Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you’ll have noticed quite the shift in the way we work nowadays. A lot of people are now working remotely, working and travelling as a digital nomad or they’ve got a more hybrid role within their current workplace.
For any digital nomad living in this era, it’s important to make sure that you’re working online safely and securely. There are a lot of dangers on the internet when it comes to cybercrime and so having the right cyber security in place is critical.
Having the right setup is also important to help get the most out of your working day. From the type of tech and equipment used to your knowledge of working remotely – it’s all important to make the digital nomad life work for you.
With that being said, let’s dive into what’s required to gracefully ease yourself into this new way of working in a digital age such as this one.
The challenges of travel Wi-Fi
Despite the beauty of Wi-Fi, when you’re on your travels, having consistency is challenging. Not only that, but you can’t trust that all public Wi-Fi is safe to use. When you rely on this connection for your work and to meet deadlines set by clients, the last thing you want is to have a connection that drops out and is less than impressive.
While buying or renting travel Wi-Fi is useful to some, it’s expensive to others. Instead, it can be useful to buy your own travel Wi-Fi unit and to just load up a fixed amount of data. If you’re using Wi-Fi locally, it’s best to ensure they’re trusted and that where possible a VPN is used to help avoid detection from hackers.
Buying the right laptop or tablet
The life of a digital nomad is done through a screen. To think all of your earnings are made from a computer or tablet. Pretty scary, right? Well, what’s scarier is that electronic device suddenly going kaput in the middle of a client project.
While travelling, there may be certain locations in the world where simply purchasing a new laptop or tablet might be near impossible to achieve. With that in mind, picking the right ones is important but it’s also smart to have a secondary device, should the first one pack up.
With these devices being your lifeline to an income, it’s wise not to tempt fate and to only have one laptop or tablet that you work from every day. Even some of the best electronic devices have a shelf-life and so it’s best to invest in a multitude of screens.
While on the subject of electronic goods, make sure there’s some insurance attached to them. It can help to have it in place should anything get damaged, lost, or stolen on your travels. At least with some coverage, the damage to your finances will be minimal.
Helpful tech support
As a remote worker, you don’t benefit from the luxury of around-the-clock office support when the software stops working or your computer doesn’t start up.
Even remote workers and digital nomads need to have some form of technology support available. Managed IT services are greatly beneficial for those that need to get help immediately.
As a remote worker, the working hours you have can vary and when you’re in different timezones, getting help from your client’s IT department might not be possible when they’re all tucked up in bed.
That’s why having your own technology aid to help out when things go wrong technically, can help. There are lots of organisations out there that will be more than willing to help for a fee. This for remote workers and freelancers could be a fixed monthly subscription or a one-off annual fee.
The digital nomad’s toolkit
To help get the most out of your working day, the right tools for your toolkit are required. As a digital nomad, you may work with clients but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get to use any of their toolkits.
A digital nomad’s toolkit should consist of a variety of tools. From Microsoft 365 for collaborative software to design platforms like Adobe, there’s a wide range of software out there. Financial software like Quickbooks and Xero can be helpful for managing your income and expenditures while social media scheduling apps like Hootsuite are useful for those in marketing or social media.
The more software you have available, the easier everything becomes. It also means this type of software will have all its updates and bugs fixed automatically.
Ensuring you have the correct network and data security in place is an absolute must for a digital nomad life as is cloud backup. There are several different ways to back up your files online. One of the most common options is using a cloud backup solution. These services store your files online so you can access them from any device at anytime with internet access. They also allow you to share your files with others.
A travel bag and accessories
To help travel with all of the relevant equipment needed for a remote worker. There are a few essentials that are worth packing. A travel bag first and foremost is needed to get around easily. Make sure it’s spacious enough to fit in all of your tech gear and any extra bits you’ll need in your day-to-day work life. A headset is useful when you want to drown out the world around you with good tunes or inspirational podcasts.
An external keyboard and laptop stand can be great during those times when you’re set up in a shared office space and have the capacity to stretch out. Make sure that while you’re travelling, you have a Kensington lock for your laptop so that you can keep it locked in place when you need to nip to the toilet.
A battery pack and/or power bank is also essential because you never know where you’re working from. There may be times when a power outlet isn’t readily available. These are all travel accessories worth packing when it comes to travelling and working on the go.
Be fully prepared before you become a digital nomad
When it comes to that digital nomad life, it’s important to be fully prepared. While it’s an easier opportunity to take nowadays, there are still a lot of online safety and security dangers worth being aware of. Make sure you’re readily protected and ready for the digital nomad life.
To learn more about how we can support your digital nomad lifestyle, get in touch today.
