Troy Davis is the cofounder of an online service company and is working remotely around the world. From USA to Asia, Troy has already coworked in 7 cities within the last 6 months: "I usually only plan 3 to 4 weeks ahead. Most of the time I wasn’t even sure where I wanted to go next until a few weeks before I left", says Troy. With a little discipline, it becomes easy to combine the excitement of a new place to live with the productivity of a stable work environment.
Many workers or coworkers would enjoy nomadic coworking, even if it involves a lot of unexpected consequences. Of course, there is a lot of organization involved and also learning how to live with only the bare essentials. Being a nomad is not only a lifestyle, but also a state of mind.
Like traditional nomads, you have to accept constant changes and actually enjoy losing your sense of time and space. Which in the end could actually be worth a try, because it’s exactly during these gaps in time, that magic of coworking happens.
Coworking spaces are made for nomad workers
Nathan Snyder has been coworking throughout South East Asia for the last 6 months, but he has embraced the nomad state of mind for years. He is the ambassador for an Asian startup incubator and uses coworking spaces as the medium to build relationships with other startup communities.
According to Nathan, these spaces had to emerge because the nomads represent themselves through coworking and other thirds places. It is true that before the internet and the emergence of virtual networks, people did not realize that they could be so close to other people living miles away from them.
In coworking spaces people can actually experience this sense of connectivity, which was mostly virtual before. These coworking spaces are hubs of creativity, bringing the individual knowledge and teaching you where you can exchange ideas with the locals. What more could a nomad worker ask for?
See things from a different perspective
While travelling, we sometimes lose our sense of time, as we do in some coworking spaces, because everybody is moving through them constantly. By becoming a nomad coworker, that sense of fluidity could become even more apparent, allowing the coworker to view the world and their own work, through a much more open mind.
Nathan says “I really like being in theses spaces; it causes a lot of creativity. It is a great place to meet random coincidence. I like random and chaotic, moving and changes in theses “interstitial spaces”. Nathan also pointed out the impact of the space on coworkers. In coworking spaces, people are not allowed to stay in a routine or in a habit.
Travelers and nomad workers don’t have a fixed position in the space either. Facing this principle, nomad coworkers are undeniably encouraged to become more open to the world around them. The space is always adapting, and now they must learn how to always adapt as well.
In this sense, nomads definitely bring new perspective to the other coworkers they meet. “Fresh air, new ideas, advice, new practices, everything is new when a nomad is visiting us” says Nicolas Bergé Founder of Les Satellites coworking space in Nice, France.
>> Next page: Three simple TIPS to help you start nomad coworking
