How to be Productive as a Digital Nomad (part 2)
Many of the secrets of being productive as a digital nomad are the same as being productive anywhere else. The difference being - they might need to be amped up a little. At a conventional office, you might face the distractions of chatty coworkers or the sound of an exotic food truck rolling into place outside your office. Those can be legit distractions, but they don’t compare to the Caribbean Sea or the smell of fresh tacos on every corner.
Sometimes I give in to temptation. Nobody is productive all the time. :)
Schedule
So what do most productive people have in common? Often a schedule of some sort. Every minute of your day doesn’t have to be planned out, but it really helps if you have a time set aside to work. After all - if you only work when you feel like it, how much will you get done? So set a time to be at work. If you have certain targets to meet - those can help. For example, if you need to make sure that you do a social media post every day, set aside time to craft and publish that post. Maybe not every day - can you do two or three (or five) posts in one afternoon? A little planning goes a long way.
Rewards
This will then allow you to put into practice the next tip- rewards. Treat yourself. If you set time aside, and get up to date, or even ahead, on all our projects, then head to the beach or the mall or the club or that favorite Caribbean / Mexican/ Japanese fusion restaurant. One of the perks of this lifestyle is not being tied down, so enjoy it. Yes, you probably still have to output some work, but if you organize things right you may find yourself laying on the beach on a Wednesday. Having this reward out there will help you to get done what you need to on Monday and Tuesday. Just make sure to check your calendar - video conferencing clients from the beach can be a little awkward. (ask me how I know…)
Multiple Projects
My last tip, and this may be most helpful for the ADHD crowd - try to be ready to work on multiple projects. Even have them open in multiple windows (if you are working on a PC). When the one you are working on isn’t engaging you anymore, and you just can’t bring yourself to do anything else on it right now, jump to another project. I was working on some pretty technical stuff this morning, then switched to a blog post (really trying to make these more regular). After this is done - back to some technical work. Then maybe a taco. :)
