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Education
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Travel

Top Tips On How To Be Pumped About Going Back To Work After A Vacation

Cover Photo by @lighttouchedphotography on Unsplash

When’s the last time you were pumped to get back to work after a vacation?

Most of the times, you’re either too comfortable to want to go back, or you exhausted yourself by cramming too much into a small vacation.

I’m just back from a small 4 days vacation in Mumbai, and let me tell you: I was pumped to get back to my productive activities!

It’s not that I didn’t enjoy my vacation, because I really did. But like everyone, I know how much it sucks to get back to work after being unproductive for a few days, weeks or months.

But I turned that over. I set myself up for wanting to come back without sacrificing quality time in a city I didn’t know.

Here are a few tips that worked for me to be pumped about going back to work after a vacation:

Tip #1: Disconnect From Work And Technology

This was, in part, my topic for yesterday’s story.

This is obviously not that easy, but if you can pull it off, it will help you want to get back to work. Truly disconnecting means not doing anything work-related.

No email checking, no calls, no social media. Nothing.

Don’t bring your work laptop. If it’s the same as your personal one, don’t turn it on unless it’s for researching things to do or book flights and accommodation.

Shut that phone off. Use it for the essentials only, like Google Maps and Translate.

Relax, get back to your hobbies. It’s your time, do things you want to do that doesn’t work towards your productive activities.

Tip #2: Plan Your Return On Your Last Day Off

This is critical.

Don’t go back to work not knowing what to expect. It’s the same principle as planning your day the night before. You’ll have clarity on what you need to do and you’ll be pumped to clear off that checklist the day of.

Be precise in your planning, and break your tasks in the smallest possible chunks.

I had 18 items to do just yesterday, most of which took between 10 and 30 minutes to do.

Everything was realistic.

Try not to schedule your hardest tasks on the day of your return. Or maybe not even in the first week. Give yourself a chance to be back.

I was pumped to accomplish the tasks on my list.

Now, I realize not everyone is in the same situation as me and have limited control over their work task, but if that’s your case, make sure to ask your superior what tasks they’re thinking of assigning you and try to negotiate with them.

Most bosses would be happy to help you get back to it.

Tip #3: Be Positive About It

“I hate Mondays” — Garfield

That’s the attitude you don’t want to have.

Do not tell yourself that coming back will suck. Even if you know it might. Think about the positive aspects of your work. Think about the things you like about your work.

  • Is it your colleagues?

  • Is it the work itself?

  • Is it the learning?

  • Is it the free snacks or lunches?

  • Is it the salary, or the benefits?

Whatever it is, capitalize on it.

If you struggle to find anything positive, well, maybe it’s worth considering other options? There are almost always other options.

Tip #4: Be Grateful

Some people don’t have the luxury of taking a vacation.

Too often, we take it for granted.

Be thankful for being granted vacation. Be thankful that your work made your vacation possible.

Some people can’t afford it. Both in terms of money and time.

When you stop taking your vacation time for granted, you start appreciating what made this vacation possible in the end: your work.

I traveled around the world for a year without working. I was in vacation mode for a year. It’s not as nice as it sounds.

Work gives you purpose. Be thankful for the opportunity to do something productive.

Tip #5: Exhaust Yourself, Just Enough

We’re creatures of comfort. It’s against our nature to do things out of our comfort zone.

When you take a vacation that’s too relaxing, you become too comfortable. It’s hard to break out of it and want to go back to doing productive things.

You definitely should relax on vacation, but make sure to spend some energy too. Spend energy on things you like to do. On things out of your comfort zone. Learn new things. Meet new people. Eat new foods. Let your imagination run wild.

But don’t overdo it!

Have you ever gotten back from vacation more exhausted than you were before?

Yeah, I’m sure you have. And you know it sucks.

Plan your most relaxing activities for the end of your vacation. That way you’ll have spent energy in the beginning, and won’t have time to get too comfortable before going back.

Tip #6: Change Your Mindset About Work

Everyone talks about work-life balance.

I reject that mindset. Work and life go together. There’s no balance.

Work is life. Take this definition of work for example:

“activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a result”

We all want to achieve results. The moment you start seeing work as a way to get things done and not about a paycheque, you’ll start to understand that work gives a meaning to life.

When you believe that you’re doing things that work towards your goals, you’ll stop thinking of work as a chore, but as a way to achieve your greatest ambitions in life.

Coming back to “work” then becomes coming back to achieving your goals.

And that is enticing and will get you pumped.

Conclusion

Going on vacation is great, no questions there. But coming back from it is not always easy.

Make sure to truly disconnect, be positive and grateful, exhaust yourself enough, change your mindset about work and plan your return before coming up.

That will pump you to be back to your productive activities.

You can do this!

Thanks for reading! :)

Resting Really Is A Crucial Part Of Your Success — Embrace It

Cover Photo by @heftiba on Unsplash

“I regularly take a vacation from all my productive activities.”

This sentence alone probably brings a lot of questions in your mind:

  • Maybe Danny doesn’t like his work?

  • Maybe Danny just can’t handle the pressure?

  • Maybe Danny is just a slacker?

  • Something else?

The truth is, I love what I do. Everything I do.

I’ve been coping surprisingly good with pressure considering the number of things I do all at once, like running Power Level Studios, writing on Medium, writing a book, working on two other startups, starting a podcast, etc.

And because of the above, you know I’m no slacker. On the opposite, I work so hard that to maintain a peak state of mind, resting is a necessity.

It’s like when you work out, the most productive thing you can do for gains is to rest in between to let the body recover.

Losing Momentum

Last month when I came back to Canada to do some paperwork and visit friends and family, I had lost my momentum. Seeing new groups of people every day and rushing to get paperwork done completely drained me mentally.

I had lost the hard-earned momentum I had built from the last 3 months in Spain.

I didn’t have to energy to wake up at my regular hour. I even skipped working out two or three days in the past 30 days. That was the thing I swore not to skip.

I hardly made any progress on Soul Reaper.

I stopped writing every day on Medium.

I fell behind on all my activities.

I’m sure this kind of lost momentum happened to you as well at some point.

In fact, even though I’m a highly self-disciplined and productive guy, I’d say to happens to me regularly.

It’s normal. Our high-stress environments are not meant to be lived at high pace every day, 365 days a year.

