Digital nomad is a phrase that’s been thrown around since high-speed internet has been available worldwide. Most of the time, it conjures up lounging by a pool on a far-flung tropical island, doing a few hours of work and then living your best life.
The meaning of the term is fairly fluid. It can mean someone who performs their main job while constantly travelling, or may spend extended periods in certain locations without putting down permanent roots.
You don’t have to travel internationally either, some digital nomads don’t leave their country.
If you’re considering this lifestyle, here are some of the attributes you’re going to need.
Does A Digital Nomad Have To Travel?
In essence, it’s more about being able to work from wherever you like without being tied to a location. This can be as a remote worker for an existing company or using your skills to become self-employed. If you’re working for a company but it’s fully remote, then you could decide to move anywhere else in the country or world, so it’s safe to look for homes for sale or make travel arrangements without it affecting your employment.
Great Communication Skills
Finding clients, running projects and delivering work all require you to have impeccable communication skills. It’s not as if you’re going to be running into a client in the work kitchen or having a quick catch-up. Timely, regular communications with clients will be a cornerstone of your online career.
Developing a clear and consistent system to talk with clients, teammates and others is essential.
Organisational Skills
Keeping your life and your career organised is difficult at the best of times. Doing it while constantly on the move needs next-level organisational skills to keep all of those plates spinning.
Self-Discipline
To get the most out of your digital nomad lifestyle, you need laser focus in order to get as much done in the shortest time. Otherwise, you’ll just end up over-working in a different country. In order to enjoy the lifestyle you’ve chosen, being productive and disciplined is a must.
Passion For Learning
If you’re lucky enough to have a skill that lets you work from anywhere, then you’re going to want to make sure that those skills are kept up to date, otherwise, you might lose your competitive edge and find it difficult to make a living.
You need to dedicate some time to keeping up on the latest developments in your industry and identify if there are any skills you need to improve on or the potential to expand your offer. You’ll need to devote time to developing these skills and may need to take more formal training or certifications in order to appeal to potential clients.
Takeaways
If you’re dreaming of breaking away from a desk and freeing yourself both physically and mentally, then the digital nomad lifestyle could be for you. It requires many skills and the ability to be versatile, but when you’ve settled into the routine (or lack of it) you can start realising the amazing opportunities that are possible.
