Has wandering around the world been your dream for years? Or is it that you just feel put off by the open space or cubicle at your office? For one or another reason we all tend to consider working remotely at some point. But how does it really look like? What we usually think is that working from home/cafes/co-working spaces is living a dream and entails freedom in many spheres. However, as for everything, there are some flipsides to it as well.
Who can plunge into working long-distance?
For certain occupations it is easier to provide the service online or by other means, not having to show up at work physically. People who usually work remotely or have an ease to find an occupation not requiring them to do office hours are: programmers, freelancers, copywriters, interpreters/translators, writers, customer service representatives, marketers, recruiters, online tutors, web designers.
There are also a number of other more or less stationary occupations that can be delivered while traveling or lodged abroad: teacher, fitness or sport instructor, bartender, hostel staff, working on cruise ships, Tour guide, chef, festivals staff, au pair, work and travel programs for students, stewardess/flight attendant, seasonal jobs, professional poker players.
As it shown above the occupations span from technical to linguistic, sales and writing-related jobs.
How to combine travel with working career
It is also quite popular to become a long-distance worker once you’re an expat or traveller sometimes referred to as digital nomads or vagabonds. It is quite relevant that we differentiate and clarify all those terms.
Expat originates form “expatriate”, which stands for individuals who hold citizenship of their country, yet live and work in another. Exemplary occupations are: au pair, bar staff, language teacher, providing services with foreign languages etc.
Digital Nomad can be distinguished as those most commonly working via internet. They can work from literally everywhere in the world where they can find internet connection. That is why they often can be found in cafes, hotels, co-working spaces etc. Possible occupations include: bloggers, freelancers, programmers, copywriters, social media specialists, online business owners etc.
Vagabonds are the only group that engage in mainly physical work. They might work without a regular contract. Some of the jobs might be agreed for bed and board or seasonal assistance. Examples: farm workers, artists, musicians, street merchants, manual workers.
Perks of working remotely:
- Freedom of deciding when and where to work,
- Work/home balance,
- Save on gas, lunch and smart clothes expenses,
- Flexibility and saving time,
- More productivity,
- Less distractions.
Pitfalls of working remotely:
- Dissolving of personal and professional life,
- Anxiety due to some extend of instability,
- Feeling lonely,
- Fear for the future.
Facilitating and adjusting to make it remotely
Why some superiors might find it harder to let you go off working remotely might be caused by the feeling of control while you’re physically present in the office.
It is also essential to pay attention to design of your working space. If you choose to work from home try to find a specific area that will be committed exclusively to your working time. Make sure all everyday life utensils and accessories are kept elsewhere and that you do not spend your leisure time at this specific spot. Thanks to applying this measures your efficiency shall remain on a decent level to carry out your planned tasks. Try not to mix between home related duties and professional work. This might cause a chaos and loss of concentration to your work. Planning is the key value to successful working scheme. Create a schedule of tasks, that will be realistic to fulfill daily. This will keep your working mode clear and tidy.
How to find a job that could be executed remotely? To your aid’s come the mighty internet.
Some of the online job platforms are:
Flexjobs,
home office careers,
remote ok,
working nomads,
we work remotely,
virtual vocations,
remotive,
jobpresso,
Travelme.world,
escape the city,
skip the drive,
power to fly. However it is also good to check if there are companies at your home place willing to hire somebody for a remote cooperation.
Also if you are a specialist of one of the groups listed before as more privileged in finding online based jobs, you can also try to find dedicated online job boards for that profession exclusively for distance programmers or creative writers/copywriters.
One thing to remember though is that jobs done distantly are not a piece of cake. To be able to shape your way through the digital nomads market you usually have to be a professional with great work record. What it takes to succeed is also passion and talent for the activity. Do you think you have all it takes to be a successful remote worker?
