Digital Nomads, ..or Digital? No, mad!!

What I do love about the digital world is the power to connect with people you have never met before in online communities across the globe, indeed I am sure I am not the only person to say I feel genuine friendships with a few people I have never even met face to face, only through the cyber world.

But no matter what our interest, hobby or profession these days it appears that there is an online forum, channel or hashtag related to it. Internet communities certainly help us to feel less isolated and yet I feel the younger generation in particular is losing the art of engaging in real face to face contact and communication.

I am truly blessed to have a job that I really do LOVE as an Independent Celebrant and Celebrant Trainer, however as a self employed individual I still really miss the office environment, the communication and the banter, it can be a pretty isolating world stuck at your computer for hours and hour every week writing ceremony scripts, as much as I love the work – I miss people. I guess that applies particularly as a single mother as weekends, evenings etc are often just myself and my 6 yr old (my 20 yr daughter is now pretty independent and either travelling herself now she works as Cabin Crew or out with her boyfriend).

I KNOW I spend far too much time hooked up to the cyber world, Yes a large part of that is genuinely to do with my business, but the other part is simply to have some interaction with the outside world which I otherwise wouldn’t have.

My daughter constantly moans at me that I always have my phone in my hand, my argument is “yes but I am running my business from this phone, and it’s that business which pays for your clothes, food, holidays etc” But actually she is right, I am lucky to work from home but I am not always “present”.

Even my 6 yr old is noticing more and more, I lost count today along when he asked “Mummy, please can you…….” to which I replied “in a minute sweetheart, let me just finish typing this email…” This is a regular conversation pattern in my household, and tonight he asked me “Mummy, PLEASE can we just have one night together so we can watch a movie without you looking at your phone instead”

Ouch….that one hurt!!!

As I plan our gap year, I have been setting up several social media channels for blogging and blogging, I am reading/watching every related piece of information possible about people who get paid to travel, living their lives as digital nomads. Of course there is a massive appeal to this, anyone would be a fool not to at least try it. Today I even went out and brought myself a new IPad Pro 12.9″, it’s a very impressive piece of kit, so much easier that carting a laptop around the world and will pretty much enable me to keep my training business going on the administration side whilst having other experiences celebrants back home running my training business for me.

The new Apple iPad Pro 12.9″ – I brought mine from Curry’s/PC World http://www.currys.co.uk This will make a huge difference to me to me able to work and travel.

The last couple of weeks however my mind has been going round and round in circles trying to find other new ways of making the digital world work for me whilst on the road. Writing is my passion and I am looking forward to blogging our adventures anyway and maybe even the life stories and legacies of a few people we meet along the way. If I get to the stage of getting paid for my blogs that would be fantastic.

This is going to be a year of making memories though, and I want my son to have memories of a Mum having fun with him as we travel, a mum who is fully present and engaged with him – not a Mum constantly stuck on her phone or ipad but just in another country. Yes I will do the work I need to do, yes I will put in the hours I need to give Cameron to keep his academic skills up to date, but digital nomads, I don’t think that’s for us – I want to meet people, research, write and have fun, most of all I want my own legacy to me one of a Mum who was engaged with her children and not sat with a phone superglued to her hand.