According to Statista, as of March last year, many digital nomads are making good money. The survey found that 35% of digital nomads worldwide reported earning between $100,000 to $250,000 in annual income. Only 6% said they made less than $25,000 yearly.
Digital nomads enjoy various benefits, including the freedom to travel and work from anywhere, the ability to work anytime, opportunities for personal and professional growth, lower costs of living, and the ability to pursue new hobbies and interests.
However, you can’t enjoy all these perks if you don’t have the tools to survive your on-the-go lifestyle. We curated this guide to help you thrive in your chosen career path.
Time Management and Productivity Tools
These tools can help you get more done each day. These tools are designed to simplify all your work tasks, make your workflows more streamlined and efficient, and give you quick access to essential documents whenever needed.
Some key features in many productivity apps include creating content to visualize your data. Plus, most allow for easy collaboration with other people. This makes them perfect for digital nomads who are always on the go.
Note-taking apps are handy for capturing all your ideas. Apps like OneNote, Google Keep, and Notion are great since you can jot things down anywhere. They’re also perfect for organizing notes into different categories.
Another essential type of productivity tool is a to-do list app. Any.do and Microsoft To-Do are popular options that help you prioritize your tasks and manage multiple assignments. Seeing everything you need to accomplish and schedule items helps ensure you’re as efficient as possible with your time each day.
Investing in the proper productivity and time management software can make you a more focused and organized worker. Finding the best tools with your work style takes trial and error. However, utilizing these apps is a worthwhile way to squeeze more out of each workday.
Power Banks
Low battery warnings are the bane of any digital nomad’s existence. Nothing ruins your productivity like your devices dying when you need them most. Thankfully, portable power banks have made it much easier to stay charged even off the grid.
Power banks are indeed a must-have for anyone who works remotely. Whether working from a coffee shop with limited outlets or traveling someplace without reliable power, a good power bank means you’ll always be on time when your phone dips below 20%.
Look for multiple USB ports to charge more than one device at a time. Quick charge support is also crucial — the last thing you want is to wait hours to top your phone up to 50%.
With the right power bank, you’ll feel much more at ease working from anywhere, knowing that a full charge is just a few clicks away—no more low battery anxiety getting in the way of your workflow. So do yourself a favor and pick up a high-capacity, multi-port power bank.
It’ll pay for itself in peace of mind the first time your phone warns you it’s almost dead, and you can just whip out that backup battery instead of searching for an outlet. Reliable power is essential for the modern digital nomad — don’t leave home without a portable charger.
Portable WiFi
Using your iPhone or Android mobile phone’s WiFi hotspot is a good option for getting online on the go. Just be aware that some carriers limit how much hotspot data you can use monthly before charging overage fees.
Another solution is to bring a portable WiFi hotspot device with you. These little gadgets create a wireless network for you; any of your devices can connect. The significant advantage is that they give you internet access anywhere there is cellular service, even without WiFi networks.
Reliable connectivity is essential when you’re traveling and working remotely. That’s why it’s crucial to pick a portable hotspot that supports high-speed data and has good coverage in the areas you’ll be spending time. The last thing you want is to be somewhere with spotty service that needs to be faster, even to check your email.
External Hard Drive
An external hard drive helps keep all your important files safe. You know how it is — your laptop’s storage can fill up fast these days with all the photos, videos, and documents. An external drive gives you more space to back everything up.
You can toss your external in your bag and know all your work is protected no matter where you go. Need to access a file at the library? No problem. Are you working on the go and want to free up space on your laptop? Easy — just swap over to the external.
Plus, you get the peace of mind of having everything securely copied somewhere besides your laptop. It’s fantastic to plug the drive into any computer, too.
All your files can be accessed at home, the office, or a friend’s place. The portable storage and security make external drives a must for anyone who works on the go.
Noise-Canceling Headset
These headsets are a game changer if you need to focus in loud places. Whether working in a busy cafe, traveling through the airport, or even trying to tune out distracting sounds at home, they can help you concentrate. The technology is impressive, too. It actively detects outside noise and cancels it out so you hear silence.
Being able to block everything else out makes such a difference. Coworking spaces can get loud fast, but with these, you feel like you’ve got your little bubble of quiet. They’re also perfect for long flights or train rides with constant background chatter and announcements.
However, it’s not a miracle cure — they will only eliminate some sounds. But they dull everything to a much more manageable level so you can focus on your work without distractions. Invest in a good pair if you find yourself in noisy workplaces. The ability to tune everything else out is so helpful.
Portable Screen
Having a dual-screen setup can be helpful, depending on what kind of work you do. Being able to have multiple windows or programs open at the same time makes it a lot easier to multitask and be more productive.
But if you’re a digital nomad, having a big bulky monitor isn’t practical since you need things to be portable. That’s where a lightweight monitor comes in handy. It allows you to turn any space into your workspace, whether working from a coffee shop, the library, or even your hotel room when on the road.
And if you have a laptop with a smaller screen, an extra display is excellent for spreading everything out more. The portability makes it super easy to throw in your bag and go without adding too much extra weight or taking up much space.
So, if you want that dual monitor setup but need flexibility, a portable monitor is the way to go.
Work Seamlessly With the Right Tools
The proper tech gear is so essential to allow you to be productive while traveling. Consider precisely what setup you need to stay on top of your work responsibilities remotely. Carry whatever accessories you can’t easily replace internationally.
But it’s also important not to overpack your tech tools — find the right balance of gear that’s functional yet lightweight enough for all your future travels. Proper planning on the front end will help you work productively as a digital nomad.