Webby
Tue 8 May 2007
I have n’t posted for a while because there has not been much to write about. I have been back in England now almost one month working away on Webby’s second wave of websites. Work is currently a seven day week and I am back to taking my job seriously again.
For the forseeable future I see myself evolving into a new style of working nomadness where my laptop stays at home along with the work itself. The work and travel combination has proved very successful but my priorities are shifting a bit now.
One thing I have learnt from this WN project is that it’s not easy to work and travel at same time. I have achieved my goals financially but I must have been lucky along the way to work so little and still have a very decent income from my sites.
I have probably done more work in the last 3 weeks than I have in the last 3 months. That may be a surprise but it’s the truth.
I don’t want to put anyone off working and travelling at the same time. People are different and not everyone will be so easily distracted as I was. On the road I found a lot of distractions! I guess that’s part of the fun.
So I am off on two trips over the next month or so. Firstly to Scotland for a few days of midge-free hiking around Fort William to get in shape for an organised hiking holiday to the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco at the end of this month.
That’s why I am working so hard now.
My laptop will be staying home during these two breaks and my world of affiliate schemes, adsense stats and HTML code will be temporarily forgotten.
May 8th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
It’s actually amazing how much time i spend checking stats, tweaking pages to no avail and generally wasting time worrying about existing sites rather than churning out new ones. it’s far better to work hard on a project, then go away for a month and see what has happened in your absence! the old adage about a watched pot not boiling is a very good one.
May 8th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
Spot on Matty - this has been my issue! New sites need time to get into the search engines and sometimes existing sites do better if you just leave them alone!
Tinkering with keywords can really damage sites.
I think I am slowly learning that business and pleasure does n’t always go hand in hand.
Being able to have a few days in Scotland on the West Highland Way with no web access is something I am looking forward to after an intense month on the web!
May 8th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
Webby I think thats a great idea I am so looking to be away & not conected to the net.
Probably wont stop me working but a least I will be actualy working. Loading sites then going back a few months later is with out doubt the best. Tweaking old sites “if it aint broke dont fixit” Is my adopted moto.
May 9th, 2007 at 10:06 am
For me the working nomad/website income thing is less about actually working while I travel and more about having the freedom not to have to work for someone else and therefore work from anywhere. This, to me, doesn’t mean carting my laptop with me as I tourist around the world. It’s more about heading to a cheap country and getting set up for awhile and doing my own thing and watching my business grow. Then as things start to (hopefully) take off, I’ll have an income in my sleep which I can choose to work on a few hours a month or 12 hours a day, seven days a week if I want. The point is having the choice.
May 9th, 2007 at 11:21 am
Oh ya… and I would have thought there’d be a lot more to post about while you’re working 7 hours a day than when you’re travelling. Remember that most of us (well maybe just me…?) want the dirt on the working part and aren’t as interested in the nomad part.
May 9th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
Fair point but I think a lot of folk are interested in the travel aspect as not everyone is so widely travelled and it does give an insight into how viable a place is to do the WN thing.
May 9th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
I have met a couple of people who travel for a month or three, then settle somewhere to work on the net. One was a translator. He got a free room and web access in exchange for manning the desk at a guesthouse in, I think, Arequipa. He was going to work for three months, then move on. The other did graphic design. Maybe that is a better model than trying to do both at the same time.
May 9th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
Indeed it probably is.
Perhaps I have proved over a year and a half of work and travel that it’s better this way.
I like the idea of working in a guesthouse and getting free web access and a room.
Just think of the work you’d get done! (assuming it’s not the front desk of a 500 bed hostel in Sydney or somewhere like that!)
May 10th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
Back in Florida, the cheap motels that the Gujaratis run have been raising their prices, and I get a good deal at a Ramada I use a lot, so the difference in price can be as little as $5 per night. For that extra five, besides a nicer place to stay, I get a nice pool, free wifi, and all those little bottles of stuff. Five dollars a day for wifi isn’t bad if you are putting in a lot of time working.
May 12th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
Hi there
That’s interesting… I quite like the idea of work then stop, then work, then stop… In fact a 2 year cycle - could be quite nice… work your socks of and live a “normal” life.. then jack it all in for a couple of years fun and travel - then start the cycle all over again. In effect this is what I’ve been doing all my life. However I’ve found that it would be nice to get more balance - hence trying to aim for living, travelling and working at the same time…
On another note - I’ve been asked to take part in a meme on what it means to be a “Digital Nomad”.. I’ve posted my part on my blog, and have linked you in… you may be interested in participating…
Take care…
www.escapengland.blogspot.com
May 21st, 2007 at 7:07 am
Oh, I am so amazed by people who can actually make a living while traveling (or who make a living by traveling).
I love traveling. It’s so interesting when we can actually capture the scenery ourselves to be uploaded to our blog.
I am currently writing on Southeast Asia Travel and hope to visit all of the countries listed.
Regards,
mr.ular
http://southeastasia-travel.blogspot.com/