Because of that loss of peak state, I decided to rest for a few days when I arrived in Mumbai 4 days ago.

Resting

Sometimes, you just gotta rest.

“Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax.” — Mark Black

It’s not the first time I write about this subject, but it’s so true that I had to write about it again.

This morning is the day I returned to being productive again. I woke up at around 4am, my usual time. Part of it is jetlag (I landed in India 4 days ago), part of it is my wife being restless next to me, but the main part is: I’m excited to start my productive activities again.

Do you ever feel like that coming back from vacation?

I certainly did this morning. I also felt that way the last three or four vacations I’ve taken.

The biggest factor in my excitement to be productive again comes from having rested.

I’m talking about truly resting. A real vacation. A break from everything. No technology, unless necessary (like Maps or Translate).

I did not touch my computer at all until yesterday.

I forced myself not to think about work. I try to empower my team to be self-sufficient, so it’s easier to disconnect. I trust them.

And I think this is an important part of disconnecting. Prepare your colleagues before you go and trust in them. If you can do that, you’ll be able to free your mind.

During my vacation, I slept, napped, did light sightseeing, played video games, read, meditated and journaled.

Restoring Momentum

Obviously, I’ve just started my productive activities again an hour ago, so it’s a bit pretentious of me to even mention “momentum” at this point.

But I’ve been through that cycle multiple times now, and it worked every time.

The thing is, if you have truly rested during your vacation, you’ll have an incredible amount of energy you’ll need to spend.

Use this energy.

Get back to your most productive habits.

Listen to your body and mind. Don’t overdo it.

Little by little, and with perfect consistency, your momentum will be back. Just not right away.

And that’s normal. It takes me 2–3 weeks to reach my peak state.

Once you’ve earned your hard-earned momentum back, you’re on your path to “success” again.

Conclusion

When you’re feeling overwhelmed and can’t perform at your peak performance, it’s time you start thinking about resting.

You don’t need to go away or even take a few weeks off. A few days is usually enough to “recharge your batteries”, provided you really do switch off during your break. No technology, no work, nothing.

Relax, get back to your hobbies. It’s your time, do things you want to do that doesn’t work towards your productive activities.

When you’re rested, get back to your productive habits and be consistent with them.

So next time you feel overwhelmed, dare take a break and rest and rebuild your momentum.

You can do this!

Thanks for reading! :)

Thinking Of Volunteering Aboard? Read These Tried And True Tips

Cover Photo by me in Uganda

When my wife and I left Toronto to travel the world for a year, we didn’t want to just see sights and selfishly “take from the world”, we also wanted to give back, and we thought volunteering aboard was a good way to do it.

We ended up volunteering in Bangalore, Siem Reap and Busan during that trip, and in Uganda during a different trip.

Having done it only 4 times, I certainly don’t consider myself an expert on the subject, but I’ve been asked the same questions multiple times and I think it’s worth sharing to help anyone wishing to volunteer aboard.

The following questions come from Maeghan Smulders:

1) how did you pick what organizations to volunteer with / how did you find them?

You can find travel expos in most major cities in the world. The general purpose ones usually have a few booths for volunteering organizations. But there are also volunteering-specific expos, like the Go Global Expo in Canada.

That’s where we found a good match for us. We had two potential opportunities: one in Ghana and one in Bangalore.

As for choosing the organization, we looked into projects we could do together, the reputation and seriousness of the business, the reviews and the location. Prices were pretty much all the same.

We picked a location that was on our way and where we really wanted to go. In fact, we planned the first half of our travels based on the project we chose in Bangalore.

We were serious people looking for serious work. It wasn’t a checkbox for us. It wasn’t to put in our resume. Some organizations were more catered to less serious people. And I’m not judging here, but it’s just not what we were looking for.

For the projects in Siem Reap and Busan, we found them through workaway.info. It’s a great website for finding projects where you exchange your time for lodging and sometimes food. It’s a great way to help local business owners or families while you’re abroad.

I also want to point out that we’ve met travelers and know people who do volunteer work through their religious institution, so it’s worth checking out for some people. We haven’t done it ourselves though.

2) did you apply or pay fees to do so? Did you notice a difference in opportunities where you have to pay vs free?

For the Bangalore project mentioned above, we paid an organization a fee.

They took care of our lodging, airport pickup, security, etc. The owner also took us on weekend cultural trips quite frequently. Here’s one I took part of: Ancient Jain Temples. We had a terrific experience with them.

The Siem Reap, Busan and Uganda projects were free. In fact, we got free lodging and food in exchange for our work.

In Siem Reap, we helped the AngkorHUB co-working/co-living space. A place I went back to for 2 months 7 months ago.

In Busan, we helped at the LZone Cafe for conversation exchanges.

In Uganda, it was an organization my wife started volunteering for remotely when we came back to Canada: Sundara. It’s a USA-based company.

The difference between paid and non-paid seemed to be on support mainly. For people who are concerned about security and support, paid volunteer experiences are the way to go. For more adventurous and potentially more authentic volunteer experience, free is sometimes better.

We had incredible experiences both when we paid and when we didn’t pay.

3) the software projects you did — did you identify the problem and solution yourself? Or was it a request from one of the NGOs that needed help?

When volunteering abroad, it’s hard to find projects that require hard professional skills.

One, it’s hard to find people willing to do it for free, and two, it’s rarely something that can sustain itself when you’re gone.

I was never meant to do software-related tasks in the projects I volunteered for, yet I did do it at AngkorHUB and LZone Cafe. I went there doing what I was meant to do, saw they had needs and proposed solutions.

4) do you continue to maintain the projects you created?

Sustainability is a key concept of any good volunteer project. We always aim to do things that are sustainable.

My work in Bangalore was to support teachers of a skill development centre. I did give a class or two, but it was always meant to teach the teacher. That way, the teachers keep the knowledge and can teach it to all their future students.

My wife put up a hygiene education workshop with the help of a local Indian employee. She presents the workshop all around India now.

In Siem Reap, the owner is a software developer himself, so he maintained the project after.

In Busan, I think they ended up not using the software after I was gone. I had proposed to maintain it, but since I was coming back to North America right after, I couldn’t afford not to do it for money.

In Uganda, we helped raise funds to build a borehole well for a village that had no access to clean water. The fund also covers maintenance for 10 years. The village leaders were taught on how to do the maintenance of the well.

