Being a digital nomad might be a dream for many or just an experience that you might want to try one day, especially if you feel stuck in your office or hometown for quite a long time.

From when I discovered the existence of digital nomads I always had the curiosity to see what it looks like — are these people really living the best life or is it actually not that special?

I was lucky enough to be able to live in Bali (which is a little paradise in Indonesia) for a month and try the digital nomad lifestyle.

In this article, I will cover what the reality is out there and 5 things I did not consider before flying to Bali, plus a little extra point at the end that is probably the most important to me…

Before we start…

In case you don’t know what a digital nomad is, it’s essentially someone who just needs pretty much only a laptop and Wi-Fi to be able to work, meaning that they are location-independent. And this applies to:

1. Freelancers (self-employed)

2. Business Owners or

3. Full-Timers with some special remote working policies.

Before flying to Bali the idea was:

• working 6–7 hours per day

• always surrounded by nature

• amazing food everywhere

• good social and nightlife with friends

• with a good range of activities (paddling, snorkeling, surfing, and many more)

• and all of this at a very good price!!

Now, I obviously didn’t consider everything and these are the 5 aspects that I wish I knew before buying my ticket to Bali…

1: A Completely Different Routine

The first thing that I wanted to cover is that life in Bali is really different from my life in London (where I currently live). Given that I had to interact with people based in Europe, my work schedule started from 3–4 pm up until 10–11 pm.

That means that the entire morning became really the “me time”, for whatever I wanted to do. And so I found myself typically doing some sports like surfing, paddling, or workout in the gym, then having some healthy food with friends, and then going to one of my favorite work spots for the rest of the day.

This is something that you would need to like or be happy to get used to. And if being active during the morning and starting to work right after lunch is not really your thing… Well, you might want to think twice before starting this type of life (unless you are in a place where time zones are not an issue).

In my case, it worked very well, since I tend to be more productive in the afternoon and evening…

2. Weather Can Seriously Impact Productivity

Bali temperatures are super important to take into account! Working past 10 am without AC or a fan gets very tough. There are all the right conditions to just take a 10h nap…

And I feel like I’m saying this as a quite productive and motivated person so I definitely didn’t expect to find it that hard to actually focus on work.

So definitely consider that being productive in Bali where everything around is pretty and hot is much different than working when outside is gloomy and sad (London, I like you anyway).

3. Forget About The Office

In most cases, there is no such thing as an office for digital nomads.

You would need to like working with people around, in co-working spaces, or in cafes with noise and a lot of distractions. Surprisingly, the more people I have around doing things, the more I feel the need to be productive too so this again worked very well. But I know a lot of people who could never work in such conditions.

My personal tip: just use headphones with noise cancellation…

Also, consider that a lot of places asked me to close my laptop when dinner time was approaching so if you are planning to work in the evening from outside your house this might become a problem.

4. Being a Nomad is Not Always Fun…

Being Digital Nomad doesn’t always mean working from the sunbed…

You must consider that there will be many things that can get in your way. The usual ones are Wi-Fi connection issues, lots of insects and wild animals around, and the fact that often you might start working in a place and maybe have to move somewhere else because of noise and another myriad of external factors.

And all of this can disturb you, your mood, your sleep, and eventually your whole experience as a digital nomad.

5. The Digital Nomad Community

Another thing that I definitely did not consider about Bali is that there is a proper digital nomad community that is super active. Everyone seems to be much more open to talking, sharing their experience, and generally connecting with you. It is pretty easy to sit next to a person in a café with your laptop and end up having a chat about life. Something that is less common in London where everyone seems to be concentrated on their stuff…

And obviously, it’s amazing to meet new people but I reached a certain point where it became hard to say no when there was a chance to go out or do stuff other than work. This again to me was a quite strong distraction — especially because there are people with really cool backgrounds and stories to share and learn from.

So if you need to get your work done, consider that as a digital nomad you would need some extra motivation and self-control.

Extra Point (and maybe the most important): New Place Means New People

But maybe the thing that I also did not think about when starting this digital nomad experience is that leaving your city also means leaving your mates. And by that, I don’t mean the people that you met at a random party but the people who ask the true “how are you”, and who truly care about you.

Cause you can be in the most incredible spot on Earth but if you don’t have a person next to you to share these moments then… what’s the point?

And this is how I felt sometimes in Bali, regardless of all the amazing people I met.

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So What?

So let’s do a bit of a recap and I want to leave you with a question for each point that will help to understand if the digital nomad life is for you or not:

1: A Completely Different Routine: Are you a morning or night person? Consider your work schedule, if that does match your personality then the digital nomad life could be for you.

2: Weather Can Seriously Impact Productivity: Can you stay motivated regardless of the hot weather and external conditions?

3: Forget About The Office: Can you work when there is noise or distractions around you?

4: Being a Nomad Is Not Always Fun: Do you easily get annoyed when things don’t go how you wanted?

5: The Digital Nomad Community: Do you have a good self-control and the ability to say no when you have other priorities?

Extra Point: New Place Means New People: Are you happy to “start a new life” and a new circle of people around you?

If these points are not a major stopper for you then maybe being a digital nomad could be your thing and by all means, you might want to test it as well!

If you guys have done the same thing and maybe found some digital nomad tips and tricks to make your life easier then let me know in the comments below!

I hope you enjoyed the article…

Ciao for now and see you at the next one!