Future of Work: How to Work Anywhere in the World
It feels like “remote work” and “digital nomad” are the trendy but realistic buzzwords for 2020.
The term keeps popping up, and whether you love or hate it, it’s the best way to describe this growing crowd of people working remotely and travelling the world. Office jobs are disappearing, businesses are downsizing and ditching their offices for temporary shared workspaces, and companies are hiring on remote workers as opposed to on-site employees to reduce overhead costs.
As a public relations freelance consultant, I have noticed that my career is taking a very untraditional path. I can work from home one day, or a coffee shop the next — and this is very appealing to me. When I worked in an office, I often caught myself daydreaming about starting a business that would let me be autonomous and work from anywhere in the world. Now I finally can do it. Working remotely and becoming location independent may be the next step as technology is continuously changing the future of work.
What are the benefits of remote work?
You can work from anywhere: I recently came back from Mexico City, where I worked remotely during the weekdays from 7 AM-noon at a local coffee shop called Blend Station. 99% of the people in the room were also remote workers. Those working hours left me with just enough time in the day to explore the beautiful city and get some “me-time” in. Your office can be anywhere in the world. You can take care of your job while travelling, as long as there is a steady WiFi connection.
You create your schedule: Sometimes, you have a 3-hour workday, and sometimes you have to power through an 18-hour day to meet deadlines. A lot of remote work can be on a flexible schedule. When working remotely, you get to decide the terms of how you want to work. Some people are night owls and more motivated to work in the evenings, while others are early birds, starting their workday at 5 AM. The choice is yours.
You can stay more focused: If you’re patient, self-determined and have strong willpower, this could be the right path for you. I’ve found that I get way more work done as a remote freelancer as opposed to working in an office. It may be because I don’t have to worry about colleagues and managers asking questions or obligatory socializing when a short coffee walk takes longer than 5 mins. When you are remote and need to concentrate, you are in control of how to stay focused without any external distractions in the office.
With that being said, there are some potential challenges to the remote work lifestyle.
In addition to creating your schedule, you need to ensure that you can implement structure and routine — while being good at following it because you are responsible for your success.
It’s not easy to travel and work everywhere in the world. You may struggle with WiFi connectivity, infrastructure challenges or visa requirements now and then. Some places on your itinerary might not be safe to travel to. Make sure you do thorough research as to where you’ll be able to work correctly. There are loads of resources, like NomadBase, remote.co or Remote Year, that can help.
Financial security is less predictable, and travel can be expensive. Yes, there is the ability to have unlimited earning potential as a remote worker in a country where your earned currency may go a long way. But do keep in mind that if you’re travelling you’re going to need to pay for somewhere to live, food, drinks, transportation and a buffer for anything that may come up last minute!
Although there are challenges to being a remote worker, there are many opportunities and benefits that come from taking the risk of doing it! Being able to create your schedule and work from wherever in the world feels like a dream for many business owners, including myself.
Image Credit: Mantas Gr