How To Work From Anywhere — Case Study 3 — Matt
By: Tom Norman
Tags: Digital Nomads, Cryptocurrency, Futureofmicrowork, Ethereum, Bitcoin

What kind of online work are you involved in?

I do freelance web development. My main focus is building products for 21 mil. I’m the guy who takes an idea and then formulates how it will look and how users will interact with it.

At 21mil we’ve also built a news publication called Crypto Insider. The focus of Crypto Insider is on long-form pieces instead of breaking news. On the side I do some cryptocurrency trading.

What attracts you the most about working online?

Back in Winter 2015 I was working in Montreal as a tech intern. It was -30 degrees outside and I had to travel by 3 different modes of transport just to get to work. First I walked, then I took a train, then a bus, finally walking again to get to the office. I decided I didn’t want to do that anymore. I didn’t want to have to spend my valuable time cramped up on different modes of public transport. Now I enjoy the freedom of being able to work from anywhere, all without a commute!

Briefly describe how you were able to find work online

Last year I was finishing my last year of school and a friend of mine introduced me to the world of working online and travelling. I thought it was really cool. Rather than pursuing a full-time position at a company I decided to do freelance web design and travel. I did this for several months.

When I came back to Canada, a friend of mine invited me to work with him on some cool web development projects. After a while we got ourselves a client named One Gram who were based in Dubai. We were flown there and we began working with them for a while. It was from Dubai that we started our news publication Crypto Insider.

Our company name, 21 mil, stands for the number of bitcoins that will ever exist. The predicted date of this final ‘mining’ data is in the year 2140, so we’ve still got a few years to go.

What’s the most difficult thing about working online?

To be honest, one of the most difficult parts is simply the social aspect that usually goes alongside your work. Socialising with co-workers is something that I think would be nice. It might not seem like much, but those little conversations you have at the drinks machine or during lunch, they really add a sense of socialness to your day which you just don’t experience when you’re working from home.

Speaking of which, being at home can also be really distracting. You’ve got everything there. Your bed, the kitchen, movies, every distraction you could imagine. Plus there’s no ‘social pressure’ from a boss or other colleagues that’s forcing you to work.

Most of the time I try to work in coffee shops if possible. They’re often filled with other entrepreneurs which gives you the pressure to get your head down and do the work. Plus, it’s a great place to meet people too. During breaks you can chat with the others and there’s no better conversation starter than “are you working on something cool?”

Working while travelling isn’t always as glamorous as it sounds. Being on the move is a distraction, much more than working at home. In every new place you visit, you want to experience new places and meet new people. This really pulls you away from your work.

Plus, you don’t really have a social circle of friends while you’re travelling. Of course you meet people, but without a constant group of friends around you, it can be even more isolating at times than simply working from home.