More and more employees around the world are working remotely. While remote working has recently gained popularity, it is sometimes portrayed as something trendy. However, it is not a trend: it is here to stay. A study conducted in 2018 revealed that 68% of workers around the world worked remotely at least once a month. Some of them took remote work to another level: the digital nomad.

What is a digital nomad?

Willing to break free from a boring routine and their 9-to-5 jobs, the digital

nomad dreams of traveling the world and embarking on a journey of discovery.

They are generally not the kind to sit behind a desk every day. They can work from anywhere as long as there is an internet connection, but what differentiates them from other remote workers is that they have a strong passion for exploration.

The digital nomad tends to backpack to different destinations while embracing remote work. As the digital nomad world is growing, some destinations have even emerged as being “hotspots” with communities of remote workers and entrepreneurs. These areas often situated in Asia or South America offer lovely weather, fast internet and an affordable cost of living.

Could you be a digital nomad?

Pros

Well, the advantages of traveling the world while earning money are numerous. What’s in for you if you want to become a digital nomad?

You are more flexible and adaptable

Given that there are very few constraints for digital nomads, as time goes by, you become more and more flexible and adapt to different environments. Traveling enhances your capacity to embrace the unknown and to deal with high risks. Hence, some situations won’t be perceived as challenging as before: as long as you have mobile devices and an internet connection, you’re ready to go!

You make amazing encounters

Traveling from one country to another, you get to meet people you would’ve never stumbled upon in ‘normal’ life. Memorable experiences also make the bond stronger between you and the few people you get to hang out with.

You become more productive and creative

Having other activities than your job, such as discovering new cultures and landscapes will motivate you to be productive in the time you allocate for work. Then, working in a different place every day will give you diverse inputs that will make your ideas much more inventive.

Cons

Even if, on paper, this seems like a dream lifestyle, there are some downsides to being a digital nomad.

You can be lonely

Although you get to meet amazing people from diverse backgrounds, at the end of the day, you often end up alone. That does not have to be a bad thing, but you should be prepared for being alone for the most part of your experience. It can indeed be hard to be away from friends and family for a long amount of time. In this context, relationships are also complicated.

You become tired of moving

Being a digital nomad, you are constantly on the move. This is fascinating, but also exhausting. You have to pack and unpack pretty often and manage to plan a pleasant trip AND get things done at work. When you start to build a routine, it’s time to move and start all over again.

You have to have strong self-discipline. Every day.

In order to stay productive, move often and travel the world, you have to have a strong sense of self-discipline. You cannot get lazy for too long, or you’ll fail either in achieving your professional goals and in doing all the activities you wanted to do in the place you’re in. All the back-and-forth can affect one’s business in the long run.

Just like everyone cannot work a 9-to-5 job, not everybody can be a digital nomad either. Each one should be able, by judging their personality, to know if this kind of lifestyle would fit them. However, since the CoVid19 is spreading, having no geographic constraints seems like a key to surviving modern crises.