The Digital Nomad Series: 7 Lessons We Learnt From Our First Time Working Abroad
Hey friends,
Welcome to the first official blog post for The Digital Nomad Series by Vibras Creative Studio.
The idea for this series came to me back in March 2022, when I hadn’t even spent 24 hours on my first remote work trip and realised I had already made a huge mistake (I’ll share what that was down below). Like many of us, I had spent the past few years watching the online business world boom and seeing more and more people showcase their #workfromanywhere lifestyle’s and I was ready for that to be me.
My first taste of working remotely was with a 3 week trip to Colombia (where my family are from) and it was truly one of the best experiences in my career thus far. I had the most incredible time, and brought the most money in to my business that I’ve seen since I launched in 2020. I learnt a lot while I was there and began jotting everything down in the Notes app on my phone. In this blog post, those notes will finally see the light of day!
Lesson 1: Always carry your devices in your hand luggage (and get insurance)
This is general best practice for any trip, but considering we’re talking about working abroad here, it would be particularly devastating if you were to lose your laptop or other devices before you even make it to the other side. The safest way to transport your devices is to have them on you at all times, in your hand luggage, and to make sure you have insurance that can protect you against loss, theft or damage, for the full duration of your trip. Always make sure your devices are fully charged (especially if you plan on getting work done on your flight), or that you have a portable charger with you. Do not rely on airplane power sockets, they have failed me many times!
Lesson 2: Don’t forget your adaptors
Speaking of charging your devices, remember to check which adaptors your destination requires, and bring lots of them! If you forget to pack them, you can usually find them in airports or technology/phone shops when you arrive to your destination - but to avoid any stress, pack them from the get go.
This was the first lesson I learnt in Colombia. I arrived to my accommodation late at night with my phone and laptop already on low battery, knowing I needed to get back online to work the following morning. When I went to charge my devices, I realised I hadn’t bought any adaptors with me. Everything was closed at that time and I couldn’t do anything about it! I woke up extra early to go out and find some adaptors, but nothing had opened yet. I had officially been uncontactable for longer than I had communicated with my clients - and I was s t r e s s e d. Colombia is 5 hours behind the UK, so where I had set expectations with my clients to complete tasks by a certain time the following morning, I couldn’t even get in touch with them to let them know what was going on. Eventually I found a street vendor who saved me as he happened to have a handful of adaptors I could buy.
It’s safe to say, adaptors are now one of the first things I pack for a remote working trip. Luckily I wasn’t alone, but this lesson is also important for safety reasons. If you’re travelling solo, the last thing you want is for all of your devices to run out of battery and to not be able to let your loved ones know you’re okay.
Lesson 3: Consider how much you’ll be moving around and plan your work schedule accordingly
If you’re going away for 3 weeks, and travelling to a new city every 3 days, let’s be honest - your work is going to take a hit. When working remotely, you really need to remember that you are working. Not only is it time consuming and tiring to move around so much, your clients are still depending on you to meet your deadlines and fulfil your responsibilities. We travelled to 3 cities in 3 weeks, which isn’t a crazy amount - but even that caused disruptions! From my own experience, I loved having a work schedule which was slightly earlier for me than usual, which meant I was also able to clock off earlier than usual too and spend my afternoons and evenings doing tourist things.
This point will heavily depend on the work agreement you’ve come to. When I went to Colombia, I let all of my clients know I was going to be 5 hours behind them, and as long as I finished everything I needed to do, the hours I worked each day didn’t really matter. This is totally different if you are working a 9-5 and need to be online during your usual 8 hours, in which case pre-booking some set days off would help. Exploring new places is the whole point of travelling so it’s important to carve out time to do so. Just make sure to plan it properly so you don’t feel rushed and you aren’t neglecting your work. Unless you are going for an extra long stint of time, with most places it’s virtually impossible to do every single thing in one visit. You can always come back, don’t ruin your remote working experience by stretching yourself too thin.
Lesson 4: Set realistic expectations with your clients
One thing I prioritise with my clients is (over) communication. I’d rather do that and have them know exactly what’s going on, than be chased. Setting expectations when you’re heading off on a trip is what ensures things can run smoothly. This starts from the day you’ll be travelling (as your clients can expect you to be out of office), right down to letting them know what new time zone you’ll be on when you reach your destination. Always let them know when they can expect to hear from you again, and stick to it. There are so many factors that could disrupt this as I mention in the other lessons, so it’s important to be over prepared and realistic. Saying you’ll be back on emails 1 hour after you land, probably isn’t going to happen. You’ll be stressed out trying to get back online when you should be figuring out how to get to your accommodation, and your client may be trying to contact you because you said you’d be online. I find it’s best to give yourself some extra buffer time on your day of travel, and get back to business the next working day once you’ve found your bearings.
Lesson 5: Research local co-working spaces or make sure your accommodation has a good desk setup
The most important thing when working abroad = making sure you have a good work setup! You will not be productive if you’re having to juggle your laptop or work from your bed for weeks on end. Research the area you are staying in and make sure you know where the local coffee shops/hotels are. It’s always a good idea to spend the first day having a walk around to see where other digital nomads are working from. Some destinations have a lot more options for co-working than others, so do your research beforehand as this could also influence what sort of accommodation/area you choose to stay in. Not only is this lesson important for the desk setup, but also for the wifi and power sockets. Even if your accommodation is the perfect WFH setup, I’d recommend having a back up. Some days you might just want to get out of the house, other days there might be issues with your wifi but you still have deadlines to meet! Always have options.
Lesson 6: Speak to your phone provider to choose an international data roaming plan
You can sort this out before you leave, or buy a local sim card when you arrive, but in a nutshell, don’t travel without data on your phone. The wifi-only option can be very unreliable. I had many instances where the wifi signal was weak in my Airbnb, or when the free coffee shop wifi just didn’t want to connect, and I had to hot spot from my phone to my laptop in order to work - sometimes for an entire day! If you don’t have data and this happens to you, it will make for a very frustrating work day.
Lesson 7: Check the weather
If you can only travel at certain times of the year, you do not want to be disappointed by bad weather. Be flexible when considering destination options and always research the weather beforehand. Admittedly, we’re at a time where global warming has the seasons around the world slightly messed up, so sometimes a place that should be warm all year round, isn’t anymore. Colombia is a tropical country in South America, known for its great weather. However, when we arrived in March we had a lot of rainy days which was not the vibe we were hoping for after looking forward to this trip for such a long time! We still made the most of it and had an incredible experience, but if we wanted guaranteed sun, a trip slightly later in the year may have been a better move.
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That’s all for this blog. I hope these tips help you with your next remote working trip! Let me know which one was the most helpful and if there’s anything you’d add to this list, in the comments section below! The next blog will be all about Working From Colombia, where I share all of my favourite must-visit spots (and daydream about going back) 🇨🇴
Emily, Founder of Vibras Creative Studio x
