a guide to become a digital nomads
Content 5
What it is: Digital Nomads
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Benefits vs. Disadvantages
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Pack up
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How to start
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How to sustain
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Tips
What it is: Digital Nomads
“Digital Nomads are individuals who use telecommunications technologies to earn a living and, more generally, conduct their life in a nomadic manner.” Digital Nomads perform a job that formerly it was within companies and offices, but now with technology, they can have access to these jobs anywhere in the world without a fixed place to run them. They’re workers who built their job or business around their lifestyle. Some Digital Nomads choose to not be traveling the whole year, many of them choose to work from home. These are people who see no need to give up hobbies and personal interests because of work. They just join business with pleasure, like spend more time at home with family and manager their own time. They aren’t backpackers or travellers that exchange cash hand jobs for food and accommodation. They’re workers specialized in a certain area and don’t see the need of be in a fixed place to work. Most of these people are entrepreneurs and freelancers or are employed in companies that allow them to work like this. To understand more about Digital Nomadism, it’s necessary to break the traditional concept of work that we have imposed in society today. It’s an alternative lifestyle which was possible because of the internet and technology. It can be said that the Digital Nomadism is currently a social and cultural revolution, breaking paradigms previously established that the job always comes first in people’s life.
In the list below there are some examples of jobs that digital nomads perform thru the internet: Freelance writer for newspapers, magazines, websites Text reviewer Ebooks writer Accountant Online language teacher Interpreter Web designer Programmer Photographer Online consultant Owner of online store Travel Agent / Guide for travellers Digital press officer for global enterprises and personalities Video maker Affiliate marketer Software developer Graphic designer And many others... It just depends on the creativity and innovation of each one.
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Benefits vs. Disadvantages
Benefits of being a Digital Nomads Flexible work hours Not being obligated to attend a workplace from 9 to 5 from Monday to Friday most weeks of the year is a major boost to controlling your lifestyle. You get to choose your work Being able to choose a work which will constantly motivate you and have the passion for. Work from interesting places Work in the comfort of your mobile office in an environment where you will be most productive. You’re the boss Being your own boss is the best arrangement you can have. You don’t have to answer to your superior or climb up the corporate ladder.
Disadvantages of being a Digital Nomads Loneliness Usually, a nomadic lifestyle forces you to take a lot of leaps by yourself, as the chances are that it wouldn’t be easy to find a constant companion that follows you everywhere you go. Constant ups and downs Since the nomadic lifestyle doesn’t offer the guaranteed stability a regular lifestyle does, you’ll meet with both good and bad surprises on a daily basis. A nomad needs to know how to ride through the ups and downs. Money The real problem is being fully comes down to actually earning money while constantly changing locations. It’s also hard to be fully committed and focused on a revenue stream while changing locations constantly. Attachments For a nomad, attachments are very negative since they stop us from moving and we will miss out things. You have to keep on moving.
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Packing Up
Pack up is usually a complicated task. We are always in doubt whether we are taking too many things or too little. What if only when already in our destination, we realize that something that stayed behind was an indispensable item? For a digital nomad, the package secret is simplicity. Detach! To help you, we started a checklist with only the essential. Finish to fill it as you wish (but try to stick to the basics and keep it short!)
Checklist A traveller backpack Documents: Passport, visa, credit cards... Basic T-shirt Work-out T-shirt Button Down Shirt Pants Shorts Running Shorts
Tech: Laptop computer and mouse Smartphone Camera External Hard Drive (EHD) Headphones AA Charger and Rechargeable Batteries Universal Travel Adapter HDMI Cable
Underwear Icebreaker socks
Toiletries:
Wool Buff
Toothbrush
Thermal leggings
Toothpaste
Down Jacket
Shampoo
Wind/rain jacket
Soap
Road sandals
Deodorant
Trail/running shoe
Miscellaneous: Eyemask and Ear plugs Packable bag Clothesline Vapur water bottle
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How to start
Just like any important step in our lives, being a digital nomad is also something that requires courage, willpower, discipline and planning.
