Those hoping to start the digital nomad life often think that it’s all fun and games or at least, the lifestyle itself can provide for them a much more interesting daily experience. That much is true. But just like acting as a bodyguard for a major celebrity or public figure seems cool but also involves a huge amount of waiting around doing nothing, the realities of travel are often felt more keenly by nomads working abroad.
This also means that delays, long commute times (from place to place, not necessarily to work), and the various oddities of international life that can affect everyone happen to us, too. As digital nomads are pretty good at sectioning their work time, staying productive and finding what works for them, you may wonder how they deal with the less glamorous side of all this, be that waiting in an airport lounge or having to wait six hours before checking into a hotel after a long haul flight.
Well, there are suggestions. Let’s consider the following:
A Healthy Diet Of Books
If you have something good to read, you’re almost always doing yourself a favor. You can read about your work to gain skills, learn more about a topic you’re interested in, reading about the history of the place you’re visiting or just go through your phrase book. Of course, carrying around a bunch of paperbacks isn’t necessarily helpful for light travel, and so investing in a good e-reader can be a great use of your time. It means you can carry potentially thousands of epub files in a device that weighs no more than 200 grams. It’s also a nice way to pass the time without feeling exhausted or unaware of your surroundings, perhaps for that four hour flight delay.
Tourism Opportunities
You’re a nomad after all, and so heading on a quick tourism detour can’t hurt if that hotel checkin needs a little extra time and are willing to refund you the difference. You might head to a local cathedral or just shop, or even just spend time in coffee shops. You learn to become pretty adaptable and be able to change your plans at a moments notice when you work like this. Such an approach can also keep each day feeling dynamic, but you have to keep the mental fortitude to attend to you work during times you weren’t expecting, which is certainly a learned skill.
Games & Pastimes
Some people enjoy games because it gives them something to focus on and stay attentive to outside of work or thinking about the next train to catch. It also means you can de-stress a little, no matter if you prefer playing poker or indie video games or Bingo Paradise. The more you have a little smartphone game you can enjoy for twenty minutes, the more a queue or an annoying delay isn’t going to harm you. You can always do work in these moments of course, but sometimes we just need to focus on anything other than that to stay grounded.
With this advice, you’re certain to deal with commuting delays and downtime with confidence.
