This last year we all faced changes that came to our lives and learned lots of new terms. Teleworking that I mentioned in my previous post was something that was used partially from businesses before covid. This last year teleworking, or work from home which is the most casual term, has become “the rule” for every work that can be completed from the safety of our home.
A digital nomad is a person that can fulfil his / her obligations remotely but not necessarily only from one specific location. I became familiar with the term for the first time last May. It had been a while since I had started working from home and decided that I needed a change.
I was working from home since March 2020 and ever since the day ONE everything was rolling as it was supposed to.There was no need at all to physically contact someone or to visit the company building. Sometime during May 2020 I thought of going away for a week or two and if there was a need I could always return. That was the thought.
The truth is that practically I found no reason at all to return.
All I needed to get the job done was a good internet connection and a room that I could transform it as my office room. I have to mention that I own a home in the countryside and that is what I took advantage of. Everything was easier there and not crowded at all.
Suddenly, my everyday work routine became much easier. Whenever I felt too stressed or nervous all I had to do was to get outside for a few minutes, take some deep breaths, look around me and feel blessed to be alive. After completing my working hours I would just shut down my laptop and could do anything I wanted to, from climbing the mountain to going for a swim at the sea.
Of course, I have not stayed there ever since. Not that I couldn’t, but there were some personal issues I had to deal with back at the city. So, I kept on doing it with some breaks. It went like this. Three months at the city, Four months away, Two months at the city, Three months away, Two months at the city and still don’t know what I am going to do next.
The thing is that I very much enjoy the fact I can work from anywhere! Yes, at the time I have only used actually two places but the experiment has been done and was completed successfully!
I read somewhere that there are countries that will actually invest in this type of working. Meaning that they will offer benefits to digital nomads that will choose them as their working base. If I remember correctly, I think I have read about places like Maldives, the State of Hawaii, Greece and I guess that there will soon be more to follow.
I know that this kind of approach to living might not be the choice for everyone. Definitely there are things found in big cities which cannot be found in tropical islands. Theater, cinema, big concerts and fancy restaurants are not easily found away from big cities. Even the most basic things like big hospitals and good schools might be problematic in some cases.
To conclude, I believe that being able to choose the best place to do your job from is a big thing!
Like everything in this life, what works for me does not mean that works for you also.
We should, all and always, be able to choose what we want and not what we have to.