5) did you organize the volunteer opportunities before traveling? Or coordinate while on the road?

We organized the Bangalore project before leaving, same with the Uganda project after.

The Siem Reap project, we found it on the go, 2–3 weeks before going. We did a Skype interview with the owner while we were in Vietnam. That same week, we did a Skype interview for the project in Busan, which was a few months after.

Organizing it on the road is definitely feasible. It’s just that it might be harder to get access to travel expos.

LZone Cafe is always looking for volunteers.

Reaching Hand, the local organization we volunteered for in Bangalore, is also always looking for volunteers. They are an excellent organization and we are very happy to see them again while we’re there next month.

Conclusion

Travel expos are a great place to find volunteer experiences that provide better support and security, but for a fee.

Workaway.info is a great place to find authentic experiences to help locals in exchange for food and lodging.

Sustainability for volunteer projects is an important concept you should always consider. Projects that are not sustainable may hurt more than they help in the long run.

Organizing volunteer work while already abroad is definitely feasible, especially if you’re flexible in your travel plans. It’s also a great way to have an impact on locals while reducing your costs dramatically.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for reading! :)

We All Need Someone Who Truly Understands Us

Cover Photo by @theexplorerdad on Unsplash

I don’t live a conventional life by any means.

I’ve been with my wife for almost 14 years and we’ve been married for 6. It took us 7 years, 7 months and 7 days to get married. We got married after hopping on a helicopter in Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon with two friends.

We had decided on that option two months earlier, but got our rings the week before in San Francisco and we found our tux and gown two days before the wedding.

I don’t know how she agreed to that, but it makes for a good story.

We’ve been together for that long, yet we don’t have children or don’t own property. Or not anymore at least (the property part). We had bought a brand-new condominium in downtown Montreal when we were 21 and 23, which we sold for good profit a year after. We were still students at the time.

I did over 12 different jobs, starting when I was 8 years old. I’m a terrible employee. It’s not that my work ethics are bad, it’s just that I’m more of an entrepreneur. In fact, I’ve launched 5 companies, most of which “failed”.

Three years ago, my wife and I left to travel the world for a year. We both left our really nice job and gave all our belongings away. When we came back to Toronto after, we couldn’t stand having a “regular” life, so we left again a year later.

Audrey went to work for Doctors Without Borders and I switched to having a nomadic lifestyle.

Any of the above sounds normal to you?

And I’m not saying it’s good or bad. It’s just different.

But if you tried to be different yourself, I’m sure you’ve noticed how society has a way to cast away people who are different.

People have a hard time getting it when you’re different.

They judge. The reprimand. They lecture you.

They can’t accept that you’ve chosen a path that’s different than theirs.

And that last part is what gets me the most.

Why can’t people accept that we’re not all the same? And that’s for the better. For everyone.

Being Understood

Two evenings ago, Audrey and I went to dinner with her aunt, Hope.

We always love chatting her. Every time we chat with her, we feel so uplifted. She lives in a very different context than we do. She lives a more traditional way of life, yet she gets us.

She’s always happy for us. She shows interest and gives the right input on everything we say. She’s incredibly wise.

A lot of our family doesn’t get our lifestyle.

“No kids, no home, no stable job at our age? There’s something terribly wrong with you!”

But that’s not how Hope thinks.

She doesn’t have kids herself, but she’s got a home and a stable job. It doesn’t stop her from understanding us. She knows not everyone is the same.

She is one of the rare ones who truly understands us.

Conclusion

You see, it’s okay not to be understood by everyone, but you need at least one person who truly understands you.

The feeling you get when someone listens to you and understands you is so uplifting.

It gives you the courage to keep going. To work towards the change you want to make in life.

It gives you the power to accomplish your wildest dreams and aim higher.

It makes it okay to be different.

  • Are you different?

  • Who truly understands you?

  • Have you told them? Have you thanked them for it?

  • Who do you show your support to?

Being truly understood is important for anyone’s sanity and development. Think about that concept, and show support to the people you care about.

You can do this!

Thanks for reading! :)

You Are, Or Will Become, your Environment

Cover Photo by @rawpixel on Unsplash

In a series of stories, I wrote about how you are, or will become, what you read, what you listen to, and what you do.

In this story, I’m going a little deeper on the same theme.

A lot of the inspiration comes from my own experience living in completely different areas of the world in the last few years.

In the past 7 months alone, I’ve changed more than I’ve ever changed in my entire life. I have many theories on how specifically it happened, but for the most part: it boils down to my changes of environment.

If you are not in the right environment, hopefully, my story will inspire you to change it and make it work for you.

To be honest, It’s not something I had given much thought until I read Benjamin P. Hardy’s book: Willpower Doesn’t Work. So thank you for the inspiration, Benjamin!

Toronto — Earlier than 7 Months Ago

Back then, I was living a more normal life. I had a nice 9–5 software engineering job in a rapidly growing tech startup in Toronto. I had worked there for at least one full year.

I was living in a modest apartment with my wife in the downtown area.

I was doing good, but I wasn’t standing out from the crowd. I felt I had stronger ambitions, but my environment was not prone to making me what I wanted to be.

Cambodia — 7 Months Ago

My wife and I went separate ways due to her job with Doctors Without Borders.

We would not see each other for 6 months, with the exception of a week-long break in between.

I had to choose where I’d go.

I ended up going to Siem Reap, in Cambodia, helping a friend who owns a co-living/co-working space.

That was quite the change of environment!

There, I finally started working full-time on my own startup, a video game studio called Power Level Studios.

The most important part of the environment there was the people. Everyone was working hard on their own projects, which they cared deeply about. 9–5 was not a concept anymore.

I was so motivated that I was working 15 hours per day, 6–7 days per week. And it wasn’t even that hard.

I become such a high achiever and came up with my 3 new skills a month framework.

But outside of work hours, I would go out for dinner with friends every night. There’s no way I would do that in Toronto, that would be way too expensive! In Cambodia, I could eat a meal for $3. That was with a beer.

That environment was perfect for working hard, but also playing hard.

In the two months I was there, I had finally started working on my own dreams. I also made many new friends and became way more sociable.

I also somehow started looking like Conor McGregor haha.

Thailand — 5 Months Ago

After Cambodia, I went to travel with a friend to Thailand for about 3 weeks.