Become a Digital Nomad is not simply quit your current job and travel the world. Ask for dismissal of a traditional job and being a Digital Nomad requires a lot of planning. You need to make sure that will be able to sustain yourself with the work that you chose to do as a Digital Nomad and save some money to start the project. But before you plan, it’s essential to make a selfassessment, ask yourself if it’s really what you want and if that lifestyle combines with you (many people simply don’t fit in the profile or prefer to have a traditional job). Become a Digital Nomad isn’t something irreversible but it’s a big change in people’s lives. After this self-assessment, you need to know what you want to work. Many Digital Nomads leave their traditional jobs to invest and pursuing personal projects that were already in parallel to their job. Be a Digital Nomad requires thinking forward, be innovative, not just go with the flow and do what everyone is doing. If you’re investing in some personal project, take the opportunity to specialize and study more about it.
wrong today means that you won’t reap rewards tomorrow. Always be patient and confident. And if you’re a Digital Nomad who will choose to travel, know how to choose the country that you will go. Look for information about the valuation of currency in the country that you want to go, the quality of life and local opportunities.
The true meaning is always pursue what is good for us, good changes in our lives. Small changes are responsible for great results.
Discipline is a very important factor for Digital Nomads who are traveling and for who are working at home. It’s necessary to have goals and hours of work. Know how to control your own time and work can be quite a challenge for many. Especially for those who owners their own business. It doesn’t mean that you aren’t going to an office every day that you will work less. If your plan is to start something new, the best and biggest tip is: save money. As with any business, the beginning of an investment demands a lot of money and time and the return can come in a long term. And of course, always have confidence in what you’re doing. It is not because your plans are going
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How to sustain
Discipline If you don’t have the discipline to choose to work when it really matters, you’ll have an awesome vacation but be crying about your wasted opportunity when you’re back in your cubicle six months later. Have discipline and set deadlines. Outsource You’re abroad to visit as many cities as possible, not be buried under a lot of work in your office; you can do that back home. To maximize your time traveling and still keep the money flowing in, do networking and outsource as much work as possible Having a vision Have a vision as to what you want to achieve, along with an open mind to the potential opportunities that will arise while working remotely will create business opportunities that are closed to the conventional 9 – 5 employee. Needs not wants Identify what you really need as opposed to what you want. Discipline, along with the natural changes that occur when we travel with minimal possessions, enables a wonderful new life working from exotic places we never dreamed possible only a generation ago.
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Tips
Language struggles: When you’re travelling somewhere you don’t know the language, what do you do?
1. Always have a dictionary and/or a phrase book with yourself. They are the best tools for when you need to find quickly a word or a common local expression! (And you don’t need to carry book versions, there’s a bunch of app options available in store.)
2. Use Google Translate. When you search a word with wi-fi or 3G on, the app saves it for offline use! And it also allows you to hear (and learn) how words sounds. 3. Abuse of hand gestures! They can communicate by themselves as well as replace a forgotten word in a sentence. Just get used to look like an idiot sometimes. 4. Invest in common courtesies! People are more likely to answer nicely if they feel you’re, at least, trying to communicate to them. Learn words like “hello”, “please”, thank you” and “cheers” in the language of the place you’re in is a great start.
Some digital tools you may want to have in hand: FourSquare / Yelp: They are great guides for discovering new places to eat, visit and discover in different countries around the world. The apps also provide feedback from customers about the service so you can choose what is the best for you! Google Maps: The best tool to find yourself anywhere in the
world! The app allows you to measure the distance and time for any kind of vehicle (car, bus, train, bike, by walk etc) and also the download of maps while you have internet connection, so you can use it offline. Uber: It is like taxi service but better! You get your ride from a registered Uber driver by the app. You don’t need to worry about paying the driver right after, the app does it for you later - automatically discount in your credit card - saving you time and worries about if the driver accepts card or just cash. Oh, and it is cheaper! WordPress: If you feel like creating your own cybernetic space (aka a blog), this may be just the perfect tool. It is a beginnersfriendly platform, really easy and intuitive to use. DropBox: This is a storage tool: You can, basically, save and share files through the cloud. Airbnb: It is a safe website that allows you to rent or buy houses or flats from all around the world. It saves you time and prevents an ocean of worries just as well. Canva: By being a very intuitive tool, it gives you the power to create imagery, sentences and posters, etc, even if you’re incapable of doing anything related to design by yourself. Rescue Time: This is a tool that informs you how long you’ve been wasting in different activities within internet. The coolest thing about it is that you can manage it and set preferences that will keep you on the “right” (a.k.a. productive) track. The thing is: you define what is the right track for you! Tripit: This app helps you to be organized about your travel, flight and itinerary. It is a must have/download!
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A Guide to Become a Digital Nomads (e-book) was designed by Camila Fialho, Fernanda Zanette and Siti Nur Iman — from patchwork-ing.tumblr.com