Working as a digital nomad is not always an easy task. Balancing work and play can be challenging for those new to the digital nomad lifestyle. You’ll need to plan carefully, stay organized, and make sure that your business goals are aligned with your personal ones. In this article, we’ll discuss how to balance work and travel as a digital nomad so that you can get the most out of both experiences.
Read on to learn how to find the perfect balance!
How to Balance Work and Travel: Tips for Digital Nomads
Digital nomads have the unique opportunity to work remotely while traveling the world, but balancing work and travel can be challenging. Here are some tips for digital nomads to help balance their personal and professional life.
1. Set a Schedule
How to balance work and travel?
Establish a routine, so you can manage your time effectively. Create a schedule that takes into account your work deadlines and the places you want to visit.
For example, most of our weeks look like this: we work from Monday to Friday, and Saturdays and Sundays are the days-off. Yes, our schedule looks like that of the most office workers. We have a 5-day workweek, and an 7-hour-long workday. What is the purpose of remote work if we work just like any other office worker? Well, this is what suits us. We tried various different routines, and this is the best one for us.
During the weekends we explore places we want to visit. If we finish our work earlier during the workweek, we take advantage of that extra free-time by going out for a few hours in search of new experiences nearby.
2. Set Goals
Just like with anything else, to succeed, you need to set goals.
Make a list of things you need to accomplish — all the tasks, projects, side-projects. Set a timeline and deadline. And make sure you follow this list. It can be either a paper list, or a digital one. However, we recommend to use tools to make a to do list for your work. There are plenty of great options such as Monday and Trello. Such apps will provide you with a much needed visual progress on your tasks.
These are not the only apps you can use to help you with your work. There are plenty of tools that can help you stay productive and track your working hours and progress.
Which brings us to the next point, time management tools and productivity apps.
3. Use Time Management Tools and Productivity Apps
Use time management tools, such as calendars, timers, and to-do lists.
Such apps can help you manage your time more efficiently by tracking your work hours and helping you prioritize tasks. Productivity apps can help keep track of your work and deadlines, ensuring you don’t forget important tasks.
Certain productivity apps can help you collaborate with clients and team members, regardless of their location. This can include tools for communication, file sharing, and project management.
Read more about the best productivity apps for digital nomads.
4. Go on Day Trips or Weekend Trips
How to balance work and travel?
Do not forget to reward yourself with a day trip or a weekend trip!
This is a strategy we discovered only recently. If you stay in one place for a prolonged period of time, you might want to go on a getaway to relax and have a change of scenery. So you can return back to work with a regained strength.
Don’t be reluctant to take extended weekends for rest and relaxation, if it is what you need. To thrive in your work, you should give yourself breaks and reward yourself after achieving milestones or completing tasks – this could actually help with productivity! We highly recommend doing so; these are some of our best tips on staying productive!
We do the same in our home country, Latvia. We work 5 days (Monday to Friday), and on weekends we go on day trips to other towns in Latvia, or go on nature trips, like hiking through Latvia’s national parks or short cycling trips. Latvia is flat, so it makes it the perfect place for cycling.
Occasionally, we take much-needed extended weekends away to relax; when work has been particularly exhausting. If that’s the case, then a trip to an idyllic beach or island will do us wonders!
If you have had a crazy month, and now all you need is a long weekend full of relaxation, go for it! Recharging with some restful downtime will leave you refreshed and ready to tackle whatever comes next.
5. Prioritize Your Work
Don’t forget that work is the most important thing.
It is essential to always prioritize your work and make sure it’s completed on time.
Starting early in the morning and finishing around 4 pm will allow you enough time to both focus on work, as well as explore other activities without feeling stressed or overwhelmed. By getting our most important tasks done first, we’re able to enjoy ourselves worry-free afterwards!
We have been sticking to this routine for quite some time now.
6. Choose Your Destinations Wisely
Choose destinations that offer a good balance between work and leisure.
Digital nomads face several challenges when looking for the perfect destination. For example, some destinations may offer reliable internet access and comfortable workspaces but lack in cultural attractions or entertainment options.
Other locations might have plenty of attractions and entertainment, but poor internet access and unreliable power sources can make it difficult to stay productive. In addition, certain areas are far more expensive than others, and cost of living can quickly add up. Therefore, it’s important to research carefully before committing to a destination to make sure it fits your needs.
Also remember that everyone has unique tastes and preferences; something perfect for you may not be satisfactory to another.
For example, we never work at cafes and coworking spaces. We prefer to work at our hotel room or apartment. Patio and a hotel lobby in quiet hours are also great for us. But never cafes and coworking spaces. So, it’s not important for us if there are good coworking spaces or not. On the other hand, it’s very important to us that the city has a decent café culture and parks for walking.
7. Choose Your Accommodation Wisely
Don’t book the first hotel you see.
What does hotel has to do with work and travel balance, you will ask. Well, it’s easy, if you feel good in your accommodation, you will feel more motivated to work. If you stay at a place that is not so nice, you won’t want to stay there for extended periods of time. Well, coworking spaces could solve this problem. Yes, they could, but if you are like us who prefers to work from our hotel room, good accommodation is very important.
Finding the ideal accommodation doesn’t have to be difficult. All you need to do is take a look at pictures, read descriptions and reviews thoroughly, and check the location. Not only should it feel spacious, light-filled and comfortable—it must offer you essential amenities such as chairs, desks with reliable internet access too! Don’t forget to check if there’s enough storage space like wardrobes or drawers for all your belongings. You can’t keep everything in your suitcase / backpack, especially if you are spending abroad extended periods of time. You’ll need to unpack eventually.
Don’t forget to take the location into account, too.
If you are on a tight budget, don’t worry, there are plenty of options for you, too. Many hostels now have nice public spaces where people can work. This is especially true in Southeast Asia. We stayed at nice and cheap hostels that had public spaces with desks and chairs for remote workers. And people actually used them!
8. Be Flexible
Be flexible with your travel plans and work schedule. Yet not overly so!
As a digital nomad, you may work for clients in different time zones. You need to be flexible to adjust your work hours to accommodate your clients or take advantage of different time zones.
Yet don’t forget about yourself! You needn’t strain by working late into the night; simply negotiate an arrangement with them so you can finish during regular business hours.
In summary, balancing work and travel requires careful planning, prioritization, routine, choosing the right destinations, and taking regular breaks. With the right approach, digital nomads can successfully balance work and travel lifestyle.