We met new people almost every day and I did things way outside my comfort zone, like rock climbing outdoors and surfing. I’m afraid of heights and of drowning. We also crashed Turkish tour groups and went to ping pong shows with them.

I was a way more fun person than I was when I was in Toronto. I had ditched the excessive video game playing or toying around with my phone. In fact, my phone is pretty much a brick now. I use it for Google Maps while traveling and that’s about it. Oh wait, it’s also my alarm clock and music player.

Spain — 4 Months Ago

After my vacation in Thailand, I went to Málaga, Spain, for 3 months.

When I arrived, the co-working space I wanted to join didn’t have any desk left for me, so I was working from my Airbnb.

Honestly, I was pretty depressed. My productivity went down to about 10–20% of what it was back in Cambodia. The weather was nice. I had access to mountains and beaches. It was really hard to stay home. Plus the Spaniards live quite a relaxed way of life when you compare to North America. And I’m not saying it’s positive or negative, just different.

Anyway, the co-working space finally had a desk ready for me after 10 days. BOOM! Productivity went back up to what it was back in Cambodia.

There, I managed to continue with my 3 new skills per month. I gained 5kg of mass in one month (while losing 2% body fat), hiked almost once a week, gave public speeches, learned good conversational Spanish, started a fitness group, earned a grant for Power Level Studios, grew the company to 8 people, started writing and became top writer in less than one month, and made a business partner out of another co-worker there.

Gone was my introversion too. I would approach everyone and have wide-ranging conversions about everything.

I had become someone so entirely different from what I was only 6 months before. I had become much closer to what I’ve always wanted to be.

Toronto — 1 Month Ago

My wife and I were reunited on Valentine’s day.

She had a hard time adjusting to what I had become. I was so different mentality, but physically too. I had gained a lot of muscles and started looking like a Viking because I was about to launch a Viking store (it’s still coming soon).

But it’s been only one month, and somehow I’m starting to get back to my other habits from before.

I’m less motivated. I play more video games. I work less. The only thing I do without fail is working out. I started writing once every 2–3 days instead of every day. My environment inspires me less here for some reason.

India — The Next 3 Months

In four days, my wife and I are flying to India. We’re going to be spending about 3 months in Bangalore. We found our apartment and our co-working space.

I’m excited to be in a similar routine as in Spain, but in a completely different environment. I have much to learn from India. Apart from Canada, Spain and Cambodia, it’s the country I had spent the most time in before, and I absolutely loved it.

I’m excited to see how my environment there will shape me. I have a feeling India will have a very positive impact on my life.

What About You?

Take a moment to think about your current and past environments. Ask yourself the questions below:

  • What environment are you in?

  • Are you satisfied with it?

  • Why is that?

  • What could be improved?

  • What could not be improved?

  • What is positive about it?

  • What is negative about it?

  • What would be your ideal environment?

  • How do you get there?

  • What are the major roadblocks?

  • How do you overcome them?

  • How long will it take you?

Conclusion

I never asked myself these questions before. As a result, I “wasted” years of my life where I wasn’t where I really wanted to be.

I changed my environment many times now. I can only agree with Benjamin’s theory on how environments have the biggest impact on how you can change/grow.

I know it’s not always easy to change your environment, but you don’t have to go to extreme lengths like I did.

Baby steps.

With each small change, you’ll be more motivated to change more things, until without even realizing it, you will be in the environment you always wished you were in.

You can do this!

Thanks for reading! :)

Traveling Long-Term Changes Your Life Forever — For Better Or Worse

Cover Photo by myself on dannyforest.com

Traveling Long-Term Changes Your Life Forever — For Better Or Worse

Three years ago, my wife and I “left” our jobs to travel the world for a year.

It was an amazing journey.

We saw the most impressive sights, ate the best food, had empowering volunteering experiences, but most of all, we met the most incredible people.

Lately, many people have come to us to ask for advice on long-term travel. So I decided I’ll share part of our story here.

When I said “left” our job, I meant we didn’t work for the year. We actually both negotiated a leave of absence.

So when we were “done” with our travels, we came back to Toronto. Back to our well-paid full-time jobs.

The Not-So-Glorious Return Home

It was painful.

We both liked our jobs. We both really enjoy Toronto. But it just wasn’t the same.

Most people didn’t give a damn about our journey. A lot of our friends were at a different point in their life. A lot of them just had kids. They had settled, we didn’t.

One of my brothers was completely avoiding me. To this day, I don’t even know why. Maybe he was jealous? Maybe he couldn’t handle our non-traditional way of life?

We were even kicked out from one of our family’s house because they could not handle the fact that we were helping people outside of our own country when, like any country, we also needed help.

Gone were the new amazing sights.

Gone was the deliciously cheap food.

Gone were the volunteering experiences (for me).

Gone were the incredible new acquaintances.

Coming back from traveling long-term is hard. I’m far from the first to write about that. Thankfully I was traveling with my wife, so we were in this together.

Whenever we could talk to other people who also traveled extensively, we did. It felt great to share experiences, but it was mostly great just to be understood by someone else.

Poverty And NGO Work

We were somewhat miserable coming back.

The biggest thing for us was that we saw so much poverty everywhere that every time we heard someone complaining about their first-world problems, it was hard for us to relate.

Audrey (my wife) started volunteering remotely for an NGO called Sundara almost as soon as we came back to Canada. That was her way of remaining connected to the world.

But it wasn’t enough.

That October, we went to Uganda to help with Sundara’s operations there. We had partnered with other NGOs there to provide them with water. Long story short, they had no access to clean water. People were dying from diseases and dehydration.

I helped bring awareness to the cause by taking photos (like the one above) and Audrey handled the operations and the outreach.

It was a life-changing experience.

The Turning Point

Then on November 11th 2016, we were sitting at the Foggy Dew Irish pub. We were talking about how we were not satisfied with our current situation in Toronto. At one point I told Audrey:

“Why don’t we just leave and travel again?”

That was our turning point.

We were so in agreement with this idea. Truthfully, I never thought she’d be up for it, but it turns out she needed that even more than I.

A few months later she applied for Doctors Without Borders. She got the job really fast.

In my case, I had applied for a competitive grant for Soul Reaper and got it. I could work from anywhere. My team was already remote, so it wasn’t even that big a change.

