Work-life balance: the desired myth or achievable goal?
As a digital nomad, I’m constantly working at my business. I want to grow it, but sometimes this comes at a cost. For some years, I’ve believed that I can improve my work-life balance while traveling by following some simple rules like the ones below.
- don’t handle job tasks during lunch breaks
- know and respect your boundaries
- schedule every task
- start working out
- switch off digital devices after work
– I’m sure you have heard them before.
But I realised that these actions are not enough. Trying to combine work and travel is challenging. Being on the road is stressful enough and I wanted to find some tools that would help me manage my time better.
Digital nomads! Does traveling affect your work-life balance?
Being a digital nomad and traveling full-time while also managing a business is a lot. Finding accommodation, transport, food and making connections in new parts of the world can become tiring. Try adding working a full-time job at the same time and you’ll realise that you don’t have enough time to do it all.
It’s challenging enough to focus on work while traveling. Trying to find time for yourself is even more challenging. It isn’t easy to log out and relax, but I’m here to help you. In this article I’ll talk about 7 tools that will help you improve your work-life balance while traveling.
Did you know that…
- Having trouble shutting down after the workday harms productivity for nearly a third of digital nomads
- The top challenges digital nomads face are: the inability to unplug from work, uncertainty, loneliness, and staying motivated
7 tools to improve your work-life balance
OffTime
- How to stay focused at work if you constantly check your phone?
- How to enjoy a trip when notifications disturb you?
- And finally – how not waste time unconsciously on mobile apps?
The answer is: by using OffTime.
OffTime is the perfect tool to get unplugged. It allows you to block specific apps – like games or social networks – by creating profiles for them. On top of that, you can set limits for daily usage for every particular app. Thanks to the schedule option, you can plan a time when your apps will be automatically blocked, so you don’t need to do it every time by yourself. It’s a great tool for digital nomads who want a better work-life balance.
Freedom
When working, turning off your smartphone isn’t enough to keep distractions away. You still have access to all websites on your laptop, don’t you? Fortunately, they can all be silenced using website blockers, such as Freedom.
Many popular website blockers work only as Chrome extensions, but you can install Freedom on your computer and use it for every web browser. This tool allows you to block apps, websites, and even the whole internet to fully immerse yourself in your work instead of getting distracted by funny memes or annoying notifications. Staying focused as a digital nomad has never been easier.
AllTrails
I’ve noticed that during my travels, I mainly use the internet to check maps, locations, and tours. To stay unplugged during my trips, I’ve started using AllTrails. It’s pretty similar to GoogleMaps, the only difference being that you can download custom maps to use while being offline.
In this app you’ll find many incredible trails near your location. Outdoor activities are the perfect way to disconnect from your work and with AllTrails you can use the downloaded maps without internet (no more notifications from other apps). This app will help you spend quality time after and exhausting working day.
Forest App
I’m a fan of the Pomodoro technique when it comes to productivity. This method claims that we are the most productive while working in particular time spans: 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of break. The Forest App helps you measure that time pleasantly: it grows trees while you’re working.
If you watch the growing trees for too long on your phone instead of working, the app will display phrases like “Come back to work” which I found motivating! Also, its background music – birds chirping and wind noise – really helps me focus.
Notion
Maybe you have also experienced it – while handling too many tasks, task-switching consumes a lot of energy. Many studies proved that most people underperform when multitasking.
To overcome this, time-management tools might help. My favorite tool for time management is Notion. It’s intuitive to use, it is very customisable and, honestly, I like its fancy interactive features – toggle lists, emojis, and colorful tables.
Insight Timer
According to numerous studies, regular meditation has a positive impact on our cognitive skills. Improving your focus and decreasing your stress level will positively impact your performance. Insight Timer is an app that includes over 1,000 free meditations, as well as courses that will help you sleep better and reduce anxiety. This app will definitely help you be more productive at your work.
Reflectly
Have you ever written a journal? From my experience, it’s a rewarding experience. Writing makes me feel more balanced. Neurologist Judy Willis claims that journaling reduces anxiety, builds conceptual memory networks, and helps the brain restore information.
You can build a journaling habit with the Reflectly – a mobile journaling app. Besides noting down your thoughts, you can also track your mood, and when you’re feeling down, this AI-driven app suggests how to improve your state of mind.
Final thoughts
Being a digital nomad can be challenging and tiring. You have to constantly juggle between working and finding time for yourself. I’m here to tell you that you can find a work-life balance that works for you while being on the road. Let me know in the comments below if this article helped you. May the travel bug bite you!
Post written by: Karolina Zając, a writer at PhotoAiD. With a background in cognitive science and communication, she is fascinated by how language influences our perception of reality. It’s more likely to find her in the forest than at the dance club.
Aurelia Teslaru is a professional travel blogger and the writer behind Daily Travel Pill. With a 4-year experience as a travel writer and photographer, Aurelia only shares travel guides about destinations that she visited.
She has been to more than 40 countries during the past 10 years and aims to explore 50 countries before turning 30 years old. Aurelia is a digital nomad who transformed her passion for travel into a lifestyle. Read more about her here.
To follow her adventures, check out her Instagram and Facebook pages!
As someone who works anywhere and anytime – thanks for these recommendations! It’s tempting to work beyond your “set” work hours _ I understand the struggle.
Madison