The life of a digital nomad seems magical to the outside world. Stunning Instagram pictures, blog posts about the thousands of dollars earned seemingly overnight, or YouTube videos portraying the bright side of life…everything is nice and easy in a digital nomad’s paradise. The reality is that the image digital nomads (often called online freelancers) often portray isn’t their true experience. 

There are specific habits that these gifted online freelancers must cultivate in order to reap the benefits of success, especially in a coworking space.  James Clear’s best-selling book “Atomic Habits” appropriately describes the process of good habit formation that is often the secret sauce to a freelancer’s success. He notes that good habit formation is all about paying attention to the systems used to achieve results. Altering those system, albeit slightly, makes a tremendous difference. 

“Atomic Habits” is a stroke of genius. The principle altering systems initially seems quite simplistic and trivial. However, it’s these systems that separate the winners from the losers. If it was so easy to make changes to systems, more people would be glowing in success.

With that said, here’re some systems that you must develop if you’re serious about growing your online freelancing brand. Most of these systems are mentioned in “Atomic Habits”. 

Change Your Environment

Your environment is a behavior trigger.  Changing your environment may be the key to increasing your efficiency as a freelancer. For instance, you may live in a cramped studio apartment where there’s no real separation of spaces. You eat, sleep, watch tv and work in the same room. Therefore, it’s not surprising that you may find it difficult to be productive in the space because the environment doesn’t immediately tell your brain that, “This is the place for work.”

A coworking space may be your best solution.   This space officially becomes the place where work gets done. There’s no longer confusion in your mind about the purpose of your tiny studio apartment. You’d be surprised by how this shift in environment increases your productivity.

Motivate Yourself

Entrepreneurship is often a lonely and difficult journey. Depending on others to be your source of motivation may only lead to disappointment. You must develop a daily system to motivate yourself. It won’t be easy and there are times when you’ll believe that you’re fighting a constant battle in your mind. 

Sometimes you’ll lose the fight, but you’ll win most of the time with the right daily motivational system. Picture yourself as the successful person you want to be 5 years from now. What do you look like? How do you think? How do you behave? Keep that image in your mind when you wake up each morning and approach each day as if you were in the shoes of your future self. 

Another way to keep a visual reminder is to create a vision board. Its increasing popularity tends to make vision boarding seem overrated. However, it’s a powerful way to visualize the success you crave. Freelancers have noted that placing their vision board in a place where it’s the first thing they see when they wake up serves as a major motivator. 

Small Changes Matter 

The fundamental principle of “Atomic Habits” is that atomic (tiny changes) make a big difference in the long-term. We can link this to the principle of time value of money in finance. Simply put, a dollar today has more value than a dollar tomorrow because it can be invested to generate a higher future value. In other words, investments compound over time. 

Forget about the big picture for a bit and focus instead on the small steps that you must take to get there. Plan each day to tick at least one small task off your list. Getting the small things done makes your larger dream an even greater possibility. 

Start the Journey of Good Habit Formation Today 

If you haven’t already, you need to read “Atomic Habits”. It will truly change your approach to life and is a great way to match the image of happiness and prosperity you portray to the world with the realities you face as a freelancer. There’s no need to be a struggling digital nomad.

Begin the journey towards good habit formation today.

Last updated: October 25, 2020