Greetings from Clonakilty, Ireland! After 48 hours of trains, planes and automobiles, we arrived in Clonakilty Saturday night. We celebrated our arrival with a brew at the pub and a look back at our week-long experience working on the go. Despite weak cell service and low battery warnings, we were able to navigate the week with moderate success.
Straight from our experience – Avoid 3 basic mistakes any Digital Nomad could make.
Mistake #1: Assume All Hotspots are Equal
Nothing is worse than walking your mobile office down the street only to find that the café doesn’t have outlets or the Internet is out. Café websites and user-review site like Yelp can offer helpful hours and WIFI information, but call ahead and get the verbal confirmation before you show up.
Check out this helpful list of Airports that offer free WIFI.
Mistake #2: Leave Your Back-Up Behind
Consider carrying an extra cell phone battery and/or secondary WIFI device such as a netbook or Smartphone. In a previous post I shared which tools were in my Digital Tool Belt. One of which was the Kindle 3G which provides free, global cellular Internet. I haven’t had to use it yet, but I appreciate knowing that I have the option.
Here I am joining a meeting via iMeet on my iPad (my laptop backup) at a McDonald’s in London.
Mistake #3: Forget Your Mission
Just a few days into my yearlong journey as a Digital Nomad and I see now more than ever how important it is to not forget your main mission– get work done and make your clients happy. I prepared myself for the long hours and potential distractions of travel and thankfully I’ve only been met with pleasant surprises. It’s important to prepare your travel mates and family for the demand of being a Digital Nomad. Depending on your clients, a Digital Nomad’s life is rarely a 9 – 5, 40 hour a week job.
Looking for more tips? Check out Working on the Go for teleworker friendly-tips from WIFI security and wireless hardware to how to best print a webpage and Digital Nomad friendly attire.
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