It seems like more and more people these days are giving up the 9–5 and taking their work on the road. Which is wonderful and usually a smart move — research has shown that having more flexibility in your work-life makes you happier and healthier. But while the appeal of being a digital nomad is great, there are a few things you need to know before going remote, including updating your tools to make your work-life balance be as great as everyone says it is.
These key tools will help you manage working and living on the road, without the sometimes negative or unpleasant obstacles it can create. Including, sometimes having to forgo fun adventures because you have to catch up on work, or even having to stay in one place longer than desired ,because you are just too busy to move on.
Here are six tools that will keep you productive while allowing you to travel as much as you want.
Scout out the actual cost of living .
Use sites like Expatistan and Numbeo to get the most up to date cost of living. This can help you understand what you are walking into before you get there — meaning less unpleasant surprises while working remote. These two sites can also be especially helpful when deciding on where to go next — do you go to the cheaper beach town or splurge a bit and live in the city. The choice is yours!
For money transfers .
Check out Transferwise, which supports 20 different international currencies and up to 25 local transactions. Knowing that you can get your money when you need it, and not have to worry about exchange rates, or the usual time it takes for a transfer, can make traveling and working remote so much easier and way less stressful.
Be your most productive self .
While it is great to be able to work from so many different, fun, and sometimes quite remote places — beaches, mountain cabins, busy street side cafes — it can sometimes be hard to focus and get all your work done. That is where Toggl comes in. It tracks how much time was spent on the project over the hour, day or week, as well as how much time was spent doing other things.
Finding your way in a new place .
It’s easy with Maps.me, an offline map that means you can take it anywhere — even to the middle of the mountains where there is no internet. While it has all the useful things like banks, cafes and grocery stores, it also has insights on nearby trails and public transportation terminals.
Face to face meetings can be a breeze .
While Skype and Google Hangouts are great, a better alternative might just be Appear.in. This handy video conferencing app allows you to connect with up to four people at once and even keep some conversations private or “locked.” Together, it helps you stay up to date with your other remote co-workers or clients.
All the news in your “pocket.”
Similar to Twitter but less distracting, Pocket helps curate the news from places you care about. If you are wanting to know what is going on in your clients neck of the woods, say NYC, then it will show you articles from the New York times or Wall Street Journal. The app is great for staying in the loop of the going-ons around the world.
Working on the road can be an exciting and refreshing experience. It can increase your creativity and productivity, while also allowing you to follow your dreams of seeing the world. But sometimes it gets tough — hopefully these apps will help you manage seeing a new place and getting your work done while being totally remote.
