10 Tips for Balancing Work and Travel as a Digital Nomad

Influencers make it look like the digital nomad life is all glamorous beach bars in Bali and fancy dinners on rooftop terraces in Spain. Although you can certainly enjoy some of life's finer things as a digital nomad, getting your schedule right can be tricky. To maximize your digital nomad experience, check out these 9 tips to help you find a balance between work and adventure.

While it’s tempting to just go with the flow, you’ll likely discover it’s neither practical nor productive. Structuring your time will not only create a predictable routine, but it will also protect your mental health by defining clear boundaries. If you feel like you’re always online, you’ll burn out quickly.

Consider establishing a start and end time in your day and stick to those “in-office” hours. Whether you choose to travel and sightsee by day and work by night or vice versa, following a predictable schedule will help ensure a healthy balance.

Organization and workload management are crucial when you’re working remotely but even more so when you’re traveling the world at the same time. Luckily, there are a number of great apps out there to keep all your deadlines and tasks in check.

As a fully remote team here at GO, here are some of our favorites to stay organized and maximize our workflow:

• Asana: Task management app that’s great for just yourself or if you’re part of a wider team that collaborates. Set deadlines, assign tasks, and check in with coworkers to make sure projects get done on time.
• Slack: Keep all your communication in one place with private 1:1 chats as well as group messaging.
• Google Meet: Tired of Zoom’s free service cutting off your video calls? Take as long as you need to with Google Meet.
• Harvest: Track your time by task and create PDF invoices to send to your boss or clients.

When starting your workday, be sure to check your task calendar to see what’s on for the day and make a to-do list of what you plan to accomplish that day. Set reminders both an hour and 10 or so minutes before to make sure you stay on top of meetings and deadlines.

Most importantly, choose a main system of organization and keep everything in one place. If you’re working on different projects, it can be hard to juggle them all. Try color-coding each one and sort them into different folders or workspaces within the same app.

One last pro tip – pace yourself during the workday by using the Pomodoro method. The traditional formula consists of 25 minutes of work followed by 5 minutes of rest. After completing four work cycles, take a 30-minute break. This is especially helpful if you struggle with attentional issues or ADHD!

When you’re constantly on the move, it can be hard to stay connected to colleagues and/or clients in different time zones. Prioritizing communication and setting clear timelines will keep everyone on the same page and will help you better define your travel schedule. Make sure to keep all your upcoming plans on the calendar as well as journeys that land you in a new time zone.

Consider downloading an app like Timezone.io to keep track of what time it is around the world for your clients and coworkers!

Planning your schedule weeks to months in advance will take the surprises out of your day-to-day flow. Although you won’t always be able to anticipate what will come up on your work calendar this far out, you can definitely line up your travel dates.

Think about where you’d like to go over the next year and how long you’d like to stay in each place. Factor in visa processing times, transit time, and the settling-in period required and start to map out departure dates. You can often snag the best deals on flights when your travel dates are flexible so that might be something to think about too when planning your route.

Consider booking accommodation like coliving spaces and hostels ahead of time as they tend to fill up in popular destinations, especially during peak tourist seasons. Having a place to stay nailed down takes a lot of anxiety out of planning.

If you want to factor travel with friends into the equation, share any existing plans and work on syncing your schedules. If they’re not remote workers, it might be easier for you to work around their annual leave time since they will need to request it and get it approved well in advance of the trip.

Read more: 12 Best Countries for Digital Nomad Visas: Work Remotely and Travel!

Try to be honest with yourself about how much travel you can realistically handle while working. Once you factor in trip planning, travel time, recovery from jet lag, and the inevitable "settling back in" period upon arrival, you may find you’re too exhausted to do any serious work.

Rather than flitting from destination to destination, consider giving yourself enough time in each location to fully acclimate to not only your workspace but the surrounding community. A great part of being a digital nomad is meeting people from all over and networking with fellow professionals. If you aren’t slow traveling, you may be missing countless opportunities.

Slow travel is also better for the environment: fewer flights, and less emissions. Immerse yourself in the culture and reduce your carbon footprint – it’s a win-win!

Coliving spaces allow digital nomads to work where they stay. Designed for digital nomads, these unique buildings combine coworking spaces on-site with individual or shared short-term accommodation.

Coliving spaces are convenient and make travel planning much easier and quicker because everything is in one place. Not only will you have a room, but there are also generally kitchen facilities, laundry service, meeting rooms, and work areas to network with other digital nomads.

The friendly and communal atmosphere of coliving spaces takes some of the isolation out of the digital nomad lifestyle. Whether you want to make new friends or find a business partner, you’ll be surrounded by like-minded people who are also probably traveling solo.

Just make sure wherever you choose has fast internet!

As nice as it is to listen to music and watch the world go by as you travel from point A to point B, knocking work out in transit can open up more free time in your destination. Because you’ll likely be without wifi during these times, set aside work ahead of time that you can do offline. Tasks like drafting emails, creating sketches, brainstorming, preparing invoices, and planning social media calendars can be done in the air or on the road and then finalized once you’re back online.

The last thing you want is to get overwhelmed by trying to pack too much in at one time. You can’t be fully present at work or on your travels if you’re stressed and anxious. Don’t forget to check in with yourself and take stock of your physical, mental, and emotional status. Always set aside specific days or time in your schedule for you to relax and recharge – not just free from work but free from travel, too!

Slowing down to engage in meditation, journaling, or even just bed rotting with your favorite series will save you from burning out from an otherwise fantastic lifestyle. You don’t have to (and really, shouldn’t!) be constantly on the move.

Connecting with other digital nomads through community events and excursions is a great way to combine work and travel while also making new friends. This can take the form of something as simple as joining a digital nomad Facebook group or taking a more curated route by signing up with a company that organizes digital nomad group travel.

Organizations like WiFi Tribe and Noma-Collective specialize in planning unique group travel programs catered to digital nomads. Packages usually include most things you need: accommodation, coworking spaces, and planned events for a small group of participants. If you want to balance work and travel without all the legwork of arranging the small details, this can be a great option to focus on enjoying the experience and forming new friendships.

Having the freedom to travel, live abroad, and work wherever is a dream for many. If you’re one of the lucky ones, planning your schedule successfully is key. Finding a balance that works for you can take some trial and error, but once you get it right, you’ll be on your way to making the most of life as a digital nomad!

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