the day. Others like to work in the evening or even at night and feel more productive;
- You can work from anywhere in the world: will you choose a beach in Costa Rica or a small mountain house in Norway. Selecting the next country is not a problem for a digital nomad, but make sure you have comfortable working conditions. As practice shows, most people like to work from home;
- You can become a creator and share your life on social media, like Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube and get extra income from these platforms.
And drawbacks:
- Life plans are always in limbo: it could be difficult to plan your life ahead for more than 6 months because you never know what destination will be next and what working conditions you will have in the future;
- It’s hard to be far away from your home and friends: being far away from family and places you are connected to could be difficult. You would miss your home from time to time;
- Your income and expenses could vary from country to country: even if you have a stable income that does not vary from month to month, your expenses will definitely be different in Thailand and in Germany, because of the prices of food, cafés, and home rent.
Of course, you need to consider all cons and pros before you leave your home and become a digital nomad with a laptop and a bag. And there are numerous tips to make the work from home as effective as possible.
To sum up
Thus, a digital nomad is a person who is not constantly associated with one employer and receives orders independently.
They often work remotely, have a flexible work schedule, and travel the world.
Use these practical tips to become a digital nomad, work and see the world.