As a digital nomad, you no longer call a set address or office building your home for eight hours of the day or more. Instead, you work from your own apartment or home or enjoy the spectacular views of amazing locations throughout the nation and globally as you travel, all while maintaining a connection to your team digitally. With the increased growth in this particular sector of employment, it’s now more important than ever to understand how to acclimate and succeed in this unique and satisfying lifestyle.
How Popular is The Digital Nomad Lifestyle?
According to many statistics, one in every ten United States workers, accounting for 18.1 million workers, describe themselves as digital nomads. This is an increase from 4.7% over the past year, but an astounding growth of over 147% since 2019. Of course, the lifestyle changes that were required during the COVID-19 shutdowns led many employees to continue working from home even when offices opened back up. They simply liked the freedom that this lifestyle allowed and employers appreciated the reduction in overhead costs. Perhaps this is how you also started your own adventure into the digital nomad realm. Regardless of how you got started, the following will help you make the most of this career choice:
Developing Good Work-Life Balance
When you moved from your office to your apartment to work, you might have felt this would automatically be better for your work/life balance. After all, how could not leaving your home not help, right? Well, wrong. In reality, having your work at your home can actually create another set of problems related to keeping your work life and the worries and responsibilities that relate to your job separate from your home life and your family and friend dynamics. It is possible to properly balance these elements though, but it’s important to first recognize that working from home can quickly become all-consuming without the right boundaries being applied.
Create a Schedule:
If your work requires you to log onto a network or attend a Zoom meeting at a certain time daily, then this might be easy enough. However, if your employer is more lax and only cares that you complete your projects, but doesn’t care when, you can easily let your work day become all-consuming. This means you, in essence, just don’t stop working. Instead, create a schedule where you log off after you have worked for a set amount of time each day (based on requirements and preferences) then unplug. This doesn’t mean you can’t have any screen time. However, don’t check your work email or get on your computer after a certain hour if possible.
Exercise:
As part of your daily schedule, make sure you make time for exercise. Again, being at home offers an abundance of opportunities to work out. However, it also gives you limitless reasons to avoid working out in exchange for getting more work done. However, it’s vital to your mental and physical health that you stop working at some point and get some form of exercise daily. If you have a dog, take them on walks throughout the day. This will give you some of that much-needed vitamin D as well. If your apartment has a gym, consider yourself lucky as this is a great way to get in your daily workout without even leaving your apartment building.
Eat Healthy:
Another common problem that you might have experienced yourself as a remote employee is the temptation to work through lunch or eat it at your desk. Instead, treat your apartment just as you would an office setting. Pretend to “clock out” and take time away from your computer to eat something nourishing. If you have a balcony and can enjoy sitting outside while eating, this is even better. If you live within walking distance of a small cafe or restaurant, walking to lunch is a great break and lets you stretch your legs.
Be Purposeful About Social Interaction:
One of the downsides of working from home is not being as social as you otherwise would be in an office setting. However, you can still see friends and family and get out and about if your employer allows it. A great way to do this is to meet a friend for coffee on work break or take a walk and chat with a neighbor. Try to be purposeful. Make plans to be around people when you aren’t working as you will lose this aspect of your social life. Of course, if you travel and work digitally as a true digital nomad, this can give you access to an abundance of new people and exciting cultures and experiences. This is a huge advantage of remote digital work.
Create a Productive Work-From-Home Environment
The following are some applicable tips to put into action to create a more productive work-from-home environment:
Create a Dedicated Office Location:
No matter how much space you have or don’t have, you can always create a space that is designated as your work area. Doing this is key as following the tips that have already been mentioned will be more difficult without such a set-up. Invest in a quality workspace, including a good desk, a comfortable and supportive desk chair, a computer that provides everything you need and all the office supplies you require to be productive. Make sure that you can somewhat close yourself off, especially if you share the space with other people.
Create Boundaries:
If you do have roommates or family members who share the apartment with you, then setting work-related boundaries is a must. This means ground rules are in place and cannot be broken by others. This will help you keep yourself productive, as others will know that just because you are technically at home doesn’t mean that you are available to talk to them or to help them during your work time. If you have set meeting times and other specific times that you should not be interrupted, make sure everyone sharing your space knows and respects these boundaries.
Be Patient:
Of course, setting boundaries, especially when it comes to kids, doesn’t always work out exactly as planned. When you are working from home, just as when you would in the office, sometimes you have to be willing to be a little flexible in terms of getting your work done. For example, if your child is home from school sick, then you might have to change your productivity requirements for that particular day. That’s okay. Consider the fact that you are likely still getting way more done than you would if you had to leave your office to pick them up and go home and care for them, as you would have done previously before remote work was an option.
Get Dressed:
Although you might not see anyone physically throughout your work day as a digital nomad, it’s still important in terms of your productivity for you to take time to “dress for work.” This can be much more casual than office attire, of course, but get up, take a shower, brush your teeth and hair and put on actual clothes, not pajamas. It is amazing how much this will help you flip the switch and begin your work day on a good note and be much more productive than you would be otherwise.
Limit Distractions When Possible:
It can be tempting to take care of chores throughout the day since you are at home. However, in order to be as productive as possible throughout your work day and get the most done, you have to honor that time and limit chore-related distractions. Avoid doing laundry or the dishes or cleaning the bathrooms or vacuuming throughout your day. As part of your schedule mentioned earlier, create a time to do this after or before your productive hours.
Strategies For Effective Telecommuting
In order to be the best and most productive remote employee possible, making more time for the funner things in life, you need to implement some effective telecommuting strategies to keep you on the same page as your team and staying honed into your work goals. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Set Daily Goals, Track Progress:
Make sure that you are still tracking your daily goals and progress, just as you would in an office or traditional work setting. Begin each day by writing down what you hope to accomplish that day and then track your progress. Share your progress with your digital team to stay motivated.
Reach out to Colleagues:
In a traditional office setting, you wouldn’t think anything of asking a coworker to clarify goals or further explain instructions. Don’t be afraid to do the same when working from home. It is okay to message, call, or meet with colleagues to ensure that you understand what you are being asked to accomplish. This doesn't change just because you are at home. Don’t feel this more isolated environment means you can’t ask questions.
The Rise of Digital Nomads
Being a digital nomad can open up all sorts of amazing opportunities, such as being able to travel the world while maintaining a career. If you are an apartment renter and also a remote worker, keep the tips listed above in mind as you navigate this ever-growing career environment. Be thankful for the many ways that this lifestyle gives you abundant freedoms and many other benefits while also acknowledging the challenges it can present. As in any other type of setting, there are benefits and drawbacks, and you will get out of the experience as much as you put in.
