Is digital nomadism for you?
Have you ever thought “if only I could work from anywhere” or “I could have actually worked from Bali and enjoyed this trip with my friends at the same time”. It is a phenomenon that is becoming more and more widespread and has been accelerated by the covid crisis. Digital nomadism goes even further than home office and flex office policies.
While the former refers to being able to work from home, the latter defines being able to work from several different locations, such as your home, co-working spaces, a pub or a restaurant.
What is digital nomadism?
Digital nomadism goes even further, this is a lifestyle that enables you to combine remote work and travel. Digital nomads are remote workers — working as freelancer or for companies — and traveling on a regular basis all around the world.
This term appeared in 1997 in the book “Digital nomad”, written by David Manners and Tsugio Makimoto.
What can I do as a digital nomad?
You can do (almost) anything you want considering all you need is a good internet connection: you may think about being a copywritter, a web developer, a graphist, a community manager, a social media manager, a content creator, a coach, but also an accountant, a translator, a virtual assistant.
You may find some more detailed lists of digital nomad jobs right here.
What are the advantages?
Freedom
I mean… Do I have to add anything else?!
Not only can you work from all over the world and travel at the same time, but being a digital nomad also enables you to manage your workload and schedule like you want, to meet new people and expand your network.
Having a greater purchasing power
Think about it: you can improve your quality of life by choosing to live in a country with a low cost of living while earning from a client or an employer based in a country with a higher cost of living. This is basically what Tim Ferriss calls “geoarbitrage”.
What are the disadvantages?
Loneliness
Unless you are travelling with a group of people, being a digital nomad can sometimes be overwhelming and you often feel alone. One way to compensate for this feeling of loneliness is to get closer to co-working and co-living spaces. The WeWork group has for example nearly 600 coworking spaces all over the world. There are also platforms that allow digital nomads to join their large community, such as Findanomad, Reddit or #nomad.
You must be very self-disciplined
Managing your schedule and workload on your own requires a lot of self-discipline, so digital nomadism may not be for you if you are not able to organise yourself in a quasi-military way to work. Indeed, the notion of travel has been equated with holidays, so it can be complicated to make your brain understand that “travel” can mean both leisure and work. Self-discipline and motivation is also absolutely necessary to ensure to have an income — except if you are a remote worker and not a freelancer.
You are dependant on a wifi connection
Any self-respecting digital nomad must have a good wifi connection where he is, no matter if it is the hotel’s wifi, a coworking space’s wifi or the one of a local you met in the Peruvian countryside, the connection must be efficient.
In order to help them, the Nomad List website is the equivalent of the digital nomad’s bible for comparing destinations according to various criteria, including the quality of the wifi connection.
Do I necessarily have to go freelance to be a digital nomad?
Actually, not at all! Some digital nomads are not freelancers but 100% remote workers. But where can I find a company that trusts me enough to work entirely remotely? Well, this is a growing phenomenon (COVID has to have some advantages!). The latest big remote policy is Airbnb’s “Live and work anywhere” one: Brian Chesky, Airbnb’s CEO and co-founder announced to his employees that from now on, they can work and live anywhere, with 5 key-points:
1. You can work from home or the office
2. You can move anywhere in the country you work in and your compensation won’t change
3. You have the flexibility to travel and work around the world
4. We’ll meet up regularly for team gatherings, off-sites, and social events
5. We’ll continue to work in a highly coordinated way
In other words…
Digital nomadism is not for everyone. It is a way of life that is best suited to people with an entrepreneurial spirit and a strong taste for travel and adventure.
Let me know in the comments: have you ever thought about becoming a digital nomad?
About this article
This article has been written by a student on the Grenoble Ecole de Management’s Advanced Masters in Digital Strategy Management. As part of a content creation assignment, students are given the task of writing articles based on their digital interests and disseminate the articles online. Articles are marked but we make minimal changes to the content. Thanks for reading! James Barisic, Programme Director, MS DSM.