So with that, we left our jobs for real this time. We took a vacation in June and July 2017, and then we parted ways for her to do her first mission in Central African Republic, and for me to work as a digital nomad in Cambodia.

The Better

You will be more interesting

With all the places you’ll have seen, all the food you’ll have eaten, all the activities you’ll have done and all the different friends you’ll have made, you will have a repertoire of interesting stories to tell for years to come.

You will make new friends

The connections you make while traveling tend to be really strong. You share wonderful experiences that most people don’t get to live. When back home, you’ll occasionally meet like-minded people and the bonding will be that much easier.

You will have a deeper appreciation

A deeper appreciation for everything. When you see that people in other countries don’t have the things you take for granted, well, you don’t take them for granted anymore.

You will be more positive

When you are in new environments frequently, it’s stressful. You panic. You yell. You cry. Then you’re back and things feel so “easy”. You start thinking positive about every situation.

You will be more open-minded

You’ll have met people with all sorts of backgrounds. You’ll have eaten food you never even thought existed. Your prejudices will go away and you will start to appreciate everyone and everything for what they are.

The Worse

You will be less tolerant of meaningless problems

The so-called first-world problems become so hilarious at times. You’ll hear people complain about the most meaningless of things when you’re back home. Sometimes you’ll find it funny, but sometimes it will irritate you.

You will become really cheap

A lot of countries can be cheaper than home, depending on which country you’re from. When you’re used to paying little for meals, it’s hard to come back and pay 5–10x the price for less authentic meals. It’s the same for accommodation and other things.

You will lose connections

I mentioned that above. Your friends will have a different lifestyle. You won’t connect on the same level anymore. Striking a meaningful conversation becomes harder when you don’t have anything in common anymore.

You will annoy people

You will be interesting to some, but you’ll be annoying to others. You will be perceived as pretentious. You will be so excited about your wonderful journey that when you talk about it, people will think you speak in a superior tone.

If you watched The Big Bang Theory, it’s similar to when Howard came back from space.

You will not be understood

People will not have lived the things you have. A lot of your close family will not agree with your new lifestyle or ideas. This can be difficult.

Conclusion

Traveling long-term is an amazing way of life, but is not without its downsides.

Your journey will have its ups and downs.

It will shape the person you are and will be for the years to come.

It will change your life, sometimes for the better or sometimes for the worse.

Ultimately, once you go past the bad, nothing beats the good you get out of it in my opinion.

Are you considering a similar path?

Are you ready for the most amazing ride of your life?

You can do this!

Thanks for reading! :)

Is The Nomadic Lifestyle What Its Cracked Up To Be?

Cover Photo by Chris McClave on Pexels

Working by the beaches, in the jungle, on top of a mountain, in exotic locations.

That all sounds amazing.

We’ve all seen the cool Instagram pictures of the so-called digital nomads. They seem to live the perfect life.

I’ve been a nomad since June of last year. Before that, I had left Canada to travel for 1 year. This is what triggered my interest in officially becoming a nomad.

It’s definitely a cool lifestyle. I would not have it any other way right now.

But it comes at the cost of a few sacrifices, some harder than others.

You Will Lose Friends

You will create a lot of new memories abroad that you won’t share with your old friends.

Some friends are open to that, but others will not understand what you’re going through.

Your friends back home will have moved on. They will get married and have kids. You’ll miss a lot of these moments.

You Will Miss The People Back Home

After you’re done doing amazing things for the day or night, you’ll start thinking about people back home.

You’ll think about the things you’ll miss by not being there.

You’ll think about the little things you enjoyed about the people you liked.

You will wish that sometimes, it would be nice to just warp back home for a day or two.

Working By The Beach Suck

It’s uncomfortable, it’s sandy, you don’t see anything on your screen, you are sweaty, etc.

Working by the beach just isn’t as nice as it sounds.

The traditional work-from-a-desk approach is just very hard to beat.

You Won’t Have Time To Establish A Productive Routine

A lot of nomads move around too much. I’ve been there, but mostly when I was traveling for fun. I used to like the idea of working from a new place every 7–30 days.

The reality is that it’s just too fast.

What I’ve come to realize from my experience in Cambodia and Spain is that staying in the place for longer is far superior work-wise than staying only a few days at a time.

But then again, it’s not all bad. As I said, I would not change that lifestyle for anything.

In fact, I’m leaving for India on March 14th. I don’t know how long I’ll stay there for. I’m guessing 3 months, but we’ll see how things go.

There are many good reasons to be a nomad too. Just using the bad parts from above, we can shift that around for the positive:

You Will Make Stronger Connections

The people you will meet on the road will have a similar mindset to you. In a short amount of time, you’ll make more friends than you ever did back home. And these friends understand what you’re going through.

And for the friends you had back home, those who choose to stick with you will become stronger friends than ever before.

You Will Not Miss People Back Home That Much

When you leave for a long time and come back, people are happy to see you, but it ends there.

Rare are the people who are genuinely interested in what you did. In fact, a lot of your friends and family will not even ask a single question about your adventures.

And every time you go back, you’ll notice that you’ll miss these people less and less.

Going To The Beach Rocks

We’ve established that working by the beach sucks, … but going to it definitely rocks!

In Spain, I’ve had a lot of creative bursts just taking a short break and going to to the beach to enjoy the sun, the waves, the vibe.

Relaxing by the beach is a great way to meditate and clear your mind.

You Can Establish Productive Routines

I was most productive in my entire life when I stayed in Cambodia for 2 months and Spain for 3 months.

I’ve developed really powerful routines, some of which I’ve shared on my blog.

Working from co-working spaces and being around like-minded people really helped me at least triple my productivity.

I’m currently visiting family and I have to admit really missing my routine. I can’t wait to settle for a bit in India and find a new place to work from for a 2–3 months period of time.

Conclusion

There’s no right or wrong here.

A nomadic lifestyle is great for some people.

It’s great depending on circumstances.

It’s great when you’re ready for it.

Like all good things, you have to make sacrifices to get the best it.

  • You’ll lose friends, but you’ll make new ones.

  • You’ll miss home, but not always.

  • You’ll enjoy the beach, but not work from it.

  • You’ll build productive routines, but only if you stay longer.

What about you?

Are you a digital nomad?

Are you considering the lifestyle?

Have you done it before?

Are you still doing it?

