Being a digital nomad?
Being a digital nomad is often associated with traveling the world, working from your sofa, the pool, or by the beach, and staying in comfy clothes all day.
While that is not wrong, there is a lot more to it than just that, especially nowadays. Due to the pandemic, a lot of people have been restricted from traveling and can’t live the typical dream nomad life. But luckily location independence isn’t the only great advantage of this lifestyle and in this guide, we will introduce you to what a digital nomad life looks like in 2022 and all the benefits that come with it. But let’s start at the beginning…
What is a Digital Nomad?
By definition “a digital nomad is someone who leverages technology and the internet to work remotely and more generally, conducts their lifestyle in a nomadic manner.” In other words, being a digital nomad means that you work to earn money, but instead of going to an office, you do it from the comfort of your home or from wherever you want to be.
The great thing is that anybody can become a digital nomad and there are so many job opportunities out there that you can choose from. Technically, there are three ways to work online: you can work remotely for a company, work as a freelancer like a writer or designer for example, or as a digital business owner / entrepreneur. If you work remotely for a company, you usually have one employer and a full-time contract. It’s much like a normal job, only from your home office. As for working as a freelancer, you can offer your skills and services on online platforms like Upwork or Fiverr. For example, Raquel used to work as a freelance social media manager for an event company. Typical freelance jobs are copywriting, graphic design, web development, translations - the list goes on and on. Lastly, you also have the opportunity to set up your own business and sell a product or service, like we did with MAJA Bali or Woolbay the brand.
The reason why we went from physical to digital was because we wanted to have more control over our income. We live in a world that is shifting towards automation and digitalization, which means that many jobs and tasks will probably be taken over by robots and artificial intelligence, which brings a lot of instability. There is a gradual change that has been happening for more than a decade where many important parts of our lives are going digital, from work, to entertainment and even relations. That means that it’s becoming more important to adapt and take advantage of the new world, which is exactly why we shifted most of our work to online, because this is where the attention is.
Benefits of being a digital nomad
Now, living as a digital nomad or remote worker has a lot of advantages but let’s look at the top 5.
Have several income streams:
The first and probably most important benefit of working online is that it allows you to build several income streams. You could have several clients and maybe even offer different services, or you may choose to build something else while offering your services and making a little side income. For example, let’s say you have a full-time job but you want to make some extra money - why not work as a freelancer on your time off? It can be as little as 1-2 hours a day, or maybe during the weekends - that’s the great thing about working online. You get to choose how many projects you want to take on, and potentially have multiple income streams at the same time. To us, this is really what remote working is all about. Having the ability to diversify our income and not depend on just one job.
Flexibility:
The second benefit is that 99% of the time you’ll have flexible work hours. Since you have the chance to choose the projects and clients that you want to work on, you can decide when you work and on what project. As long as you have it done within the given timeline, no one cares if you work early in the morning and enjoy your afternoon off, or if you sleep in and complete the work at night.
Location independence:
You’re not only flexible in terms of time, but also in terms of where you work from, which brings us to our next benefit - location independence. Even though the past two years have made it hard for people to travel, you can still choose where you want to work from and what country you want to be based in. Do you want to work from a beautiful beach in Bali, or maybe poolside in Portugal, or how about the mountains in Switzerland? You could even go on a road trip in a caravan and work on the go. It’s all possible! If you want to read about our favorite places to live as a digital nomad, have a look here.
Meet amazing people:
Benefit number four is that working online allows you to meet so many amazing and like-minded people. Many think that working remotely means being alone all the time and isolating yourself, but that’s actually just one of many myths. Since you will be able to work from anywhere you want, be it a cafe, coworking space, or a beach club, you will be able to meet people from all over the world! Admittedly, you might have to take the first step and introduce yourself to people, but if you are open-minded and not afraid to walk up to new people, then you can be sure to make some great connections. This lifestyle has allowed us to meet like-minded people all around the world, and we’ve even worked with them on different projects! Additionally, more and more people are realizing the benefits of working remotely, and there are actually a lot of digital nomad communities all over the world. Becoming a part of one of these communities is a great way to form bonds with people just like you!
Inspiration and self-development:
The last benefit of working online is that it actually increases your inspiration and your self-development. Think about it - if you always go to the same office and see the same people, it can be kind of hard to leave your comfort zone. However, if you work remotely and change your scenery every now and then, your perspective will grow, and you will get fresh inspirations for your work, allowing you to be more creative.
Alright guys, that’s all for today! As with most things, living as a digital nomad is what you make of it. With that being said, the sky’s the limit - what you put into it will be what you get out. Being a digital nomad has nothing to do with living a “hippie life” like some people think. It’s actually about making smart choices for your future and building an online empire for yourself. If you work hard and remain focused on succeeding in your career, eventually you will achieve whatever success means to you.
So, what do you say? Will 2022 be your year to join the digital nomad community?
Talk soon! Cheers,
