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As a digital nomad, you may be living the dream, but the dream is not always an easy one. The digital nomad life is inherently unpredictable (which can be really exciting at times); however, the unpredictability can also present huge challenges to your workflow, productivity, and efficiency.
If you want to be a productive and successful digital nomad, you will need to develop some strategies and techniques for maximizing your efficiency (without burning out and missing the very reason that you chose this lifestyle!)
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Who are we and why listen to us?
We are the Backpacking Family and we have been on the road for 3 years as a full-time digital nomad family. We have built an online business, worldschooled our kids, and made time for the things that matter. As a family, we have shared adventures, learned new skills, and immersed ourselves in new experiences.
Our family has not only grown in strength but also in number (we now travel full-time with two beautiful boys and one beautiful girl). Living and working around each other full-time has compelled us to develop professional strategies and habits which have enabled us to become a long-term sustainable traveling family.
The reason that we are sharing all of this with you is twofold: firstly, we want to inspire you that you really can do it, and secondly, we want you to know we are sharing advice, tips, and techniques which have taken us years to work out and refine. So keep reading for our tried and tested Efficiency Tips for Digital Nomads…
1 Build Strong Routines
We have placed this one at the beginning because it is so important. If you want to be a successful and efficient digital nomad, you will need to build strong routines. A strong routine starts from the moment you wake up until you fall asleep. You may think that we will tell you to jump out of bed and get straight to the laptop. However, this is not our best advice. Rather than looking straight at a screen when you wake up, connect with your environment and find a way to engage your heart, mind, and soul. It’s important to aim for fixed office hours (even if your office location happens to change from day to day).
Remember that your language influences your thinking. Rather than saying, “I am working tomorrow,” try to use phrases like “I have work tomorrow,” which is less negotiable and expresses a higher level of commitment. As a full-time travel family, we have learned that routine is about how you do things rather than where you do them. It is about the healthy habits, rhythm, and regularity that you intentionally integrate into your days. Routine really is fundamentally important, so invest time planning a productive and healthy routine.
Your routine – Something to Consider
Although your routine is eminently important, it is also important not to become hyper-stressed and anxious if you need to break your routine from time to time (which is inevitable when you are traveling full-time). One huge advantage of digital nomad work is the flexibility and freedom. If your general lifestyle is one of routine and self-discipline, it really is okay to break your routine from time to time.
2 Find your productivity-peaks
The second tip is related to the first. We’ve already talked about the importance of developing a strong routine and sticking to it. We also want to encourage you to reflect on your own productivity levels throughout the day. During certain times of the day, you will find that you are more efficient at particular tasks. For example, you may find that you have an energy dip during the mid-afternoon.
This may be a good time to find a task that invigorates you without requiring too much cognitive energy. You may find that you have certain energy boosts in the evening. This can be a good time for creative and engaging tasks. This, of course, depends on the nature of your work and your own personal tendencies. We would encourage you to become self-reflective and honest with yourself in order to work out how to prioritize the right task at the right time.
TOP TIP – As we have travelled the world we have noticed a general pattern. The internet also has its own productivity peaks! That is to say, there are certain times of the day that the internet is faster and other times that it is reliably slower. This is true for both shared wifi networks and mobile data. In general mornings are the best time for high speed internet and evenings are the worst time! Generally speaking people veg out on their phones or binge series on Netflix in the evening – and this is true the world over. So if you have some work that needs high speed internet – aim to get it done in the morning.
3 Use Dead Time
Okay, now this is a very important tip. If you could measure the time that you spend doing things like waiting at bus stops, washing dishes, waiting in queues, or walking to shops, you’d be surprised how much of your life you invest in these activities. Even if these examples don’t resonate, I’m sure you can think of similar things in your own life where you invest a lot of time on a regular basis.
Now, these types of activities are generally necessary (so it would not be right to call these things a waste of time); however, there is a surprising amount of time that can be used productively when you are doing these sorts of activities. We would encourage you to find tools and techniques that allow you to carry on with work when you are on a bus, waiting in a queue, or even when you are doing jobs like washing dishes. This is particularly important if you are a digital nomad family and you are also looking after kids as you work and travel.
4 Remove Distractions
You probably won’t be surprised to see something like this in an article about efficiency. What’s more, you can probably identify the main culprits in your life, the things that distract you and decrease your productivity. It is essential to remove distractions. There are many ways of doing this. You could log out of your email or social media, leave your phone in another room (assuming you are working on a laptop). If you are a digital nomad family, it may be your kids that distract you (as delightful as it may be, work time really needs to be work time, and family time needs to be family time). If you are struggling to work around kids, you may need to change your environment and work in a coffee shop on a workday. Identify your distractions and take intentional steps to remove them from your workspace.
5 Innovative Use of Technology
As a digital nomad, you need to be creative and innovative in the way that you use technology to fast-track and streamline your work. Implementing technology badly can actually be very inefficient; however, utilizing technology well can massively increase your productivity and therefore free up more time for the things that matter. We recommend that you spend time finding ways to utilize AI in your own work (remember, you won’t be beaten by AI; you’ll be beaten by someone using it).
So, spend time familiarizing yourself with AI apps, software, and tools. Experiment with different models and educate yourself on what is available in your profession. The aim is to find ways to work collaboratively with AI. This means that you split tasks into a human component and an AI component. The human component is the thing that you are best at (something that requires your unique skills, experience, and knowledge). The AI component is something that could be done quickly, efficiently, and reliably using an AI system. Working out how to collaborate with AI does take time and practice, but the potential to increase your productivity and efficiency is well worth the initial investment.
6 Take Enough Rest
Rest may not be the first thing that you think of when you are considering ways to become more productive. However, if you want to perform at the peak of your productivity and efficiency, it is important that you are getting a sufficient quantity and quality of rest. Finding accommodation that is comfortable and allows a good night’s sleep is an excellent investment. If you find that you go into a sleepy, unproductive scroll-fest in the evening, put your phone away (just because you are looking at a feed related to your work does not mean that you are actually being productive). Think about a restful evening routine, whether it’s reading a book, relaxing in a bath, or grabbing a drink with a friend.
We normally use BOOKING.COM to find our accommodation – they tend to have a lot of apartments available at competitive prices. They filters and tools are also really handy to find a place in our budget range with specific facilities that we need 🙂
7 Pay for High-Speed Internet
This one is essential for any digital nomad. You will need to make sure that you have a good, reliable high-speed internet connection. There’s nothing more stressful than trying to be productive on bad internet. The best internet options depend on the country. In some cases, it will be reasonably cheap to buy a local SIM card with a good data package (make sure that the package allows you to hotspot with shareable data). In other countries, you may need to rely on Wi-Fi in your accommodation or even plan coffee shop days to work.
Alternatively, you may be able to invest in an eSIM (many new phones have this capacity). It is also worth considering ways to work offline for those days that you have internet trouble. For example, you could download a backup of your work to a removable hard drive. If you are using a platform like Google Docs, you can also make documents available offline. A little bit of planning and organization means that you can be prepared for those points when you are cut off from the internet.
8 Find the Best Environments
And last but not least, you will need to work out the best professional environments for working. Many people use co-working spaces for a quiet, calm, and productive atmosphere. They also give you the opportunity to meet other people and network with professionals. Alternatively, you may find coffee shops to be an enjoyable and productive atmosphere for work (just remember that you need to do this respectfully and buy a drink or two). In some cases, you may keep your work at your accommodation. Where possible, we recommend having a separate study where you can sit up comfortably at a desk and be away from distractions. Some days you may need to work on the bus or in an airport. And why become a digital nomad if you don’t spend a day or two working by the pool?
