Kyle’s recent post about his life adjustments as a digital nomad inspired me to list my own, so here goes…
Staying Focused on Work
For the first few weeks, not having a “real” job was exciting! Admittedly, I took advantage of it and thought of it more as a vacation – I woke up whenever I wanted, I spent a lot of time researching things to do in the area, etc. However, once we arrived in NYC and weren’t going to be moving again for two months, I got back into the groove. Considering I’m now working for myself, I don’t have the pressures that I used to when working in an office, but as time goes on I’m finding that I need to put the pressure on myself instead. That makes it way easier to stay focused, and I do this by creating To Do lists, making priorities, and keeping a log of things I worked on each day. If I reflect on my day and realize I didn’t do much, it motivates me to work harder the next day.
By the way, these days I’m splitting my time between maintaining this blog, our handful of affiliate niche sites, selling on Amazon, and researching potential real estate investing markets.
And the Mask Comes Off…
Speaking of the office, I am finding it really liberating working from home. At home, I don’t have to put on this cold, professional mask that hides who I really am. Like, now that we work from home, one of us will randomly break out in dance or start singing the chorus of some cheesy 80’s song, and the other will just join in. Or when someone drives down our street with hip hop music blasting from their car stereo (which actually happens quite frequently), we’ll just party! Or when one of us has a random, deep thought, we’ll have a 5-minute discussion about it. Then when we’re done, we get back to work. No biggy. I’m convinced that Kyle is the coolest co-worker ever! And that is super refreshing after years of faking my way around the office.
Also, I can wear whatever I want!
No Team Dynamic
On the other hand, I actually do miss being part of a team. My last job at Jamberry was my favorite job to date, because not only was I doing something I genuinely enjoyed (front-end development), but my co-workers were pretty awesome. For a year, I was the only female in my office, but I had never felt more “accepted” in any workplace. I think it was because we were all “nerds” and most of us just had a great dynamic working together on projects. Working by myself is nice, but I just don’t get the same feeling of “working for a greater good” when I’m alone.
Adapting to Other People’s Living Standards
Since we are staying in someone’s home via Airbnb, it’s been interesting adjusting to their living standards. You know that feeling you get when you go into someone else’s home and you feel a little strange drinking out of their cups or using their bathroom? Yeah. It’s like that – where everything just feels unfamiliar and awkward. And because it’s not our house, we can’t do things we might do normally, such as bring a snack or drink into the bedroom, or blast music. Also, the both of us are “one of those” that get a little iffy when dishes aren’t sparkling clean, so that’s been interesting to deal with 🙂 At this point, we’ve been in our Brooklyn home for almost a month, so it doesn’t feel as strange anymore, but I’m sure it’ll feel strange when we move again.
Would you like to work with your spouse/best friend?
Would you prefer to work for a company (remotely or not) OR work for yourself?
We’d love to hear your answers! Join in on the discussion by leaving a comment below.
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