Keeping your 🧠mental health in check as a writer and digital nomad should be your biggest priority.
Here are 5 ways you can manage your mental health when working on the go:
❌Boundaries
I (Hass) learned a valuable lesson from my colleagues at Onyx Health this week — learning how to say ‘no’ and learning how to 🌟ASK FOR HELP🌟. You need to learn when saying NO is okay. No to more work if you already have a plateful. No to unrealistic deadlines. No ‘it won’t take long, promise’. By doing so, you stop yourself from going into productivity overdrive that results only in one thing – burnout.
🏋🏽♂️Exercise
Aside from helping you achieve the body of your dreams, exercise can release endorphins that reduce stress and bump up the production of feel-good signals sent by the brain. Exercise is also a fantastic excuse for a break.
⏳Schedule
Working on a schedule helps with both points 1 and 2. It allows you to set personal boundaries, giving you time to actually do you, and not just do work. We’re caught up in this ‘hustle culture’ in which we surround ourselves with successful people who positively influence our lives. However, this influence can go beyond simple motivation, causing us to work longer hours just so we can try and earn unrealistic figures. But at what cost? Set a schedule and give yourself time to live.
🌎Social network
Loneliness is part and parcel of digital nomad life. Feeling homesick becomes a regular occurrence, and we get used to missing events we once longed for. Take the time to make friends with people in your new destination. Don’t isolate yourself when you work. Instead, try co-working offices, working in hostel social rooms, looking up community café, and joining extracurricular clubs.
🔊USE YOUR VOICE
Most importantly, you need to SPEAK UP whenever you’re feeling down.
I’m curious. If you were to become a digital nomad (or if you are one), where would you want to base yourself long term?