My Experience as a Remote Worker
Last week I had one of the best 10-day vacations I ever had in my life: Started the journey from Colombo to Ella in the Podi Menike train with a small stopover at the chilled city of Nuwara Eliya; witnessed the most scenic and magical train ride from Nanu-Oya to Ella;
Enjoyed the best sunset view at the Little Adam’s Peak in Ella, had a glimpse of the marvelous architecture of the Nine Arches Bridge, and a scenic bike ride from Ella to the Diyaluma Falls passing the Ravana falls; An adventurous bus ride to Kataragama through Buttala;a tuk-tuk ride to the Situlpawwa rock temple going through the wilderness of the Yala national park greeting to more than 100 Peacocks, elephants, butterflies, and many other exotic wild animals; and the final couple of stops at Hiriketiya and Weligama for a surfing retreat.
Although I have gone on similar holiday retreats in the past, this one was extremely special as it was my first vacation after transitioning myself to a remote worker from a corporate worker 12 months ago. I didn’t feel any guilt or pressure on my shoulders and was deeply connected with the present moment enjoying every single bit of the journey.
I was never a big fan of the rigid, monotonous working patterns that typical corporate jobs required. I always envied for a lifestyle that didn’t mandate things like wearing a professional attire to a desk job where on some days the only person I might meet is just myself or Balan(He makes the most delicious cup of coffee); rushing to office to be on time to comply with bureaucracy; working continuously on things that weren’t able to unleash my creativity and my originality; and receiving that paycheck at the end of the month for that work that honestly I didn’t believe, at most of the times, was a true reflection of the value and effort that I had put in.
I was never a satisfied person, but I never had an answer either.
I was brought up in a typical family lineage where the only remarks my folks advocated me continuously since childhood was to study hard; pass those difficult exams; get a job at a reputable company; work obediently and respect your superiors at all-times; move up the corporate ladder the fastest you can; get a fancy car and a big house as these could be needed to showcase to the society that you are a successful living being; and ultimately make your family and country proud. I am certain that most of you who are reading this article especially from this part of the world would acknowledge the familiarity of these statements.
Enough of my rant as the true purpose of this article was really not to gush a stream of thought-provoking statements criticizing the corporate rat race nor the way of life in this part of the world but rather to share my experiences as to how I transitioned myself from a so-called corporate rat to a peace-loving, remote worker with the help of technology, networking, and of course with a slight adjustment in one’s mindset. Have I transitioned fully? Not yet but looking at the challenges and benefits this new lifestyle possesses, I wouldn’t see why I should not transition fully.
“Why do I strive, why do I toil in this narrow, confined frame, when life, all life with all its joys, is open to me?” said he to himself.
After many sleepless nights of mindless thinking, I finally gained the courage to jump ship at the beginning of the year to say adios to that title, all the privileges, the security, the certainty, the belonging I was enjoying through the preserved efforts that I put forth for the past decade in to that corporate desk.
I didn’t have much savings but was confident that I had within me these five traits to support me in this endeavor.
Self-discipline
You are now the master of your ship and no one could provide with a helping hand but only you. Started the practice few years ago, I always make a list of things in iCloud Notes to be completed for the preceding week or two at the beginning of every week. Knowing that I had a list to work towards had always helped me in managing these sudden bursts of emotional attacks and rather helped me stay zen, focused, positive, and productive. It’s unbelievable the wealth of creations you could manifest if you keep at this practice for a long time.
Work spaces
Home is where you pamper yourself and co-working space is where you get your work done- at least that was the case in my story. I had never favored working at home and is highly likely you will sooner or later gets distracted and swayed from your work when considering the amount of entertainment and freedom that one has at its disposal at home.
But what other options you have to station yourself for work if you are a remote worker in a country like Sri Lanka. a library? a coffee shop? — Tried them all with little success.
Listed below a couple of reasons why coffee shops might not be a good choice to start remoting:
- Most coffee shops put restrictions on the number of hours you source their Wi-Fi connectivity.
- I have also experienced poor connectivity.
- The places get noisy sometimes.
- Not ergonomically designed to work for long hours with less fatigue and discomfort.
- Becomes a pricey and unhealthy affair as the chance of denying any temptations to taste those delicious, succulent chocolate brownies in display will be highly unlikely😜
When it came to libraries, I haven't really come across a good library which offers facilities that favors remote working.
With all the options I had already fallen apart, I was quite disappointed and had to eventually resort to searching for any other options available in Google. To my surprise, I was introduced to a new breed of spaces called Coworking spaces in Colombo that had the exact facilities I was looking for: Super-fast and unlimited internet; low cost; networking; vibrant spaces; free snaks and coffee; great communities; and events. Despite the novelty of this concept, at the time of my search, there were a fair number of Coworking spaces available in and around Colombo but the most popular ones were Hatch, Regus, Colombo Innovation Center, and Colombo Cooperative.
Continuous Improvements
Now that you have decided to go on your own, you need to continuously improve on the services you provide. If you are a beginner in the chosen skill set, recommend finding a few start-up companies that you can utilize them to provide your services. Expect a slow start but focus more on building a healthy relationship with your clients as well as sharpening and broadening the skill set than expecting high monetary returns initially.
Be open-minded
Work towards becoming humble to go out of your comfort levels to sincerely ask for help from your network to find opportunities and work on things that will enable you to enhance your network. Leave no stone unturned and evaluate thoroughly every option that comes your way without rejecting any of them at the face value as you never know- especially at this point of your transition -which one would eventually strike that home run!
When you declare “I am open and ready to receive” The universe not only hears you, it holds out its hand to help you.
Connect with yourself
Your mind might start to feel a bit depressed and lonely as that belonging and the routine you enjoyed once in the corporate world is no longer present in your life as you are now effectively working inside a cave with seeing a bit of sunlight only when you have that Zoom video conference call with your clients 😄. This will be a true test on yourself and you need to train yourself to embrace any situation that comes in your way, be it happy or sad, without really compromising on the path you have decided to walk. The following spiritual practices have helped me immensely to stay present and enjoy this uncertainty in this journey:
- Daily mindful meditation for 10–20 minutes. If you are new to meditation, highly recommend reading the Watching Your Life: Meditation Simplified and Demystified to understand the technique.
- Get enrolled in a Yoga class like Hatha Yoga which will train you to connect your body, mind, and soul with the universe. If you are new to the whole yogic way of life, highly recommend reading the Light on Yoga: The Bible of Modern Yoga which not only gives a great overview of the yogic philosophy but also step-by-step instructions on how to work on asanas or postures(recommend training with a certified and a well experienced trainer rather than trying these asanas on your own at least until you master the basics).
As final thoughts, I strongly believe had I not experienced the corporate work life I would never be able to reach the ecstasy and the many benefits I enjoy working remotely — I have had the opportunity to meet one of the best bosses and mentors who have unconditionally helped me to mold to be the person who I am today; received great paychecks that helped me to pay my bills and have those fancy dinner-outs with friends and families; received financial assistance to get the stuff I longed and aspired for; and finally received a sense of belonging.
Will I ever return to Corporate work? I don’t know but for now, I simply enjoy the moment of what remote life has to offer.
Do visit my portfolio site to keep in touch and I am happy to assist anyone — with whatever the knowledge I have — who is passionate and willing to put forth the effort to better oneself.
