3 Ways to Create Stability from a Digital Nomad

Almost 6 years ago I ditched a horrible job in Boston as a Digital Marketing Director and moved to a small Thai island to manage a yoga studio. It took me about 40 hours to get there from Boston and I had just $300 to my name. It was maybe my wildest decision and also the greatest I’ve ever maed.

Life as a digital nomad is not for the faint of heart. It brings a different kind of loneliness and it’s hard not always being able to be near your loved ones for the sake of living your dream.

The pros (for me) are endless. I get to learn everyday. Meet new people. Explore different cultures. Try new languages and FOOD. Should I ever have kids, I have stories for dayyysss.

One of the strongest pros of being a consistent digital nomad is that it’s a crash course in creating your own definition of stability. When you’re living a lifestyle like mine meaning you have no idea where you’ll be living in 3 months, stability and consistency are key to staying sane.

In fact, at the start of the pandemic many people noted that digital nomads were the best-equipped to healthily deal with lockdown:

• We’re used to not seeing our family & friends for months or even years at a time.
• We’re forced to be great at spending time alone.
• We’re already used to working remotely.
• We thrive in uncertainty.

And since the pandemic has inspired so many new digital nomads + remote workers (rightfully so 🙌🏾 ), I hope these tips help you curate and maintain stability as you create the life of your dreams.

1. Routine

You ever go on a vacation, ditch your morning + workout routines and then struggle for weeks to get back on track? Digital nomad life is like that except it’s not a vacation — it’s just your life.

My routines are key to my sanity and I’m very harshly reminded of that fact ever time I abandon them. 🙃

I’m in a very serious committed relationship with my morning routine. I’m sure to switch it up often so I don’t get bored. At the moment it looks like prayer, EFT tapping, listing 11 things I’m thankful for in my gratitude journal, oil pulling and movement.

Maybe this sounds like a lot, but anything for my sanity. Plus, I’m out here to create the lifestyle of my dreams and that includes at least an hour dedicated to myself every morning.

Whether it’s a workout routine, a nighttime routine, a “wind-down from work” routine — whatever! Create a routine that works for you, play with it a bit and then stick with it. The benefits are endless.

2. Therapy

In 2020 my life crumbled to pieces and the pandemic was the least of my concerns. I started meeting with a therapist in August 2020 and my life changed for the better.

I was forced to seek a therapist and was diagnosed with PTSD during my first session. My only regret is that I didn’t start sooner.

Whether you feel on top of the world or like you just can’t go on, I can’t recommend therapy enough. It’s such a relief to have someone validate your feelings and listen to you without judgement.

Finding a therapist feels like a daunting task, I’m not gonna lie. All you can do is try and if the one you’re given doesn’t work, ditch ’em and try someone else.

Life’s a marathon, not a sprint. Get you a good coach.

3. Scheduled Check-ins with Friends

I manage myself like a business and I have no shame in sending a friend a Calendly link so we can catch up.

I like to take it a step further for the friendships that mean a lot to me. This is something I’ve been doing since 2017 with friends across the world. It’s been imperative to maintaining my relationships and feeling like I really know what’s going on in my friend’s lives. It’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and then somehow you haven’t had a real moment with your homies for months.

Again, life’s too short. Put in work to maintain the relationships that mean something to you.

Here’s how I do it:

• Reach out to a friend and choose a time + day that works for both of you in the long-run.
• Choose a cadence. I go for biweekly or monthly.
• Put it on the calendar and decide where you’re going to chat (Zoom for me).
• Stick. to. it. That goes for both of you. Try not to reschedule as often as you can and be sure to show up on time. Let them know how much that friendship means to you.
• Bonus: this doesn’t have to be only for your friends who live in different places, you can do this with your homies down the street.

And that’s 3 tips for creating stability from a nomad! I doubt my nomadic lifestyle is going to stop any time soon so if you have any tips, throw ’em at me! 👇🏾