At the moment I’m in Suriname for two months to keep our mom company because she’s a bit lonely since our father passed away last year. Because our business is about online WordPress education and services (site maintenance) I’m able to work location independent which is a blessing in this case because of our mother.
What is location independent working?
It means that I’m able to work anywhere in the world as long as I have a laptop and an internet connection.
Reasons for location independent working
So now I’m still working in Suriname while keeping our mother company and having a little bit of a vacation in between. 
At the moment it’s 26 °C and sunny in Suriname while it’s 6 °C and rainy in the Netherlands. This is one of the reasons why I like to work location independent. Other reasons besides enjoying the nice weather are:
- Freedom. I can do whatever I want and be anywhere in the world. If I don’t like a place or want to explore another one I can just move.
- No annoying boss because I’m my own boss.
- No routine. I don’t have to go to the same office, do the same work and see the same people everyday.
- Adventure. In other countries I can meet new people, see new places, enjoy the local culture and so on.
Challenges: flexibility and discipline
It all sounds good but the most important things to work location independent are: flexibility and discipline.
Flexibility because you don’t have your own comfortable workplace so you have to create one for yourself where you are. And discipline because you are your own boss and no one is gonna tell you when your work has to be done so you have to motivate yourself to get things done.
Working together like I am with my sister Debbie who is also my business partner can be a good solution because we are always able to motivate each other when necessary. To us location independent working is a blessing because it allows us to stay with our mom for longer periods while our business keeps on running online.
What do you need to work location independent?
To get prepared for this trip I bought this small laptop which doesn’t weigh a lot, is easy to handle due to the format but still offers me what I need to work properly. I’m very satisfied with it.
To work comfortable I also brought a laptop standard and an ergonomic mouse and keyboard but they’re not really necessary to work location independent.
What software and apps to use?
The software and apps I use to work and stay connected with Debbie are:
- Skype and Whatsapp for communication (calling and texting). When there’s wifi the connection is free.
- Email for communication (sharing ideas and so on)
- Onedrive for sharing documents
- Onenote for working on shared documents
- Google Chrome and WordPress for serving our customers and maintaining our website and online products
- Other tools like Trello which is a collaboration tool that organizes our projects into boards.
Working in the cloud has the advantage that you don’t need to install this software on your computer while it is accessible no matter where you are.
Interested in working location independent?
Maybe you were thinking about working location independent too for other reasons. If so, this is the time to start doing it because all the facilities are out there.
Think about what kind of business you would like to start. It might be coaching, writing, translating or something else. All you need to start is a laptop and a website.
Don’t know how to create one? Click on Free website creation course to sign up for our free course which teaches you how to start a website in just 7 quick steps.
If you have any questions about the course, don’t hesitate to ask us. We’re here to help you!