The Life of a Real Digital Nomad

Please note some of the links in this post may contain affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. As always any recommendations that I make are always based on my personal experiences with the product and I have not received any free products or anything else by these companies.

It has been 6 years since I made my daring escape from the corporate world, I chose freedom over security to become my own boss; a digital nomad.

A bit dramatic yeah!

However I still get the tingles when I think about it, no more bosses, no more bs politics, no more negotiating my vacation entitlements, no more all nighters and no more ironing bloody business shirts.

My Dream Life

These days I get to work from home, coffee shops, co-working space, my bed, couch or fly across the world to somewhere I love or a place I have yet to discover.

I get to indulge in working on all my projects, businesses and ideas.

I have turned my home into the ultimate dream office, a desk in the corner with a high back office chair, a neat and clean desk with just my Sony VAIO laptop, mouse, moleskine diary and my trusted Muji pen quietly waiting for their owner to start work.

I am surrounded with the things I love, my books, my guitar, my couch, my Sony Playstation, my Nespresso machine, my fridge and my bed.

I work the hours that I want.

I weaved my work into my life and not the other way round.

I take naps when I am tired.

I play the Playstation when I am frustrated.

I go to the gym or go for a run when I am stressed.

I go to my favourite coffee house when I need some fresh air.

I go meet with people when I need help or social.

I travel when I need a break.

But life as a digital nomad is not just all fun!

It is a real business

I still need to earn money to feed my family, pay the rent, buy clothes, pay for my holidays and pay bills.

I work my butt off in order to have this life.

For you people thinking that the life of a Digital Nomad is sipping Mai Tais, lying on a hammock, enjoying endless hours in the sun on some exotic beach on a remote island in Asia.

You are in for real shock, it is definitely not.

When I started I didn’t fully grasp what freedom really meant.

I thought freedom was a life without structure, constraints, rules, systems, routine or restriction. I could work, play and live anyway I wanted.

I could wake up whenever.

Do what I felt like.

Spend my time on only the things I was passionate about.

However as I discovered a life without restraint, control, disciplines and structures is not freedom, but a life of mediocracy and chaos.

It created confusion, stress and frustrations.

I wasn’t achieving the results I set out to do in my business because there was no consistency and accountability.

However as soon as I put some structure and routine into my life and business, things began to change.

I became more productive.

I had more results and success. I had more fun. I made more money.

I began to structure my life even more, create morning routines, night time routines, eating habits and accountability partnerships.

Results began to double and triple.

Freedom

I finally learnt what true freedom meant.

Freedom is about mastering your time.

Making a conscious effort of organising each day in a way to maximise your work and life.

I use to split my life into two parts, work and social life.

But now I just live.

I am really lucky and have the dream life that I have always wanted.

Master your time and Master your life equals True Freedom.

A Real Digital Nomad