Guest Contributor: Katie Lamb

This is the second installment of my two-part series, covering the things I wish I’d read before I became a digital nomad. I’m sharing these insights about my experience as a digital nomad to paint a realistic picture of what’s to come in your own nomadic journey.

I’ve been a digital nomad for around 16 months now and even with the tough times, I’m still glad I’m living this life and will continue to do so until I reach my goals. I would definitely say that digital nomadism has become slightly glorified and most people aren’t exactly truthful about the realities of travelling and working full-time.

Here are some more things I’d wish I’d known before I became a digital nomad.

Moving and Packing Up Every Few Months is Tiring

This will obviously depend on what country you are staying in as a digital nomad. I can only talk of my experience so far where in 2019 I lived in; Thailand, Nepal, Malaysia, Cambodia and now the Philippines.

Every country will have its own rules regarding visas and this will determine how long you can stay in one place.

If you’re a new digital nomad and full of energy, you may want to move on every few weeks or month. But, for me now aged 40 and having travelled for a while, I like to be more of a ‘slowmad’.

This basically means travelling a little slower, stopping in places a longer and actually getting to know a country.

Thailand restricts your time in their country to two months at a time (three if you get a visa before entering the country). The first month you get visa free and then you can extend for one more month before having to cross a border. Two months seems like a lot but it actually flies by and you find yourself having to pack up again.

Of course, you can just do a border run. But in my experience these are quite stressful – what if they refuse you entry again and you’ve left all your stuff in an apartment!?

Now, I’m in the Philippines and this is one thing that drew me here. They have a much better visa system where you can keep renewing in the country, without having to cross a border.

Your Routines Will Constantly Be Messed Up

Before I became a digital nomad, I worked as a personal trainer in a small fitness studio. This kept me super fit and I enjoyed working out. Even though I love exercise, I have a lazy side and without structure I can easily forget about working out and make excuses as to why I can’t start my fitness plan again.

I’ve found with constant moving, and having to get used to a new routine every few months, I would often fall into a lot of bad habits.

This has led to my lazy side often winning and I would go sometime months without exercising. So as you can guess – yes I’ve definitely put on weight!

Other routines you will constantly be reworking are; where to eat, where to work that has good WiFi and actually getting into a work routine to get things done.
I’ve found that for me, I need to make myself a work schedule daily. I use the calendar on my phone and plan what I need to do the next day.

I give myself three main tasks to complete and 2-3 small ones. These visual reminders give me structure to my day and keep me moving forwards. If I don’t write things down, I don’t get much done!

I wish I’d known all of these things sooner, as with the benefit of hindsight I could have avoided a few mistakes. But nothing worth having is easy, right?

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Connect with Katie:

• On Twitter: @remoteworkrebel
• On Pinterest: @remoteworkrebels
• On her blog: Blog: https://remoteworkrebels.com/