What do/did you like/dislike?

Thanks for reading! :)

Everyone Seriously Should Visit Canada In Winter

Cover Photo by Owen Farmer on Unsplash

It’s 7pm, just 4 hours after my plane landed in Montreal. I just came back from an hour-long walk outside, in the dreadful Canadian cold.

Before coming back inside my hotel, I touched my beard, as bearded dudes do for no reason. It was covered in ice. And it’s not even that cold today. I think it’s -8 degrees Celcius.

Trust me, for February in Canada, that’s warm. Like… t-shirt weather!

I came inside and immediately the ice melted and I was wet like a dog. And I hadn’t showered for about 24 hours, so I probably smelled like one too. If there had been people around when I walked, I’m sure they would have spared a coin thinking I was a homeless person.

Anyway, I had to dry my beard with a towel.

This is kind of a shock to me. I’ve been away from Canada for a while so this is not normal for me anymore.

I don’t know where you’re reading this from, but I know this is not normal for a lot of people out there too.

I’ve traveled to many countries over the last 3 years, and I’ve never seen anything else like a Canadian winter.

Twelve hours ago, I was in a dorm room in an apartment in Málaga. It was 17 or 18 degrees. Fast-forward to 12 later and I was looking down by the window from the airplane.

All I saw was white. White everywhere! And it wasn’t even snowing, it’s just that it snowed a lot this winter apparently.

Gone were the palm trees, the beaches and the mountains.

I had to face reality.

The truth is, I didn’t want to come back. I was scared of the Canadian winter. Everyone is, outside of Canada.

I was afraid of the -30 degrees. The slippery roads. The prices.

But I had things to look forward to. Like seeing my family, my friends, and most importantly, my wife. Long story short, because of her work, we haven’t seen each other for 6 months. Kind of. She had a week off in between so we were together during that time.

But to my surprise, I actually enjoy it right now.

Canada is cozy.

Canada is different. Even the language is different, at least in Québec.

In my flight from Málaga to Montréal, most people spoke French. Yet, if you’re not used to the accent, you seriously doubt that it’s French they’re speaking.

It’s my native language yet I’m always taken aback when I hear it. I spoke Spanish and English for the past 3 months. When I travel, I mostly speak English. If I meet French people abroad, I tone down my accent so they understand me. And that my friends, is fucking exhausting. It’s much easier for me to speak English then fake a French accent I don’t have.

Truth be told, some of my new French friends don’t even know I speak French. It’s too much effort making them understand me so I speak English. Shame on me.

When you arrive at the airport, you hear music in Quebecois. You get in a taxi and you hear music in Quebecois. People listen to music from here.

Where else do you see such cultural identity. Everywhere in the world they just play top American music. Or reggaeton in Spain.

When you stay in your country for so long, you don’t realize the things that make it different, the things that make it worth visiting for an outsider.

People are scared of the Canadian winter, but man, it’s the best time to come. It will shock you. You’ll be born again. You’ll have experienced one of the harshest winters in the world, yet you’ll realize it’s not even that bad.

There are so many cool things to do in winter here.

Have you heard of snowshoeing? It’s awesome.

  • Dogsled?

  • Ski-doo?

  • Ice fishing?

  • Sugar Shack?

And the food too. Though not directly related to winter, have you heard of:

  • poutine?

  • smoked meat?

  • paté chinois?

And that, for sure you heard, but we’ve got Maple Syrup. Like a shit-ton of it in winter! It’s the main reason to go to the sugar shack I mentioned above.

Oh, and we give out free water at restaurants. Just saying.

But I confess, the reason I was walking for an hour was not to experience the cold, it really was just to find the nearest poutine place… not joking…

But in doing so I realized if you’re not from a Nordic country, but even then, there are tons of reasons to come to Canada, and especially in winter. It brought me back to my roots and suddenly feel proud of it.

So there you have it folks. Come to Canada before winter ends!

Author’s Note

Hey guys, I know this is a different style of story than usual, but I hope you still enjoyed it.

The lessons here are:

  1. dare go outside your comfort zone, and

  2. appreciate what you have.

Thanks for reading! :)

Stop Doing What You Can, Start Doing What You Want

Cover Photo Credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/sbjVthVW2X8

How many things have you done in life simply because you could?

Now how many things have you done in life that you really wanted to do?

I bet you did more things that you could than things that you wanted. Maybe it started as a “want”, but ended up as a “can”.

“Just because you can? Nah, it’s not a good enough reason to do something. Even when it means having more, be discerning, choose it, because you want it, do it because you want to.” — Matthew McConaughey

The Turning Point For Me

Up to a little over two years ago, I was following a more traditional way of life.

I had a “9–5” job that I was good at and liked. But even though it was “9–5”, I was tired after work. I didn’t want to do anything. I would play video games mostly. I called this research, because that’s what I do for a living.

Programming for me is something I do well. I can do it. I enjoy it too, but back then I didn’t do it for projects I was passionate about.

Now, what I really wanted to do was just leave everything behind and travel with my wife, without worrying about making money.

A few months after discussing it, we did it: we traveled around the world.

For a full year, it was all about doing what I wanted, not what I could. I wanted to:

  • Experience India;

  • Go to wedding celebrations in other cultures;

  • Meet inspiring locals all around the world;

  • Finish building a video game I had started on my own;

  • Do volunteer work globally;

  • and more.

Since then, I try everything I want to do. Climbing — done. Surfing — done. Taking photo professionally — done. Writing — done. Make my own games — done. Live as a nomad — done.

It doesn’t mean I don’t do things I can anymore. It just means I do a whole lot more things I want to do.

Why Is It Better?

I’m more passionate and motivated for it. I’m 10x more productive because I work on things I want to work on, wherever and whenever I want to.

I’m more “successful” because I achieve so much more than if I did something I didn’t want to do. Waking up at 5:45am is not even difficult anymore. I look at the time not because I’m bored, but because I dread that the day will end and I will not have done enough. But then again, I don’t have time to look at the time, because I’m busy doing things I like.

What If I Can’t Do What I Want?

Who says you can’t? Time? Responsibilities? Others?

You can always make time. Change priorities. Wake up earlier. Change your environment. Reduce your commute time.

Responsibilities are trickier, but you don’t have to do EVERYTHING you want. Gradually increase them with the little things. Be clever. Think outside the box and you’ll figure out how to do things you want while still taking care or your responsibilities.

