I’m sure not many of you have heard of the term “digital nomad”. A digital nomad is an individual who harnesses the power of technology & the internet to operate any job or business from virtually anywhere. This they do whilst travelling a lot from place to place; this means they operate location-independently just like a nomad would. Simply put, it’s basically making money online with no fixed abode. So if you can earn income online and can do so from any location whilst moving around a lot – you are most definitely a digital nomad. In this article I will delve into what that kind of life is like.
The Burden Of Freedom
The major inspiration for a digital nomad is the quest to operate freely and independently. There are a lot of things this lifestyle strips off from you. We are looking at aspects like rentals, demanding & often dramatic workplaces, bureaucracies and bottlenecks prevalent in fixed workplaces plus the monotony of a day job in the same environment daily. Most digital nomads will tell you they love the freedom of calling their shots in as far as how they operate is concerned.
Travelling Is Plenty
Let me explain something here, the term “digital nomad’ was coined with reference to those who work online whilst travelling a lot. Mostly the travelling involved here is from country to country or from city to city. So the lifestyle is so filled with incessant travelling. Most digital nomads end up commercializing this aspect by creating blogs documenting their travelling expeditions. If properly managed, this travelling can actually be monetized to rake in income for the digital nomad.
It’s Quite Lonely For Many
This type of life is often characterised by extreme loneliness. The closest physical acquaintances for most digital nomads are their PCs and mobile devices. Not all digital nomads get to live like that though but most are actually lone rangers. Most of them are introverts who aren’t keen on a social life and thus find satisfaction in being alone. They mostly derive their fulfilment from accomplishing their online tasks and obligations.
Social Engagement Is Heavily Compromised
I did mention that it entails lots of travelling from one place to another. Some can spend a few days in one place or even several months in one place before moving to the next. This then means that your social engagements are for the most part bubble gum-like. You always find yourself striking social relationships in a particular place and in no time you have to bid farewell and move on. You become so accustomed to a cycle of building and abandoning short-lived social engagements too often.You never really get time to even cultivate them while they last because of your online engagements. It’s very difficult especially if you are looking to start & build long term relationships such as romantic ones. Some digital nomads can skirt this by embarking on this kind of lifestyle with a romantic partner who already also is a digital nomad.
Anything Is Possible & Doable
The world has increasingly grown to become a global village – thanks to technology & the internet. Therefore the opportunities and platforms are now endless. In case you are wondering which fields of endeavour can be easily gelled with a digitally nomadic lifestyle, they are infinite. Software engineers, those in architecture, graphic designers, those in marketing, writers, journalists, teachers, virtual assistants etc can live this lifestyle.
Discipline Is Imperative
Being disciplined isn’t negotiable, it’s the only way you can sustain this kind of lifestyle. Remember, you are endeavouring to make money whilst on the move. This means that you must be very meticulous in how you schedule and utilize time & resources. Expenses & income are constantly at loggerheads so you must be very frugal and diligent. Remember also that the internet is the backbone of your lifestyle, thus, you must be very progressive in your logistical acumen in identifying Wi-Fi hotspots. This will save time & enhance productivity.
You Have To Easily Embrace Change
You regularly have to reboot and reconfigure yourself for new environments & new experiences. Thus, your life requires you to be very open-minded & not adversely reactive to change. The diverse nature of what you encounter from place to place needs you to comfortably adjust all the time.
Balance Is Key
You are generating income whilst at the same time you are exposed to endless opportunities of leisure. If you aren’t careful you’ll get sucked into the pursuance of fun at the expense of working to generate income. Therefore you must prioritize well & strike a healthy balance between business & leisure. This is made so challenging in that you are mostly accountable to yourself, so it demands a lot of initiative, self-starting & self-motivation.
Travelling Light & Secure
Mostly a nomad travels quite light; it’s convenient on lessening the burden of heavy luggage plus costs less. The pivotal can’t-do-without items of a digital nomad are PCs, mobile devices, multimedia devices, storage devices & their associated accessories. The security of these devices & data can’t be overemphasized. The whole sustainable existence of a digitally nomadic life is centred on the devices one uses and the data they work with. Thus, having online data backups is imperative as that cushions them against any possible incidents of accidental theft or loss of devices or data.
I for one feel I’m most wired to live like a digital nomad, how about you? To know more about the life of a digital nomad, kindly go to Facebook & look-up a group titled Digital Nomads Around The World. It has over 100 000 members who share advice, tips & experiences about digitally nomadic lifestyles. You can request to be added (it’s a closed group) and the admins will consider your request. I recently joined the group.
