Digital nomadism is here to stay, say remote employees exploring the terrain

The legacy of the pandemic will be discussed and dissected for decades to come The jury is still out on the immediate and long term impact but what is indisputable is how our sociocultural lives have been transformed with new behaviour patterns and preferences emerging and forgotten ones gaining traction A prolonged period of working remotely has changed how we view workWhile hobbies such as gardening and baking have seen a renaissance a rejection of the 9 to 5 inperson work has been commonplace especially among young professionals who seek a worklife balance No wonder that the digital nomad lifestyle which has been gaining popularity for a few years now globally also hit Indian shores with a force yet unseenMidday Online spoke to digital nomads who share their passion enriching experiences challenges and their hopes for the futureSonali Sabharwal Bamba31 BangaloreSenior Account Strategist EMEA at LinkedInSonali has been travelling with her spouse and working out of remote hotspots such as Goa and Dharamshala PicSonali Sabharwal BambaSonali Sabharwal Bamba has been working remotely and travelling with her husband since 2019 Her innate desire to see new places and experience different cultures is what keeps her moving from Shimla to Maldives Shersquos managed to hit Indiarsquos two remote working hotspots Dharamshala where she stayed for six months and Goa where she stuck around for twoShe believes in striking a balance between exploring new places and immersing oneself in the local culture ldquoBeing a nomad at heart and an explorer by choice I would love to stay in each place till I feel like a local and can play the part of a tourist guiderdquoThe nomadic community she had the chance to intermingle with is what made her stay longer in places like Dharamshala and Goa ldquoBeing a social animal community is inherently important to usand I am no different I feel this is one of the reasons I enjoy a nomadic life I believe meeting new people connecting and learning from their experiences is vital to my survival and growthrdquo It helps that her husband shares her love of travel and has been her companion on the numerous journeys ldquoYou have a constant source of belonging You also see each other grow and learn about different perspectives It is amazing to have someone to reflect withrdquoOver two years of being a digital nomad has caused a shift in her perspective towards lifemdashone which she hopes will stay ldquoIrsquove realised the importance of being in the moment because it might never repeat itself Things people and situations are temporary We must value every moment because joy as well as sorrow are mere perceptions of a situationrdquoWhen asked if she sees herself ever returning to working from a physical office Bamba says ldquoItrsquos hard to imagine I would love to continue working from anywhere and become part of a new place every few daysNot so surprisingly internet connectivity remains a challenge that is yet to be overcome especially in remote locales ldquoBeing a working professional I spend 8 to 9 hours of my day with my laptop and bad Internet can be a turnoffrdquoPrateek Kotha35 BangaloreAssociate Director Marketing and Brand SolutionsMonetization at MyntraMeeting new people and expanding his world view is what keeps Prateek Kotha moving PicPrakeet KothaPrateek Kotha was quick to capitalise on the opportunity to work remotely His drive to explore new places and reconnect with his roots took him to the Gurudwaras of Punjab to the snowcapped peaks of Kashmir ldquoTravelling fulfills me The nomadic way of living helps break monotony and helps in expanding my understanding of different cultures and people through new experiencesrdquoKotha enrolled himself in residencies which provided a space to interact engage and learn from likeminded individuals ldquoThis nomadic lifestyle allows me to widen my social circle and that too from different domains Irsquove met quite an interesting set of people during my travels that I might have not encountered otherwise in a corporate set uprdquoMany might end up slacking off work or overspending while pursuing this stimulating lifestyle But being a digital nomad also requires a lot of planning as tradeoffs need to be made ldquoBalancing work while exploring places endlessly evaluating the pros and cons of doing an activity and managing time and finances are extremely importantrdquoMeeting new people is exciting but finding a sense of belonging while yoursquore constantly moving around can be trying at times especially when yoursquore trying to connect on a deeper level ldquoFinding your base and anchoring yourself is a bittersweet challengerdquo admits KothaHis travels fuel his renewed vigour to learn ldquoNature can be the best therapist in my opinion Learning never stops when you travel whether it is about culture food or even human behaviourrdquoIt is only natural that Kotha wants to continue exploring ldquoI would want to go back to the office but in a hybrid format so I can continue my travels and work from anywhere for the years to comerdquo concludes KothaMudit Subodh33 MumbaiCategory Manager at MyntraMudit has been travelling solo and working remotely since 2019 PicMudit SubodhSolo travelling across India since the pandemic hit Mudit Subodh packed up his belongings and vacated his apartment after a stint in Uttarakhand and Himachal ldquoThis new way of coliving and working really excited me In March 2021 I decided to vacate my apartment and put all of my stuff in a storage unit to return to Himachal I have been to popular destinations such as Nainital and Almora as well as villages in and around Tirthan