You are at home wherever your internet connection is fast enough. Your workplace is where your MacBook Air is. Geography does not really matter to you. Or rather it matters in a different sense. You are a nomad. You are digital. Now what would you need to get most fun out of your work? Right – gadgets. But which? We are not talking about the absolutely needed base things here.
We all know: working as a digital nomad is possible in any internet cafe world wide and without much own equipment. But honestly: would that be fun? Think about it – why are you working the way you do? You love the freedom to go wherever you want. You love to not be slowed down by people, rules, and certainly you do not want your gadgets to slow you down in any way. So one thing is you should not have is too many gadgets. Because many items add up to another suitcase to carry around, to get potentially lost, to slow you down. No way, right?
My list of 5 Essential Gadgets to Get Most Fun out of Working for Digital Nomads
I have been spending more than ten years in digital nomad working one or the other way, and there are a few items I would not want to miss. They have proven to be useful. In Germany as well as in Portugal, France and even between ski resorts, volcanoes, hot beaches and a wooden hut in a cool, damp forrest. I came to like my light luggage during walking deserted roads as well as the good performance of the technology I am using out in the nowhere.
And now I have to confess something. There is nothing like top 5 essential gadgets in this text. But there are tons of good things you should think about! And at the end you will find your top 5 pieces of hardware by yourself. I am certain of that.
Rule No 1: Keep It Light
Nice Little Toys: USB Sticks
You can carry a load of some kilograms in external drives and USB sticks around – but I learned better not to do so. Because the more equipment you carry, the heavier your luggage is. And the more can get lost. Use the cloud instead. If you have an email account with googlemail, that grants you already 15 GB of cloud space. If you need more, you use a plan. There are some not too costly and very convenient possibilities in about any country. I prefer my cloud space from German service providers with servers located in Germany because they are in some respects safer than the services operated by US-American or other companies. German laws are pretty strict in terms of data protection. During I am working for customers from several countries and have to take into account the regulations on data safety of all these countries, the EU and especially strict German model meets all needs. So no external drives for me. But I do indeed use USB sticks. They are password locked, and I only have some backup data there. No special recommendation, though. For the about 128 GB in data many producers have good enough items.
No External Batteries, Wires, Chargers – the Sun Shines for Free
Everybody needs backpacks. Me too. I am a lady, and I do indeed use my backpack everyday instead of a handbag. It is big enough to go for grocery shopping, to go to the laundromat, to equip myself with everything for a day on the beach or for hiking in the mountains. I love my backpack. And therefore I take really good care of it. Because it has a built-in battery and a solar panel to charge it. And it has enough capacities to charge up to six smaller pieces of hardware such as my phone, my mp3 player and my ebook reader. Up to six times per load. Great, is it not? Should I really be working in a hotel room, the window sill is fine to recharge the backpack’s battery via the solar panel.
Rule No. 2: Protect Yourself.
Ultraviolet Light for Your Health
There are two things which you should take care of: your health and your equipment. Both tend to get lost somehow if you travel a lot. For your health you need to make sure to eat only safe foods and have safe drinks. Basically that means nothing raw. Not even water. Wait, water? Right. Wester Europeans are used to drink water. Water from the main is for free and relatively safe. In Europe. In other countries, you might get literally on the runs if you drink that. Travelers’ diarrhea is a big problem. So I always carry my SteriPen with me. That is a tiny little pocket light. The ultraviolet light kills or renders unable to reproduce about 99 % of all bacteria and viruses which might cause the runs. It simply needs to be held into the water for a moment. So make sure to never be without that nice piece of hardware.
Safety for Your Luggage
You have probably read all of the Discworld novels and know the amazing luggage of the wizard Rincewind. Yeah, that would be perfect for me. But no, I am using technology instead to protect my luggage. I make sure to always have a GPS tracker on my backpack if I am not holding it in my hand. Another tracker is in my suitcase. That does not keep the luggage from getting lost, but it gives me a chance to find it again. In combination with a safe lock on the suitcase (check out the Blue Smart Carry On) I just feel better.
… and the Rest of It?
You probably know by yourself how important your laptop computer is. You also know that you might need adapters for your chargers and wires. I am a big fan of fancy and expensive things with a certain half-eaten fruit on it … But surely there are alternatives. Without alternative is the Skyroam Mobile Hotspot. It provides WIFI without a SIM in more than 100 countries worldwide. And of course some decent earphones. I personally prefer ear buds, but if you like the bigger over-ear version better … well, there you go. Just make sure there is some noise-cancellation system with them. Because hotel rooms are not everywhere soundproof.
There would be so many other things which can come handy in one or the other situation. Like an adjustable laptop stand. Or a gorilla tripod for your smartphone. But these things are only good if you actually use them. I carry my smartphone in my pocket and use my laptop on tables, chairs, the floor, bookshelves or whatever there is. Even on my lap. So if you like to carry all these stands around, go ahead.
During I do not only work all day long, I make sure to always have my ebook reader with me. Yes, I know: I can use my laptop computer and my smartphone for that as well. Sure. But I simply prefer to rest my eyes on a nice, old-fashioned e-ink thingy after a long day in front of the laptop’s display. And I only use it if there is no public library around. Promised! Did you know that even in Japan the public libraries of smaller cities have at least one or two bookshelves with English and French literature? It is amazing!