Being a Digital Nomad (with my family)

This past Thursday, I took off for Kure Beach, North Carolina for an impromptu beach trip with my wife, our kids, along with her sister’s family, plus her mom. Five adults and four kids total.

It’s the off season for beach rentals, and my sister-in-law found a beautiful condo that was 75% off the normal listing rate for this time of year. I mean, you couldn’t really beat the rate if you stayed at a Best Western.

I found out about the possibility of this trip on Wednesday at lunch. We packed everything—including the extensive accoutrements required for traveling with a toddler and infant—in about two hours on Thursday and hit the road.

My project workload in April has been unusually heavy, thanks to a few inquiries that had tight deadlines (which I’m always open to, so no complaints there). The question I immediately asked myself when I heard about this trip was: “How am I going to get this done?” I already had plans for how Thursday and Friday were going to go in terms of work. But that was the wrong question to ask. The right question was, “How does my work fit into this trip?”

As it turned out, my work fit into the trip just fine. Here’s why:

• I own my own business, so I don’t have to jump through baroque hoops to get/take leave.
• I can work anywhere with an internet connection.
• I’ve invested in systems that facilitate asynchronous remote work (e.g., network attached storage with VPN access, Slack, Adobe Creative Cloud documents).
• I know that my family is the reason why I work, so anything that’s good for the family is good for business.

It was wonderful to wake up before everyone else, make a French press, and sit out on the balcony to knock out an hour or two of work before easing into the day. We were just across the street from the beach, so I got to see the sun shimmer in the waves while watching the sunrise. Being in a new environment didn’t change the work that needed to be done, but it felt like a much needed change of scenery. Just being in a new place simply made the work more enjoyable.

While I was there I was able to:

• complete a significant amount of podcast production
• refine a brochure that’s going to print this week
• get very close to the proof stage for a trail map that’s also going to print this week.

But more importantly, the trip gave me:

• nearly five hours of uninterrupted time to talk with my wife on the drive
• the opportunity to see my 18-month-old daughter truly experience and enjoy the ocean for the first time.
• time to smoke an excellent cigar with my brother-in-law to celebrate my son’s birth
• great fellowship with some of my favorite people in the world
• time to reflect on what’s most important in life (great times with my family)

I’m nearly a year-and-a-half into running my own business, and I’ve come to believe that it’s not only possible, or preferable, or “humane” for work to fit around life—it’s simply the right thing to do. It’s not always easy or convenient. Sometimes it’s grueling. But times like this past weekend are a crystal clear reminder of why I continue to work for myself. I love my wife, and I love my kids. Doing work that allows me to be present (and spontaneous) with them means the world to me. That is my definition of a successful career trajectory.

I am a creature of habit. I like my routines. But I’m thankful for a wife who reminds me that it’s OK to be spontaneous, and that sometimes breaking out of the routine is the best thing for the soul.

There have been many times that I’ve thought, “Man, it would be so much easier if I was just on salary.” But really can’t imagine ever working for a corporation again. Sure, it would be so easy to not have to worry about bookkeeping, project management, sales, etc. It would be so easy to draw that bi-weekly check. Ease and convenience Having the ability to be present with my family means everything to me,