Top 8 Power Tools Of A Digital Nomad
In the age of technology a lot of people choose the Internet to fund their lifestyle. I happen to be one of them. But despite the great opportunity we have when working online, there are certain things to keep in mind if you want to run your life (and your business) seamlessly – especially when you are on vacation.
There is no direct definition for the term digital nomad. However, I think you’d agree with me when I say a digital nomad is a person who utilizes the Internet for work while traveling the world frequently.
On first observation this sounds exciting and exotic (and it is), but many people on the outside fail to realize that it isn’t as easy as it seems to run a business when you travel. The hardest part is to be disciplined, while everyone around you is in party mood. Meanwhile you are stuck at your keyword, hammering out blog posts, emails and other must-dos to keep your business afloat while on the road.
All of this would be so much harder and near impossible if it wasn’t for the great (and often free) tools we can utilize for our purpose. Thanks to many of these tools my life is made so much easier, and the fact that many of them are free to boost makes collaboration from the road a real treat – even when you are stuck in front of your computer at midnight.
My top 8 power tools as a digital nomad
The following 8 tools are my personal favorites for on-the-road travel. They allow me to stay in touch with my team, my clients and my business without any major issues (emergencies permitted), and turn business travel into something more geeky and fun.
Yeah, I know that not everyone is a fan of Apple. I totally respect that fact. But for me, living without my iPhone is an impossible thought because it allows me to collaborate with clients, with the team and friends on the fly. I can do this while I ride a train from central Sydney to the city’s outskirts on the way to a show, or while sitting parked at the airport, waiting for my flight.
You can do the same with a Blackberry or any other smart phone.
A few years ago I would have sworn by Outlook Express or similar applications. Today, after many frustrating trips where I couldn’t access email because of ISP server issues I’m a happy convert to Gmail. I can access my inbox anywhere in the world from any computer and never have to fear that it won’t download to my machine. What’s even better is the fact that Gmail’s IMAP feature allows me to read my email on the iPhone too.
3. USB Broadband Modem
Even so the iPhone allows me to do a lot of work on the fly I still need to access my laptop at times and connect to the Internet, such as when I write a blog post. Without my own USB modem I would be relying on open wireless networks in coffee shops and hotels and to be honest, I do not trust them.
I also don’t want to pay $6/hour to access the Internet in a hotel. Alternatively I could rig my iPhone to be a modem too, which I guess is easy enough to do if you are a technical geek.
4. Online Collaboration Software
Whether you choose to work with Basecamp, Google Docs, or any other online-based collaboration software doesn’t matter. What matters most is that you can stay in touch with your team while you’re out and about. You need to be able to train them, share files, collaborate and manage the entire team from the road.
The easier this becomes, the less time you will need, giving you more of it to relax and enjoy yourself.
What would we do without Skype? I honestly don’t know. I guess it would result in having to pay more for phone calls or cell phone calls. Skype is a great tool for staying in touch with your business. You can engage into a quick one-on-one chat without major disruptions and clear up some issues that need addressing as soon as possible.
Forget pesky external hard drives or backups on your own machine that end up taking up a lot of valuable hard drive space while slowing down your machine. I use Dropbox for backing up my important files and it allows me to access them on any computer in the world as long as it is connected to the Internet. I also use a large external hard drive, but that one stays at home.
Since using Dropbox I no longer have the need to carry an extra hard drive around with me because all the data is safely stored in the “cloud.”
Box.net is another great tool for those of you who need to store and share files with others in the cloud. It makes for a great training hub where you can store your team training videos for example.Alternatively you can use it to upload and share files, photos and more.
Invoice your clients, pay you team members and transfer the funds to your bank account. You can do all of this and more from within your free PayPal account.There really is no need for you to go elsewhere, unless you run a corporation with a need for detailed accounting. PayPal lets you export your data in a CSV file so you can hand it to your accountant come tax time.
To be honest, I could probably list a lot more tools here if I was to spend more time thinking about them. These 8 tools are my personal favorites by far, besides my trusted MBP of course. I find that by using all of the tools above I can pretty much run my business from anywhere in the world, provided I have an Internet connection.
Feel free to share your fav tools and why you like them. I look forward to hear from you.
Monika
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About The Blog Author
Alex Sysoef is an IT Consultant, Internet Marketer and ProBlogger who shares his passion and knowledge of WordPress, SEO, Social Media and traffic strategies on his blog WordPress Howto Spotter. Connect on Twitter or Facebook
18 Responses to “Top 8 Power Tools Of A Digital Nomad”
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I wish more people would write blogs like this that are actually helpful to read. With all the fluff floating around on the internet, it is refreshing to read a blog like yours instead.