As for others, unless you consider them mentors, don’t listen to them. Just do it. You’ll lose friends, but you’ll make new better ones. Sounds terrible I know, but it’s a price to pay to have a better quality of life.

Conclusion

Write down the list of things you do because you can.

Now write down the list of things you do because you want.

What’s the ratio?

How do you turn that around?

Be daring enough to do what you want.

You can do this!

Thanks for reading! :)

Tried and True: 7 tips on staying motivated and productive

I’ve been working on Soul Reaper on and off for more than 2 years. It’s a lot of time working on the same project without having released anything yet. For most people, it would be hard to find the motivation to still work on the project on a day to day basis.

For me, it’s as easy as it’s ever been! I wake up at 6am every morning and work until 7 or 8pm, 6 – 7 days per week. I’m super motivated and highly productive, and so can you be with these tips!

Tip #1: Split Tasks into their smallest components

Here’s a task I had as a Trello card: “Menu for organizing team”. Seems kinda small right? But this task can take 1 to 7 days to complete, or more. Where do you start? When does it end? What is the menu about? How does it work? This is too big a task! You can easily break it down into more manageable parts. Here’s how I broke it down:

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As proven by science and explained in this article, the brain dumps a little dopamine every time we successfully accomplish a task — no matter how big or small.

This habit also has a tendency of keeping you moving toward your goals, and clearing the mental clutter in your mind. — TheMindUnleashed.com

Tip #2: Start the day with one or two easy tasks

You might find this tip less frequently from other articles, but it works great for me. Even though I consider myself to be highly motivated, I still need a “win” or two to start my day. After completing easy tasks, I have the motivation and energy to tackle the real hard problems.

I typically start with an easy bug fix or small UI change that can be done in 10 minutes or less. Pushing the code up and moving the Trello card to “Done” gives me the drive to keep going.

Tip #3: Work on your hardest tasks when you work best

For me, it happens in the morning, right after I finish my one or two easy tasks. I start so early that I don’t have any distractions for about 2 hours, and I have all the energy from having woken up not too long ago + coffee + dopamine rush from previously completing tasks. It’s a recipe for success!

Hard tasks for me include game design/balancing and engineering new systems. Things that require all my brain power. It will be something different for you.

The point is: Don’t spend your high-quality energy on low-importance tasks, otherwise you’ll end up with high-quality results for low-importance tasks.

Always aim for high-quality results for high-importance tasks. It’s that simple!

Tip #4: Prepare your next day the night before

This greatly helps with waking up in the morning! At the end of my work day, I write down all the tasks I’ll be working on for the next day and review it before going to bed. This helps me wake up with a sense of purpose. I know what needs to be done, and I want to do it!

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As a bonus, my brain keeps working while I sleep, so sometimes I come up with genius ideas on how to complete my tasks while I sleep! Everyone has heard the expression: “sleep on it”. Well, there you go! It’s been proven many times that it helps and here’s an explanation:

REM [sleep] helps to stabilize, consolidate, and enhance connections between memories. Information that was stored in long-term memory during the day is activated (also called rehearsed) and turned into useful connections while we experience REM sleep. — factmyth.com

Tip #5: Take breaks and relax

Have you ever worked on a problem you couldn’t figure out for hours, and later went back to it and solved it in a matter of minutes? Often right?

The problem is we obsess over problems we can’t solve. We spend the little energy we have left trying to figure it out, but the mind just doesn’t work as it should. Take a damn break! It’s a skill that takes practice: figure out when and how to take breaks. Don’t do it on a schedule, that makes no sense. Take a break when you can’t solve a problem that you should be able to solve with minimal to low-effort.

Here are my favourite ways to resource my brain power:

  • Power Nap: My personal favourite. Sleep on your chair, a couch, a bed, a bean-bag, anything really. If you really are mentally tired, you should fall asleep in between 5–15 minutes. And even if you don’t fall asleep, the rest from trying still helps. I always set an alarm for 25 minutes. 10–15 minutes to fall asleep (for me) and 10–15 minutes of sleeping. After practicing for a while, I rarely wake up to the alarm; I usually wake up a few seconds before the alarm goes off. It takes another 10–15 minutes to be fully energized, so you might want to tackle an easy task first before jumping back to the hard task.

  • Coffee Nap: One step more hardcore than the power nap. A coffee nap is when you chug a coffee before a power nap. The effects of the caffeine take about 20 minutes to kick in. Just in time for your nap to finish! When done right, I find this technique to be the most efficient. I’m immediately refreshed right after the nap, but the problem is that I have a harder time sleeping at night, so I don’t use it that often.

  • Take walks: Another favourite of mine. I go out, put some uplifting music in my ears and just stroll around for 15–60 minutes. I think about nothing important, like what I going to do for dinner and other mindless thoughts. Near the end of my walk though, I try to transition to thinking about the task I was working on before the break. This helps me be ready for when I’m at my desk again.

  • Take “thinking” showers: I don’t know about you, but I’ve had most of my most brilliant ideas while showering or walking. “Since [showering] do[es]n’t require much thought, you flip to autopilot. This frees up your unconscious to work on something else. Your mind goes wandering, leaving your brain to quietly play a no-holds-barred game of free association”. More explanation here: http://mentalfloss.com/article/52586/why-do-our-best-ideas-come-us-shower.

  • Entertain myself: This one doesn’t work as well for me, but I know it works for other people. If I do entertain myself, I play on my Nintendo Switch, watch an episode of a TV show on Netflix or read a chapter of a book.

Bonus tip: Ignore the people judging you for taking a well-deserved break.

People may label you as a slacker but they’re wrong. Ignore them, reap the rewards and be more productive than them!

Tip #6: Remember the ultimate goal

When you work for two years on the same project, it’s hard to see the big picture. I look at my Trello board and all I see is a mindless list of “micro” tasks, leading to something… but what?

For motivation and sanity’s sake: you need to visualize the end result. Every day. Ideally at all times really.

What can you see on Elon Musk’s desk? A miniature model of a rocket, amongst other things. Subconsciously, it keeps reminding him of the big picture: “Traveling to Mars”.

Me? I carry around a paper foldable version of Soul Reaper. It reminds me how much I want to play the final game.

