Digital Gnome-lad
With the term ‘digital nomad’ having been around for some years now, I have somehow found myself on this bandwagon and under this digital nomad ‘classification’. So I thought it was a good opportunity to share some of my thoughts and experiences on how it differs from traditional design and working environments, and the benefits.
Last year in 2016, like many others in the field, I found myself at a bit of a crossroads in my traditional design position. Frustrated with the restrictions of my role, I took the plunge to go freelance full time.
Luckily for me, I soon connected with GravitaCo. A collective of freelancers with the same drive and passion for design. They introduced the idea that we pull in projects collectively and work on them together to achieve better results, in a much shorter time, and in turn lowering costs for the client. (In comparison to me taking on a project alone).
It was hard to get my head around at first. 3 or 4 designers in different locations? Working on a project simultaneously? How the hell would this work. But in reality, in our modern digital reality. It’s pretty easy…
Traditional Working Environment
My previous employers, despite how progressive they were in some aspects, still had what you would call a traditional working environment. This being a single studio/office/workspace, whatever you like to call it. And it would involve a collective of people working for our one company in a single work space.
This would involve you having your own workspace, Monday to Friday, and ideally be clocking in from 9am and leaving 6pm — ish. The team would meet in the morning and a boss or leader would be there or not and then you would get on with your day.
Obviously the aim was breaking down barriers in communication and creating collaborative working environments. But as we mainly worked in digital formats, all our files were digital. So they would be shared through slack and other software applications. Meaning communicating on a subject would be through your device anyway. Adding to this, discussions, instructions and amendments normally need to be written down so you don’t forget. So despite trying to keep it old school with my writing pad, they would inevitably become digital notes as well.
Now don’t get me wrong, there are some positives to all being physically in the same space. Face to face conversations are great for me, I enjoy the human interaction element, but I equally enjoy being left alone to crack on with my work instead of rattling on about footy for an hour or so.
To some there are the obvious business benefits as well which reflect well to some traditional potential clients. Some like the idea of have a ‘visible’ dedicated workforce, or having a specific meeting space. But the reality is, when clients would visit, or when we would have internal meetings, we would leave the studio space for a change of scenery. Either that or you would have to travel to visit a client anyway.
So does the cost and restriction of that specific single workspace in that single location really equate to the value of a few interactions you could get wherever you felt like meeting for that day? If there was a need to meet in person at all. Unfortunately at the moment, tradition and routine for some companies means yes.
“Is it okay if I work from home today?”
Now this is an example that I imagine most people in the traditional digital working environment can resonate with. Quite often if you are ill, or hungover you make the request to work from your device at home. Sometimes you are lucky enough to have an employer where you can work from home whenever you would like.
It feels like you are off school or something. So basically you feel naughty and this is the first problem.
The positive thing about this idea of being a digital nomad, is that you don’t have a specific fixed abode, so you are forced into action instead of being distracted by random things around the place. TV being the worst.
The Digital Nomad
In effect, this is what a digital nomad is. You work remotely from your device, while travelling from place to place. As you can imagine, it lends itself particularly well to freelancers, but from those I’ve met, it also works just as well for people who are part of teams and organisations full time. It’s working from home, but your home is just massive. It’s the whole world.
I don’t know how my work day differs from others, but it begins with me and the other guys at Gravita checking in to see how we all are, and then setting out our goals and objectives for the day, week or month and seeing who needs help doing what etc. Standard conversations. We use collaborative tools such as Slack for calls, screen sharing and conversation as well as Dropbox, Google Drive etc.
It would be great to know what tools you use to collaborate remotely
And we check in with our clients in very much the same way. Occasionally visiting each others cities to work together for a day or so.
Birkenhead to Berlin
So my current city is Berlin. I recently relocated here from my hometown Liverpool, and I occasionally return home or to whichever city the weeks events have led. Flights at the moment in Europe are really inexpensive, and are usually cheaper than national UK trains, so this has made things easier.
The main requirement I’ve quoted in every conversation I’ve had about my work-life is that I need an internet connection. It’s weird now that this is almost as much a requirement in the modern world as electricity. But luckily for me, in most major cities, it is just as common.
I check in with the other guys at around 9am UK time. At the moment I am 1 hour ahead, so I use this time to do some various design ‘house-keeping’ tasks, such as working on social media, and replying to emails.
I head to a coffee shop or a co-working space after lunch where a collective of people, working each on their own business, come together to work in 1 space. If its a coffee shop, there are normally 1–4 others doing the same thing. I stick my headphones in and work away.
The greatest thing for me about working this way is the freedom. I still have my traditional crave for structure and routine, but it is still there, it’s just more adaptable to different situations.
I find that you also get to meet more people from a variety of different backgrounds. Giving you access to more skills, expertise, and potential clients than you would in the echo chamber of a traditional work place. Where 1 person is tasked with getting in new clients or hiring new staff. This is particularly true in co-working spaces found in most major cities in Europe now. I worked at a space called Launch22 in Liverpool, and received advice and help on locating to Berlin just from someone overhearing a conversation. This also provides the human interaction element that some people feel is missing when you work remotely.
The costs of co-working spaces vary, Launch22 was £7-£10 a day. But you can work easily from coffee shops for a few hours for the price of a cup of tea (green tea is better for concentration than coffee) I usually scout these out online first or just glance and see if there is anyone else working there when I walk past.
And finally the best thing for me about the full nomadic experience is the inspiration. Immersion in the different cultures of different cities is something of envy to onlookers. To others you are on ‘one big bloody holiday’ as my mum put it. But integrating and getting to know the design culture in a different city is a great experience and can only better your learning and understanding. In turn, it is your job to spread this understanding when you move you your next city, sharing knowledge and bettering the design world as a whole.
Where did it all go wrong
It hasn’t. But reading some articles it seems it may have for some people, or maybe it just isn’t for everyone, so at the moment I can only speculate and give potential reasons why many agencies still try to hire single freelancers internally.
First of all, a good workman never blames his tools. Well in our case, in the digital age, you can. You definitely can. If you don’t stay connected or communicate correctly using the vast array of software applications out there, then you are destined for failure. You need these things as they are what enable our jobs, and this remote lifestyle.
As I have mentioned already, a lot of clients are still stuck in tradition, and cannot understand that because you aren’t all locked in a room somewhere working, that you aren’t working hard enough. You are obviously sitting on a beach with your laptop and a cocktail (with all that wifi they have in the sand). We still work just as hard and we are still working in a team. Just differently, and with access to more people and skills.
Finally. Distractions. Distractions are everywhere, if you work remotely or not. Some co-working spaces just become social clubs, and some colleagues just love talking. Unfortunately, self discipline and concentration is a learnt skill whatever line of work, and luckily for me, I just need a pair of headphones and I could work through a hurricane.
Summary
The fact that despite having mobile phones and portable devices to hand, but we ourselves do not think we are not as portable is pretty closed minded. Unfortunately for now at least, a lot of agencies and employers are trapped in this tradition. And this is mainly the reason we created the hybrid of GravitaCo.
I personally envision that the idea of ownership and possessing a certain location, place of residence or workspace will change dramatically for the majority of us working in the digital sector. Much like the modern concept of the ‘sharing economy’, we are moving from ownership focused to sharing, so there is no reason why this will not influence the ‘workplace’.
People are already connected all over the world. Why does your team have to be in 1 place. Why do you have to stay in 1 place?
