When you want to make the most of your life, you might think that the only thing you can do is grind your way through the week, and let loose on the weekend. This is what millions of us do every single week until we retire, but does it really make us happy?
Thousands of people are now embracing location-independent living by adopting the digital nomad way of life. It’s where you work online, free yourself of ties to any particular place, and give yourself the freedom to go out and see the world. So, how do you do it?
Calculate Your Expenses Vs Income, and Check What You’re Doing Is Sustainable
It might sound like putting a bit of dampener on such an exciting new venture, but think about it for a minute. If you’re living free as a bird all over the world that’s great, but you don’t want to have to watch what you spend constantly.
Make sure you have plenty of money to support yourself in the manner to which you’ve become accustomed, and you’ll be all the happier for it.
Sign Up for a VPN So You’re Always Connected
VPNs are a super important tool for the digital nomad; in fact they probably come second only to your ability to make money online. If you travel from country to country, you’ll soon find that certain content and data are restricted in some corners of the world.
Whilst you might think this is unjust when you get to your hotel room and are unable to work, no amount of complaining to the hotel manager is going to do the slightest thing about it. A VPN is the safe and secure way around such problems, so make sure you sign up for one before you fly out. Bearing in mind all the latest cybercrime statistics as well, you shouldn’t hesitate to do so.
Decide Whether to Keep Your Home as a Base, Or Be Permanently on the Road
No one says you can’t keep your home to base yourself in when you feel like returning for a week or two. In fact, that’s what most digital nomads do because you’re still going to want to see plenty of your friends and family. And not just show you can regale them with tales of your latest trip away.
Factor the upkeep of your home into your finances, and you’ll always have somewhere to call home when the urge takes you. It’s also a great place to store all of the stuff that you’re not going to be taking with you. Being a digital nomad is all about traveling light so that you can go anywhere anytime. That means you’re not going to want to be lugging a dozen suitcases with you through the airport.
Set Yourself Some Goals for the Year So You Don’t Lose That All-Important Structure
Being a nomad is such a free and wonderful experience, but you need to ensure you don’t lose focus. If you get into bad habits such as taking too much time off and lots of long lazy days in the sun, then you’ll soon grow tired of it.
Plus, your online business won’t do quite as good of a job of funding your lifestyle as it used to. Set yourself short-, medium-, and long-term goals and they’ll keep you on the right track when you’re feeling a little bit lazy.
Take a Friend with You So You Can Share the Experiences of a Lifetime
Traveling with a friend is a great way to make the most of the incredible things you’re going to see and do. You might not know who you want to travel with for the rest of your life, so don’t think about it like that. Invite someone to come along with you for a few weeks, and then ask someone else a few weeks after that.
Keep your dynamics fresh and relaxed, and you’ll be able to enjoy every minute of your time on the road. Just make sure you choose friends that are easy-going and happy to go with the flow.
Get Your Work Out of the Way Early So You Can Go Out and Embrace the Day
The final thing you need to do is get into the habit of starting your work early. There’s no better way to put a dampener on a great day out than knowing that you have to do 3 hours of work when you get home that evening.
If you get up with the sun and aim to have your work done by brunch, you’ll have the rest of the day to go and explore your new home for the next few weeks. It’s this kind of freedom and flexibility that the millions of people chained to their desks in offices can only dream of.
So don’t sabotage it by getting into unproductive work habits. Focus, get it done, and then go and live your dream life.