Instead of working from a single place, digital nomads travel the world and work remotely from anywhere they want. 

Meet Torry Jatiprakoso, who became a digital nomad since he took the market manager role at The Hotel Networks. The freedom to work and live almost anywhere brings him a plethora of options to design the ideal kind of life he wants. 

Do you consider yourself to be a digital nomad as well? Let's see what he has got to say about being one!

Being a digital nomad means working anywhere as long as you have a stable internet connection, which might make any millennial today jealous. Do you think that this job is your dream come true?

This is my ninth month as a digital nomad, and so far. I am happy with this life. I don't have to deal with the traffic every single day just to go to an office which gives me more time to do things to fulfill my potential. 

I schedule my work from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and right at 6.30 p.m., I can jump to my French online course right away. It gives me the luxury of time which some other people lose to commute from their house to their office. Other than that, as long as I have a stable internet connection, I can work from any place in any city.

As a digital nomad, self-discipline is a priority. How do you manage yourself?

I use platforms like Google Calendar, Groove, and Salesforce to help manage my work. I use Google Calendar to organize my time on a daily basis, Groove to create an automated flow of my work and Salesforce to create tasks to make sure that no responsibility is missed as a reminder to follow up on the other day.

What do most digital nomads do?

Most of my colleagues love to travel and work in different places. They often work from different cities or even countries, and even if they travel to other continents with hours of time differences, they are very responsible by adjusting their working hours based on the regions they manage. 

Last month I had a global meeting in Barcelona, and after the meeting, I decided to go to Paris for 12 days and work from there. Meanwhile, I am managing clients in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Sri Lanka. Therefore, when I was in Paris, I had to wake up at 3 a.m. to adjust my clients' working hours. It was difficult but worth it! Yet, that is the consequence that I took voluntarily.

Do you believe the digital nomad lifestyle is for everyone or just certain people?

Even though I personally think that being a digital nomad is great, I don't think it fits everyone. I think being a digital nomad fits those who are tech-savvy, free-spirited and have no dependents. 

It would be hard for those who are not into technology and have to adjust to digital platforms to do the job on a daily basis. People who are married and have kids already might find difficulties moving from one place to another to enjoy the freedom it offers. 

What is the attitude of someone willing to start being a digital nomad vs. someone stuck in a 9-5 on-site job? 

To be reachable and visible is the key. Remote working remotely means it is harder to convince your boss that you are actually working. Therefore, utilizing digital platforms to show your number of activities is essential. 

For example, I am working in the sales team, and I have to prospect a lot through phone calls or emails. What I do is to connect my Zoom call and email to Salesforce to keep recording any single activity that I do from both platforms. Not to mention, sales is a game of numbers. At the end of the day, my number speaks for me.

Any money-saving strategies for digital nomads?

I believe each person has their own strategy. For me, I have two different accounts for savings and spending. On payday, I will transfer 50 percent of my salary to my savings account and stick to my spending account to pay my bills and survive until the next payday. 

I also have my own excel sheets, which I always fill out each time I spend some money on things so that I can always keep track of how I spend.

Other than that, I have my personal insurance for the rainy days. You don't want to lose a massive amount of money at once if you suddenly have health issues and have to pay for the treatment, right? For me, it's as simple as that.

What is the most mentally challenging part about being a digital nomad?

Not being able to see my clients in person is mentally challenging. Sometimes, I get so worried about how things will go. My job in sales requires me to communicate well and become an expert on what I do so I can convince my clients to trust my platform as their partner. 

I am not going to lie. I have to practice my pitching every single time to sound convincing. I also have to check my network connection before the meeting to avoid disruptions during the online session. I always want things to run smoothly, and sometimes it is mentally tiring to keep checking everything constantly before I start my day. Internet connection problems are out of our control in some cases.

Where do you see the digital nomad lifestyle in both 10 and 20 years?

In my opinion, the existence of COVID-19 has changed many aspects of how we live our lives as well as how we do our job. Many companies have finally understood that remote working can be done as long as we know how to control the business and utilize related digital platforms to manage their business. 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by R. Torry Jatiprakoso (@tj_torry)

In years to come, I believe that this trend will last as Millennials and Gen-Z are familiar with digital platforms, especially Gen-Z, who rely on their gadgets to express themselves and are extremely tech-savvy. After all, Gen-Z has never known a world without the internet or smartphones. I do not think they will agree on the idea of being stuck in a small cubicle from 9 to 5, five days a week without "self-healing".

What's your favorite off-the-radar nomad location that will likely be a hotspot in a few years?

Even though I can work from any place in the world, I am still an Indonesian guy who can't stay too far from authentic Indonesian delicacies. My favorite place is never under the radar — it is already a hotspot that will last years and years from now. It has always been Ubud.

Do you have a daily routine that you stick to, especially when you move around a lot?

I always sing in the shower in the morning to energize myself before working, especially after a long flight.

In what ways do you think travel has changed you as a person?

Traveling enriches me as a person as I get to understand that the world is full of different cultures, beautiful places, delicious food and amazing people. For me, differences exist not to divide us but to be celebrated.

Any travel hacks you can offer?

When traveling to a new place, create your itinerary well, take local transportation or walk! You will never know beautiful places or experiences you will bump into, and perhaps you will have more stories to tell after the trip ends. Learning simple words or phrases in the local language before visiting might also help you a lot!