For those whose circumstances allow them to be proactive, this is a unique time to be preparing for nomadic life.

The quarantine period of the coronavirus has put a a lot in question and put a forceful halt to many of our plans… But there’s always a way to take sour lemons and make lemonade out of them.

So let’s get into it: The practical side of “winning” this period of non-nomadic life.

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Leveraging this time into a proactive mindset

Sure, it’s difficult: Every day looks like yesterday, and this stasis is exactly what we run away from with our nomadic lives. And yes, the proactive mindset isn’t possible for everyone; different people have different stories of adaptation right now.

On our end, we’re always going to push people into taking the leaps in front of them… But if dealing with this period is difficult for you – for whatever reasons – there’s no need to overdo it. We’re all for being mindful of mental health and real personal obligations.

However, like any challenge, this period provides a lot of unique opportunities. It may have taken things from us, but it is also leaving a gift. And this gift is that of time.

If you use this time wisely, you can really leverage the future – whatever you want your future to be. There are ways to find productive sanity in the consistency of this present.

How to make this time count from a professional standpoint

Well, it depends on the phase of your business.

Some of us are very deep into our professional lives. If you already have a startup or business, the most important thing is to understand that reality has changed. And if you’re sticking with your previous plans, that can be somewhat suicidal.

The idea here is that there is a pre- and post-covid world, and we need to prepare for the ways in which the world has changed and will change. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; we as nomads love change, remember? But now – change is very in-your-face for everyone.

So if you already have a business, you may need to adjust and pivot into a situation that answers this changed reality. Just like how with StartupBlink, we created a Covid-19 innovation map that quickly gained traction – it even connected us with foreign aides that we otherwise wouldn’t have had access to!

For less advanced professionals: Instead of building up from the chaotic standpoint of being on the move, you can do it in a much smoother way. You can use this unexpected vacuum of time to learn the skills that support your nomadic lifestyle in the future.

Because – it will come back eventually. We don’t know when, but this future will come back in due time.

So maybe you want to do that coding course or read that marketing book. Or, maybe, you want to give your brand some legitimacy with a new blog or website.

If that’s the case, we want to give a quick shout-out to Bluehost’s web hosting services. They’ve partnered up with us to give any interested BecomeNomad listeners a deal of $2.95/mo instead of $7.99/mo. They’re as cheap, easy-to-use, and reliable as hosting services get.

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So whether it’s starting your blog or maybe tackling some softer skills – like learning Spanish if you’ve always dreamed of checking out South America – now’s the time to go for it. Fill this time by preparing for nomadic life. By preparing for what you want to be.

How to approach skill-building both as a startup founder and a freelancer

Here’s the thing about skills: They’re important, but also… They’re theoretical.

Whatever skills you want to learn, you have to back them up with practice and action. Because real skills are built by doing – by hitting the road or by jumping into your business.

At the end of the day, you cannot ever be fully prepared; you have to plunge in eventually. So whatever skills you build, you have to back them up with substance.

For freelancers, this means transferring the learning of skills into actual work. Get some experience, build a portfolio, and solidify those skills beyond theoretical learning.

And for the crazy startup people we love so much: Build it and ship it. You have as much time as ever to set up your side project, so take your outlandish ideas and throw them on the wall.

We had an episode with Hobo CEO POdcast’s Chris Kirkland once and he has this idea of sending your ships to sea. You see which ones float, and then you double down on them.

So – don’t be afraid to launch your ships. Lots of exciting innovation is going to come out of this period for those whose ships hit the seas.

Also – even if you don’t want to freelance to build a startup, the entire remote work world is drastically changing. Employers are understanding that they can cut costs massively and still receive the same output with employees staying at home. For you, this may mean preparing for nomadic life by building a remote work career and life that will sustain beyond this pandemic.

There is a reshuffling of the economy right now. Part of this entails job loss, yes, but more generally speaking, supply and demand are shifting very quickly. Which means that pockets of opportunity – particularly remote-friendly pockets – are presenting themselves to us.

A daily coronavirus challenge: Sustaining motivation through the monotony

First – try to make promises.

Within a business, having a team and clients relying on you forces a level of accountability.

If you’re working solo or just starting out, pushing yourself into accountability can be a little trickier. But it comes back to promises: Promise to yourself that you will do X, Y, and Z. Set a daily work timer and a weekly progress goal. Give yourself self-imposed deadlines. And use the many tools at your disposal.

For instance, try Focusmate – it allows you to do live, virtual coworking. You hop on a video call with others looking to be productive and get to work for that hour or so of time.

On a larger scale: Find the routines that work for you and make the daily decisions that matter to you. Make the promise to yourself of what you want to achieve in the next month or two or however long. And then break these goals down into smaller actionable day-by-day steps.

To hit those goals, keep making commitments – to get the client or to finish a course. But just don’t get stuck in the cage of your head. Get your initiatives bouncing and then get someone bouncing with you to reinforce that accountability.

There are many ways to avoid isolation right now with relationships that benefit your productivity.

Preparing for nomadic life requires motivation – even without the reward of travel

One of the main things is to create a sense of urgency, because this period will not last. The game is definitely changed, but this is not an eternal game-changer.

So let’s instill a sense of urgency – this period is limitedand this chance will run out.

Yeah, you’re also going to have those non-productive days. That’s inevitable. You don’t have to be the best version of yourself every day, especially with this shock.

But just remember: This is a limited opportunity to build things where the typical noise of life has died down a bit. If you can, leverage it.

Is there a way to think proactively about future travel? Or is it on the back-burner?

As for the future, the idea – check out Seth Godin’s The Dip – is to jump into it and don’t overthink it. Don’t have the mindset of “Oh today is a meh day, I’m quitting today… Or today is a great day, I’m jumping in.”

Just get there and do the work – on a daily basis, for an extended period of time. And the world will reward you with some interesting gifts.

About travel: Look, we’re going to travel again. It may be different… But the assumption has to be that we’ll get back on the road eventually and that all your preparing for nomadic life will come to fruition. Have hope and build your productivity and motivation off of that.

One more valuable thing: Try to miss travel. Let that excitement and longing come back or build up. This is a time to rekindle the fire of your relationship with travel.

There’s actually been a saying in Israel: Married relationships improved because of the Army’s reserve force. The husband has to complete a month of service every now and again where he doesn’t see his wife. And when he returns, that relationship is stronger out of longing.

So, in a way, our marriages with travel can strengthen during this lull.

Don’t forget about your finances… Or your gratitude

Practically speaking – on the economic cost, most of us are saving a lot of money right now. And thus, our financial back-up for future travel is growing.

By working more and spending less, you are essentially investing in travel once it becomes a possibility again. This is like a sacrifice period that’ll be made up later on.

And lastly: Don’t forget to have gratitude for that which was taken away from us.

This is a great lesson that we may not have next year or next month or even tomorrow. We get so many comments in our blog posts with readers saying they’ll plunge into travel eventually… But we can’t take “eventually” for granted.

So here’s a reminder: You aren’t in full control of reality, and your plans are subject to external changes.

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