3 Tips to Become a Digital Nomad
Becoming a digital nomad sounds exciting and glamorous, doesn’t it? And it absolutely can be! However, there are many reasons not everyone is living in this way, because it comes with its share of challenges and a whole lot of details to figure out in order to make it happen. It is an unconventional lifestyle that is not right for everybody.
If you have been daydreaming about living the life of a digital nomad, I recommend starting with these steps to figure out if it’s right for you: 1) visualize, 2) strategize, and 3) execute.
1. VISUALIZE THE LIFESTYLE THAT YOU WANT
Before you take the big leap into this new way of life, I recommend first identifying the type of life that you actually want to be living.
BEING A DIGITAL NOMAD CAN LOOK VERY DIFFERENT DEPENDING ON THE PERSON, SO IT’S IMPORTANT THAT YOU COME UP WITH YOUR OWN PERSONAL VISION OF THE KIND OF LIFE YOU WANT TO BE LIVING.
To give you some ideas, here are some examples of what a digital nomad lifestyle could look like:
The wanderer: You are a natural-born explorer who wants to see AS MUCH of the world as possible! You want every day to feel like an exciting adventure filled with tons of new people, experiences, and places. You don’t have a home base because you don’t want to be tied down to anything that prevents you from exploring. You don’t mind roughing it sometimes in order to see off-the-beaten path places and you have remote work with a flexible schedule that allows you to live this very dynamic and sometimes unpredictable lifestyle. You might be a freelancer, a photographer, a videographer, or a writer, for example. As long as you are meeting deadlines, you have the flexibility to do your work on your own terms.
The expat: You are excited by the idea of making a new home abroad. You want to know what it’s like to integrate into another culture and country and find a place where you can nest for a while. You like the idea of taking a class to learn a new language, and you want to move somewhere where you can find a community and sense of belonging. You’d like to option to travel, but you want to make a home base where you can return and recharge. Maybe you are an English teacher, an online coach, a yoga teacher, a virtual assistant, or a web developer, for example. Your work tends to require more of a consistent schedule so that you can structure your days around it and build up some kind of routine.
The luxury nomad: You love livin’ that luxurious travel life! Your digital nomad life involves beautiful cruises, hotels, a gorgeous wardrobe, and exciting conferences. You may or may not have a home base depending on how often you travel. You might be a paid blogger who tries out 5-star hotels, an author who travel to give book tours, or maybe a public speaker who makes a living traveling around the world to give powerful talks, as an example. You have high standards about the way that you travel and you know what you like!
2. COME UP WITH A PLAN TO CREATE IT
Once you have identified the kind of lifestyle you want to live as a digital nomad, it’s now time to brainstorm a strategy to make it happen! This is where the fun begins to make your dreams a reality.
Ok, so where do you even start? First, think about your current circumstances.
WHY exactly do you want to become a digital nomad? WHY is it important to you? WHAT would it fulfill that you are not currently getting in your life?
What are the obstacles in your life that are holding you back from living as a digital nomad?
How important is it to you to live create this kind of lifestyle?
How would it feel to continue living your current lifestyle?
What are you willing to let go of in order to make this dream happen?
How will you support yourself financially to support this lifestyle? Brainstorm some potential remote sources of income for yourself.
What is your timeline for taking the leap?
Then, I recommend fully and wholeheartedly committing to your decision. There is nothing more powerful than a COMPLETE commitment to achieve whatever goal you set for yourself. Once you make that commitment to yourself, then the pieces you need in order to make it happen will start to reveal themselves to you.
You just have to decide what you want to do, and let the how reveal itself to you.
3. EXECUTE YOUR PLAN WITH DETERMINATION
Alright, now that you’ve brainstormed your vision and strategy, it’s time to put it into action! Let’s go back to some of the questions from your strategy phase:
What are the obstacles in your life that are holding you back from living as a digital nomad?
Once you have identified the obstacles, it’s time to act on them. This may require having some difficult conversations with people in your life, whether it is family members, a relationship, coworkers, your boss, etc. The important thing is to remember your WHY—why creating this new lifestyle is important to you. When you have that in mind, you allow yourself to make your voice heard and stand up for your needs in life.
How will you support yourself financially to support this lifestyle? What are some potential remote sources of income you can think of?
Before taking any major leap, I recommend having some savings in the bank to act as a safety net. Moving can be stressful enough, but by having some financial security behind you can definitely make it less intimidating. Determine the minimum monthly income you would need to survive in the location you are considering, and create a budget based around that to give you a ballpark idea of how much to have in savings. A good rule of thumb is six months of savings before taking the leap.
As far as work, there are many ways to find remote income these days. It just requires a little out-of-the-box thinking. But since you are already considering an out-of-the-box lifestyle, you are already on a roll! Some ideas for you:
Teach English online with companies like VIP KIDS, find remote freelance work through UPWORK.COM, research websites like REMOTE.CO and REMOTEOK.IO for job ideas, become a virtual assistant through companies like BELAYSOLUTIONS.COM, and sign up for newsletters such as REAL WAYS TO EARN MONEY ONLINE for a weekly list of remote jobs!
What is your timeline for taking the leap?
It’s important that you give yourself a concrete timelines when you are planning to move. Leaving it too open-ended only gives you an excuse to procrastinate and continue daydreaming about the life you wish you had. Once you give yourself a deadline to work towards, you will be amazed at how quickly things start to come together to make it happen.