Valley and SpitirdquoHis nomadic lifestyle has allowed him to take the slow travel path ldquoI usually decide to stay at a place for a minimum of 2 to 3 weeks This gives me enough time to explore the place at my leisure Before starting work after finishing work for the day or over the weekends allows a good amount of time to cover the places explore eateries and bond with the people I decide to extend my stay if I enjoy the vibe of the place and the people around This way of slow traveling has really helped me to explore places in a better wayrdquoFinding a community is what keeps him going ldquoCommunity gives one a sense of belonging Since I stay at a place for a long duration its important to bond with people because you will be living eating and sharing a space with them While traveling you meet all kinds of folks from solo travellers backpackers to people traveling with friends family etc The important thing is to find people with similar interests Also since the concept of coliving is fairly new to the country its important to understand when one needs personal space Ive met some amazing people while traveling from all kinds of professional backgrounds and this has helped with networking as wellrdquoDwelling on the challenges he faced while navigating a new way of life Subodh shares ldquoThe biggest challenge initially was to focus on work With the mountains in your backyard and the constant urge to go out and explore it becomes difficult to work The key is to find the right balance between work and leisure Once I did that I realised I was enjoying my work more Another issue is having too many people around with work from mountains becoming a norm slowly there was a huge influx of people which consumes internet bandwidth and sometimes overlapping meetings make it difficult to workrdquoThe one thing that has fundamentally changed for him is the belief that an office environment is required to be productive ldquoIf one is dedicated to their work makes the effort and has their priorities straight it is possible to work from anywhere I have been more productive than ever in this way of working and coliving I would like to work remotely permanentlyrdquoNihar Manwatkar37 GoaMusician entrepreneurA digital nomad himself Nihar opened Clay a coworking space in Goa in 2019 PicNihar ManwatkarA jack of multiple trades Nihar Manwatkar is a design consultant musician and founder of a coworking space in Goa He founded The Banana Design Comdasha fully remote boutique design agencymdashover six years ago with the intention of joining the global remote working movement by hiring talent not just available locally but anywhere in the countryWorking while you travel is an exciting proposition which draws people to this lifestyle initially but the key element to sustain this is discipline according to Manwatkar ldquoI say this from personal experience As a generation I believe many of us are used to living a relatively structured life Its what most of us grew up preparing for Working as you travel is a drastic change in that behaviour and such an unhinged lifestyle definitely has good potential to derail an individualrsquos time health and overall productivity It is discipline the ability to always be mindful of your actions how one spends their time and what one really prioritises for themselves which become extremely critical constituents to sustaining this lifestylerdquoAfter moving to Goa in 2018 he felt the need to have a dedicated workspace for remote workers which led to Claymdasha coworking space he founded prepandemic in 2019 During the pandemic Goa saw a barrage of remote employees from all across the country and Manwatkar had front seat to this explosion ldquoIts been extremely interesting seeing our audience change with global events We started off attracting a very local audiencemdashpeople who lived within a 2 km radius of the space who had heard of us purely through word of mouth Post the first lockdown opening we were one of the very first spaces in these parts of town to reopen our doors That led to a wave of people from all over the country who jumped on the remote working opportunity and decided to work out of Goa by simply searching on Google An eclectic mix of designers consultants IT professionals painters content writers entrepreneurs data scientists biologiststhe list really goes on Clay in essence is really a home for anyone looking for a stable and consistent work environment looking to network not work alone meet people and of course grow as peoplerdquoWhen asked to describe the evolution of the nomadic community from prepandemic to postpandemic Manwatkar shares ldquoIts still so nascent People arent sure if their offices will call them back And with such a degree of uncertainty its too early to spot any trends with respect to this entire ecosystems evolution I cansay without a doubt howeverthat its here to stay Clay is now working toward elevating this experience through its culture vertical by connecting our members with spiritual advisors small habit experts nutritional guides meditation experts etc to fuse the amazing world of wellbeing with work which is a concept and a philosophy Ive personally missed seeing in all my work stints and that can have a significantly positive impact on a personrsquos liferdquoThe entrepreneur believes there is much to gain from collaboration ldquoWe all have tremendous amounts of value to add to each othersrsquo lives With a little bit of mindfulness gratitude selffaith and discipline we truly can enter this new world where the norms of 9 to 5 have almost collapsed stronger more collaborative and empatheticrdquoAlso Read7737 of Indian travellers hope to find travel romance on their next trip