The Number One Problem Facing a Digital Nomad (No Pun Intended)

I don't have an office anymore. Y'all know, like a place in a building, with its own door and chair and net connection and phone lines and locker and Rolodexes. I worked in ane for ten years, while I had one of the biggest online publishing companies in Romania. I approximate ten years is the maximum lifespan for an office in my organisation.

At present, I work anywhere. I named this lifestyle "digital nomading". I don't actually know if "nomading" is a word, because my spellchecker is lament big time, with a ruddy and kinda flashy line underneath it. But I'm gonna use it anyway.

Existence a digital nomad means I'm working pretty much in coffee shops. Or at habitation. Or in the park. Or in airports. Simply, most of the time, it's coffee shops. I usually get there when they just opened the place. I take a cup of tea and a canteen of water, plug my laptop in, wire my iPhone and iPad to it, and beginning doing stuff. Checking e-mail, writing blog posts, coding iPhone apps or sketching and rehearsing my side by side workshop.

Every once in a while I stop and start to look effectually. People are coming in and going out, sit at their tables sipping their coffees or eating their sandwiches. Sometimes I spot some business meetings, with two very tense parties trying to get the best deal out of each other. Sometimes I gaze at teenagers making out, considering, you know, they tin can't get a room yet. Sometimes there is this classy lady reading a mag or just staring at the pages blindly while letting the music fill her upward. Nice images.

The Problem

But, equally much as I would similar to stick to the images only, sooner or later I accept to accept the fact that I'g more than merely images. Namely, a flesh and claret human being existence, with very basic needs. Later a few hours, my digestive arrangement is done with the tea and water, and there is this overflow inside me, if you lot know what I mean. In much simpler words, I have to take a leak.

But that creates a trouble. A existent problem. Y'all know, I usually become the best identify in the coffee shop, the one near the handiest power outlet, and with the best view. That'south why I'm getting there just later on they opened the place. If I just take my stuff and put it in the haversack, get to the toilet, do what a man's gotta do and come back, I may find my best seat taken. Actually, it happened a few times, in the kickoff. And that'southward frustrating. And unproductive.

The Solution

And so, I decided it'south fourth dimension to solve this trouble in one case and forever. You know, a repeatable, constructive and productive solution. We're productive guys, and so let'south solve this productivity issue.

And the moment I took this decision I realized I can't exercise it only past myself. The existent solution was bringing somebody else into the picture. Like, to ask somebody else to look after my belongings while I was out. It was by far the only manageable solution in that specific context.

Only believe me, this was a very, very difficult thing to do. At least for me. I was never too good with relationships. Especially with casual, coffee shop, emergency relationships. Only I also knew I have to do this.

Once I decided what I'm going to do, I begun to work on the "how am I going to practise it".

For starters, I started to await at the people in the java shop with a dissimilar eye. It wasn't just the "how nice these people are" kind of expect, only likewise "would they agree to wait after my belongings for 5 minutes?" kinda of look. The pretty lady with a kid may not be a skillful solution. Too decorated. Oh, maybe the 2 blondes with one-half a kilo of jewelry on each arm? Neah, two decorated searching for bachelor males. Maybe this businessman on the next table? Yeah, peradventure.

And what exactly should I say to the other person? "I'm going to take a leak, can you lot sentry my calculator for a while?". Nah, too straightforward. "I'1000 gonna exist out for five minutes, tin can you exist and so kind to look after my belongings? I'm extremely grateful, give thanks yous". Neah, also precious. I even started to type out a script for myself in a text editor. From long experience, I knew that you have to be prepared when the emergency strikes. And a pressured bladder is quite an emergency.

Later on a few trials and errors with the opening text and some ascertainment exercises, one sunny Wednesday, I took the risk. No more than packing my stuff, rushing to the toilet, doing my thing and so rushing back to the coffee shop, but to run into my seat taken. No, sir. Let's get out into the wild and enquire for some assistance.

I stood up, went straight to the tabular array I've been observing for some time, and started to talk. I must take babbled big fourth dimension considering I conspicuously recall the center of the lady (yes, get-go time was a lady) staring at me with surprise and a trivial bit of fright, while I was repeating for the 5th time "I have to go out for a few minutes, can yous look afterwards these for me?". Eventually, she understood and accepted gladly: "Simply of form, no problem".

I ran to the toilet, washed my hands and then rushed back in. Everything was in its identify. I thanked to the lady and she smiled at me. I made my first connection.

From that point on, I expert this approach each and every fourth dimension my biological mechanism was asking for his rights. I gradually became better at this. I needed but a few seconds to know which i of the people in the coffee store will be willing to help. I too started to diversify my conversational opening lines.

And ane day something astonishing happened. I started a conversation with the other person. She seemed to be English, so I asked her if she was waiting for her airplane. "Really, yes", she said with a impact of surprise. "How did you guess?". And then nosotros started to really talk. At the terminate, we exchanged Facebook and Twitter ids. Some other time there was a man who was working but like me and we shared my power outlet. And some other time it was a guy I knew from the manufacture who happened to be in the same java shop for some time.

A pocket-size, merely very consistent bond was created each time I stood up, approached the table, smiled and asked if they could watch my stuff. Deep down, people beloved to exist helpful. They smiled at me politely at first, and then, when they realized I needed them, they were actually caring and observing. When I got back and thanked them, they were somehow relieved only happy.

Information technology's What Makes Us Vulnerable

The biggest lesson I learned by existence a digital nomad was not about productivity. I got that covered anyway. It was about relationships. Simple, unexpected and honest relationships.

Because, y'all know, near of the time, when I read almost relationships, I have to face up those large words like "commitment", "empowering", "gratitude" and and then on. Big words are nice. Impressive. But they are not very helpful. Not when you're in a unproblematic, biological situation. When all you lot want is to take a leak and still be certain that your stuff is taken intendance of. In that case, you take to open up, be honest and requite the other person some control over your belongings. And hope they'll concord. And deliver. That's all. That's where real connections are created.

It'southward not our strengths that are creating valuable relationships. At most, our strengths can brand a human relationship survive when bad times are coming. Simply our truthful, meaningful and useful relationships are created by our vulnerabilities. And by the genuine need to have and expose them. I tin can inappreciably imagine a bigger vulnerability than the ane created by an almost exploding float, in the middle of a crowded mall. You're and so powerless and cornered and desperate. Y'all gotta solve this fast. You gotta take some risks and put out some trust, otherwise things may literally explode.

This modest exercise of opening up and practicing a little bit of trust each and every fourth dimension I take to take a leak at "piece of work" became, as strange as information technology may seem, i of the biggest highlights of my days as a digital nomad. Because I know now that not just I will solve this in an effective and productive style, but, what's even more than of import, I may end up with some new friends too. :)

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Source: https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/the-number-one-problem-facing-a-digital-nomad-no-pun-intended.html