Digital nomad lifestyle is a perfect topic for blogs and magazines. Posts are full of happy people who left their jobs and now they enjoy traveling around the most exotic destinations. It looks like a dream you can't achieve just because they advise you following:
- Quit your job
- Buy one way ticket to Bali
- Build online business or do consulting
- Post selfie of you working on the beach
All this is BULLSHIT. There are so many complications. Maybe this works for few people.
I always ask people who come to The Surf Office, how they started with remote work (and many of them start here). I asked dozens of people and… there are some patterns.
And actually, it's not a rocket science. Here is my advice on how to start to work remotely step by step. You don't need to quit your job and you don't need to have “the best boss in the world”.
1. Find a coworking space in your town and work from there once per week
It doesn't need to be necessarily a coworking space, it could be a spare chair in the office of your friend's company. I don't recommend coffee shops, it's hard to be productive there for hours. It works only for few people. So, make a deal with a local coworking space, where you can come once per week for a whole day (Friday is perfect) and work from there.
Tip: Ask your boss to pay for it. How to negotiate? You really want to focus on your job at least one day per week and not to be disrupted by your colleagues. Coworking spaces are great to meet other people and create new cooperations and synergies.
2. Go to a different city and work from there remotely for one week
Choose one nice place that you always wanted to visit. Book accommodation (airbnb is always a good choice) with a coworking space in walking distance.
(btw. have you already heard about The Surf Office? :) There you have a room and an office space in one package)
Well, the hardest part is persuade your boss. It's only 1 week, so what can happen? Explain it as an experiment. Your boss doesn't agree? Take holidays and do it anyway. Work for your company during your holidays. Does it sound crazy? No, believe me, there is no other way that your boss wouldn't allow it to you next time if you were productive.
Schedule it. Work during the weekdays, choose hours you will be in the office. Don't try to fake it. Imagine that you live a normal life. Work during the day and enjoy the city in the evening. Taste new food, attend some local meetups, explore neighborhood, go surfing.
Enjoy free weekend!
3. Try it again
1 or 2 weeks are OK. You can bring your colleague(s) with you and work on an interesting project together.
4. Try a longer stay
Does it work for one week? Great! Try it for 3 or 4 weeks, then maybe for longer.
As you see, it's not so difficult.
Start.
Do it.
Now.
