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We would like to tell you that this special article comes straight from our Founder’s heart, Enjoy the article!
As a digital Nomad , one of the reasons why we are always so envied by folks who go to the office on daily basis is being our own boss and the flexibility we have to travel the world at any time.
A lot of people go to jobs they do not like. I kept on wondering, why do people hold on to jobs they do not like? Anyways that discussion is for some other time.
In today’s article, we’ll be looking at how to manage our businesses effectively while on the road. Our kind of lifestyle, unlike others, gives the flexibility to do whatever we want at any time.
We must also, however, be aware that too much of a freedom comes with prices to pay most especially for those of us with self-control weaknesses.
Given the level of freedom at our disposal, who says we cannot party every single day, we can decide to close our laptop at any time and go party at the beach with those beautiful Scandinavians or Latinos depending on where we work from.
Our lifestyle is fun and adventurous but could be detrimental to business if we do not strike a balance between work and play.
Effective time management plays a pivotal role here. I wouldn’t judge any of us because I know how tempting it could be times when the locals keeps ringing your phone to join them for a carnival or a pool party. Who doesn’t want to party?
There is nothing bad in doing any of the fun stuffs mentioned above once there is a balance. It only takes discipline, proper time management and to top it all, scheduling ahead of time and all our business goals would be accomplished in no time.
Here are a few of the secrets have enjoyed over the years while running my business on the road.
1. Leverage on your optimal working hours
As a Digital Nomad, noting that time of the day when we are fired to work non-stop is one of the most things to bear in mind while running a business abroad.
Knowing those hour of the day gives the flexibility of getting things done in no time. Often times when I miss my window, am not always happy because for the rest of the day because I’ll be struggling to get some of my jobs done.
Jobs that would take only about half an hour during my optimal working window would take me nothing less an hour and a half. This could be so annoying a times. But here is my advice on this one, schedule your jobs ahead of your optimally working windows. The remaining time of the day could be channelled into doing some of the fun stuffs we love to do, you know what I mean, *winks!*
2. Have a schedule
Now, this is very important, with my experience over the years, I know how hard it could be to maintain a work schedule while on the road.
Most of the time we tend to reschedule some of our tasks because we are always on the move. In an article published by Life hack, it was argued that planning ahead of time gives the following under listed flexibilities.
- Scheduling ahead of time tends to reduce stress. We get to experience a piece of mind knowing that task would be achieved at a definite time.
- It gives room to accommodate the unforeseen circumstances that tend to disrupt the working hour
- It makes job evaluation effortless
That said, advancements in technology has also made life easier for mankind when it comes to scheduling.
There are numerous project management software’s nowadays that could help with project management. I personally prefer Asana and Slack to any other software because both are highly sophisticated and easy to use project management softwares.
3. Give yourself some breaks off the road
We should try as much as possible to take so days of the week off the road and dedicate them fully to work.
Scheduling ahead enable us to catch up on some pending projects. Dedicating some days fully to work makes it easier to have more fun when the time comes because we wouldn’t have to start thinking about some emails that has to be sent while hiking.
Sometimes ago I was in an other city to have some fun with a colleague. I discovered all I could think about were jobs left to be done. I had a divided heart and could not really get the best out of the city I was in.
Ever since then I decided to dedicate both the second and third day of the week fully to getting my jobs done.
4. Know when to say NO
As a Digital Nomad with numerous set skills, we tend to get a lot of job offers from clients all over the world.
Some offers might be so tempting and mouth-watering. But, we just need to know when to say NO. It’s always best to say NO to offers and business proposals that will no way contribute to our core business.
If an offer will not contribute to our business, we need not to be too courteous to say yes. Also, we have to learn how to say NO to folks we meet on the road.
We cannot always to accept every invitation to a party or carnival from people we meet on the road. Some of these guys are on a vacation, they are there just to have fun, unlike us running a business on the road.
5. Strategise ahead
We must endeavour to plan ahead and stick to the plan if indeed we really want to succeed in business.
We need to have a calendar for our activities, when it’s time to have fun do not hesitate to have it to the fullest. When it’s time to work give let’s endeavour to give it the best shot.
Let us try as much as possible to be proactive, every time count in business.
Over the years I discovered that with proper planning I was really able to stay ahead of so many of my projects and I also noticed I had more time to travel. It’s just all about planning.
It’s not really easy sticking to plans atimes. But if we can endeavour to stick to the above strategy I guarantee that we will meet our business goals in no time. It worked for me.
Discipline is very key in business, we can’t eat a cake and have it back. See you around some other time. I wish you have a great time ahead.
Regards
Ashish Malviya
(Founder – Digital Nomads India | Webricots)
To know more about the founder of Digital Nomads India. See here.
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