4 ms·

Being A Digital Nomad

11 points by edragonu 17y ago

jgrahamc 17y ago
I would add on public transport. Because I take two roughly 30 minutes bus rides per day I work with my Macbook Air on them for an hour a day. On the top deck of a London double decker bus turns out to be quite an inspiring work place. There's room for a small laptop like the Air and the view is good from the windows with lots of natural light (even in the winter).
- revorad 17y ago
  I love the views but I could never work on a London bus. At the most I can read something light. How do you deal with the teenagers in the back shouting or playing R&B?
  - jgrahamc 17y ago
    During my commute hours that's rarely a problem.
  - mooism2 17y ago
    I listen to music through noise-reducing headphones. This doesn't work if people are being really obnoxious, or the person next to me is on the phone really loud, but it's fine most of the time; certainly it works for filtering out repeated automated announcements.
- ciupicri 17y ago
  When I was in high-school I could read or even do my homework in a bus or in a tram, but now I can't even read a flier because I get dizzy.
pw0ncakes 17y ago
The important note here is that it's something you can do during your "harvest phase" (after you've established a name for yourself and have job security by skills and reputation) but not when you're starting out. For an average 22-year-old to work from home would be a bad idea. You need to be in an office so you can make connections and become the protege of someone who can teach you and look out for your career (and if you don't find such a person, jump ship every 8-12 months). If you work in an office, you can generate some affinity and loyalty (sometimes). People might feel personally betrayed if you leave, which is good, because it means they'll look out for your career. If you're working remotely, you're exchanging work for money. This is great if you're established, because you can get a lot done in a fraction of the traditional 40-hour week if you set your own hours. It's bad if you're not well-established, because your likelihood of happening across someone who will protect your career is low.
- DenisM 17y ago
  Good point, but couldn't you mitigate lack of connections with explicit networking? One could attend different networking events to find people with common interest and then work with them remotely to establish bond - common interest should help in that. I'm not saying it's easy, but if there are practical things you can do increase chance of creating connections it may end up worth it for all the benefits of the nomadship.

11 points by edragonu 17y ago

I would add on public transport. Because I take two roughly 30 minutes bus rides per day I work with my Macbook Air on them for an hour a day. On the top deck of a London double decker bus turns out to be quite an inspiring work place. There's room for a small laptop like the Air and the view is good from the windows with lots of natural light (even in the winter).

revorad 17y ago
I love the views but I could never work on a London bus. At the most I can read something light. How do you deal with the teenagers in the back shouting or playing R&B?
- jgrahamc 17y ago
  During my commute hours that's rarely a problem.
- mooism2 17y ago
  I listen to music through noise-reducing headphones. This doesn't work if people are being really obnoxious, or the person next to me is on the phone really loud, but it's fine most of the time; certainly it works for filtering out repeated automated announcements.
ciupicri 17y ago
When I was in high-school I could read or even do my homework in a bus or in a tram, but now I can't even read a flier because I get dizzy.

pw0ncakes 17y ago

The important note here is that it's something you can do during your "harvest phase" (after you've established a name for yourself and have job security by skills and reputation) but not when you're starting out. For an average 22-year-old to work from home would be a bad idea. You need to be in an office so you can make connections and become the protege of someone who can teach you and look out for your career (and if you don't find such a person, jump ship every 8-12 months). If you work in an office, you can generate some affinity and loyalty (sometimes). People might feel personally betrayed if you leave, which is good, because it means they'll look out for your career. If you're working remotely, you're exchanging work for money. This is great if you're established, because you can get a lot done in a fraction of the traditional 40-hour week if you set your own hours. It's bad if you're not well-established, because your likelihood of happening across someone who will protect your career is low.

DenisM 17y ago
Good point, but couldn't you mitigate lack of connections with explicit networking? One could attend different networking events to find people with common interest and then work with them remotely to establish bond - common interest should help in that. I'm not saying it's easy, but if there are practical things you can do increase chance of creating connections it may end up worth it for all the benefits of the nomadship.