Personally, for the time being at least, I rarely leave the house; at least not for the long term. This is a sure keeper for the future though.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..TweetMeme Installed! I Have Some Questions… =-.
@ Dennis: Thanks for your input. I’m glad you were able to take some value from this post. Technology changes so fast that perhaps when you are ready to roll you only need a couple of tools to make your life on the road bliss.
Ok…not to appear to be a total “dummy” but…what is a USB Broadband modum?
Thanks for the other tips Monika – I use most of them, but the others I will definitely check out!
Cindy
.-= Cindy´s last blog ..How to Set Up Webcam For Windows Live Messenger =-.
Hey Cindy, sorry this reply finds you late. A USB broadband modem is a USB powered Internet connection to the 3G network we have here in Australia. You can pretty much get one of these in most countries these days where reliable Internet is available.
Just ask your Internet service provider whether they provide them.
.-= Monika Mundell´s last blog ..Order Articles =-.
For me my digital tools of need are my laptop with wifi and paypal.. Thank god for technology..
.-= Timon Weller´s last blog ..The Spiritual Side of Making Money Online =-.
For me google, online banking, and msn :p more powerfull other than
My goal is to become a digital nomad. I love the description.
One tool I use even though I don’t travel very often is LogMeIn. It allows me connect to my desktom from my laptop where ever I am.
.-= Luca Di Nicola´s last blog ..Inside Look at Expert WordPress – A Video Review =-.
Ya, Truth is you can easily switch entirely to Gmail, but there are downsides… A laptop with MS Outlook or similar AND gmail is a wise idea.. Just in case Google’s down one day and you need to get at an important client file or something…
But the most amazing part about Gmail is the history… I mean I can find an invoice I sent 2 years ago via Gmail for Blackberry… No Portable device could ever have 7GB of email storage built-in but with Gmail that’s possible.
I also built myself a personal wiki for all my passwords, projects and plans for while on the road.. It’s a simple mediawiki installation with a couple hacks that make new years not registerable and no pages viewable to unregistered persons… Incredibly handy and super easy to backup to ensure it’s always running.
.-= Daniel James´s last blog ..Can You Really Make Money With Adsense? =-.
My droid phone takes the place of the USB modem and the iPhone, not getting into an argument of iPhone v Droid
It definitely keeps me on my digital nomad path.
I’m also a huge believer in the corporate version of Gmail with Google Apps! Email, calendar, contacts, and docs are great.
.-= Jared Detroit´s last blog ..Easy & Effective Content Creation =-.
Totally agree with Bruce.
Roboform2Go does it for me.
All your logins and other critical information on a datastick means that your laptop can be stolen – but the thieves don’t get any password files.
Need to login to a secure site from someone else’s machine? Just plugin your USB datastick – everything is available but no information is left on your friends machine.
There is a ‘cloud’ version which would give even more flexibility but I maintain a degree of scepticism about security and when all that information is so important to you I like to know it is attached to my keyring!
(synced onto a second datastick of course – just in case!)
.-= Bruce´s last blog ..Are The Critical Elements of Your Squeeze Page Visible? =-.
I agree Bruce, my thumb drive with Roboform2go on it holds my entire business
I also second your suggestion Bruce. I have a version of Roboform2Go myself but since switching to Mac I can’t use it unless I’m stuck with Windows machine.
Would love to see an updated Mac version for Roboform without needing to use the cloud to give me even more flexibility.
.-= Monika Mundell´s last blog ..Order Articles =-.
$6 an hour for internet service @ a hotel is quite exorbitant. I thought such prices only existed in countries like Cuba? Come to think of it, before I left the island, they even shaved off a dollar.
I’d be lost without my laptop and edge/music playback enabled phones on any trip as well a usb internet modem. As soon as I’ve got the money, I’m investing in a netbook as they are a lot more pratical for travels
.-= Udegbunam Chukwudi´s last blog ..StrictlyOnlineBiz’s Top Blog Posts Of The Week 10 =-.
You’d be surprised what hotels in Australia charge for same. They are keen to suck you dry for the privilege of using the Net.
.-= Monika Mundell´s last blog ..Order Articles =-.
Great selection. I’m a fan of these tools except for Paypal. I think Escrow is better. Skype, Google Docs, Dropbox by far are the ones I use more often. It makes my life comfortable and convenient – comfort and convenience which are both essential considerations in every innovation.
Check this out. http://www.davidgass.com/the-backbone-of-innovations/