Created by the talented Bryan: https://www.instagram.com/paperfoldables/

Created by the talented Bryan: https://www.instagram.com/paperfoldables/

Tip #7: Every day, surround yourself with like-minded, highly motivated, individuals

I saved the most important tip for last. In my experience at least.

If you work in an office with your co-workers, you might have that one taken care of already, but not necessarily, especially in larger corporations. Sure, everyone is working towards the same goal, but they might not be highly motivated. Working with people who hate their job is poisonous. They drag everyone down. If you have colleagues like that, hang out with the others who are motivated and it will uplift you.

The Power Level Studio team is fully remote. Most live in Toronto, but we don’t physically work together. I tried working from home, with bad to good results. As with any habit, it gets easier with time.

But back in August, everything changed. My productivity levels increased 10x.That’s when I started working 80+ hours per week while not even being exhausted and having enough time to hang out with friends regularly, watch Netflix, play video games, read, learn 3 new skills per month and start side businesses.

How did I manage that?

I found a great co-working/co-living space in Siem Reap, Cambodia. It’s called AngkorHub. Here’s a photo of my friends and I at the family-style lunch table:

For those who don’t know me personally, I’m the bearded dude with the Hurley shirt on the left. Photo credit: https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ3y6XFBHHH/?taken-by=angkorhub

For those who don’t know me personally, I’m the bearded dude with the Hurley shirt on the left. Photo credit: https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ3y6XFBHHH/?taken-by=angkorhub

Firstly, I lived above the coworking space, reducing my commute time to 30 seconds. Leaving me with probably 1–2 hours more than most in a single day.

Secondly, everyone working there are highly motivated people working on things they care about. We shared stories and motivated each other every lunch time over the communal table, where a cook would prepare food for everyone (for a very low price). In addition to being a much-needed social moment, it allowed me to save time (and money) by not having to cook or find food outside. I’m estimating 1 hour saved here on average.

Thirdly, by living at the co-working space with other people, I surround myself with like-minded people I quickly called friends. Every night, after our crazy 12+ hour days, we would go out to eat at the restaurant. It’s a really nice and much needed break.

So if you count 16 hours awake, 12 went to work (with lunch in between) and 1–2 for dinner out, 30 minutes max for the essentials (like showering) and the rest is free. If we round up, that means I had at least 1 hour of free, alone time, where I would play games, watch Netflix or start side businesses. Not too bad!

After AngkorHub, I went to Thailand and then Spain, working from my Airbnb rooms. My productivity tanked. It was terrible. Thankfully I found another awesome coworking space in Málaga called The Living Room. Here’s a photo of a few of us hanging out after work:

I travelled all over the world and tried many different co-working spaces, and AngkorHub, The Living Room and Networks were the best for me. It came down to two reasons: The owner(s)/managers and the social life. That’s it. Everywhere, Wifi is always good. Seats are always comfortable. Desks are always clean. Coffee is always available. The owners and the community is unique and make all the difference.

What do you think?

Have you tried any of the tips above? Did they work for you? Do you have other great tips? Any other questions, comments or suggestions?

Story #1: The life of a nomadic indie (console) game developer

TL;DR I left a well-paid job in Toronto to roam the world while making an ambitious console game: Soul Reaper. It’s dumb but I would not have it any other way.

On June 1st (2017), I left my well-paid software engineering job in Toronto to focus on two of my biggest passions: traveling and building video games. “Dumb move” some might say and they would mostly be right.

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I don’t consider myself to be a good employee. It’s not that I don’t work well, it’s just that when you’re an entrepreneur at heart, you have the desire to create something bigger than yourself for a group of people you care about, and when you work for someone else, it’s hard to make that happen. For me, creating a super ambitious game for gamers like me who miss the way games were made back in the SNES and Playstation days is what I care about, and it’s definitely bigger than myself!

Now, I did say it was a dumb move. After all, until I release a game, I’m not getting paid. And I even pay people to do art for the game. Thankfully I was awarded a grant by the Ontario Media Development Corporation to work on Soul Reaper. But that money is not nearly enough and doesn’t pay for myself. Dumb indeed!

Traveling to save money

Good Nomad Cities

Good Nomad Cities

Now, that’s where traveling comes in play. For a lot of people, traveling is considered an expensive hobby. But it doesn’t have to be that way! Traveling is expensive when you’re moving a lot, pay for visas and expect comfort. The key is to find cheap visa-free countries that are comfortable enough and have great wifi. I traveled around the world from June 2015 to May 2016 and experienced amazing places to work from. Thailand (Chiang Mai and Bangkok) is very high on the list of great places. Cambodia (Siem Reap), Croatia (Zagreb) and Spain are also places I’m strongly considering in the near future. I’m sure other digital nomads have found other great spots as well. In Chiang Mai, I can live for $406 CAD / month with everything included including great wifi. And I’m sure there’s cheaper places. And there’s an awesome community of digital nomads there and is very comfortable. In Toronto, my rent was $1850 CAD, not counting utilities like electricity and internet. Oh, and I can eat for $2 CAD for an incredible dinner (it would be over $15 CAD in Canada)! So money-wise, being a nomad is pretty much the only way I can imagine being able to pull it off with limited budget.

Building for consoles while on the go

Soul Reaper is aimed to be released on consoles during Q4 2018. How do I heck am I building a console game with limited luggage space? It also doesn’t help that I’m an hobbyist photographer with camera equipment!

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Nintendo to the rescue!

In October 2016, Nintendo unveiled their next generation of consoles and they called it the Nintendo Switch. It was released on March 3rd, 2017. It changed everything… for the most part! As you may know, the Nintendo Switch is a hybrid console/portable gaming system. You can hook it to a HDTV or play on the go like you would with a Nintendo 3DS or PS Vita. And it works incredibly well! It’s as if it was built for me; as a gamer and developer. Plus they support the engine Soul Reaper is built on: Unity3D. Needless to say, I purchased a Switch and carry it with me everywhere. I’m currently carrying the dock and play on TV when my Airbnbs has one, but otherwise I play in my hands. And for those who haven’t held or seen one, it’s really thin and light! It takes up about 20% of one compartment of my bag. It would take less than 10% if I didn’t carry the dock and cables.

PS4 development

Soul Reaper was first designed to be released on a Playstation console (PS4). I don’t want to change that. I’m carrying with me my PS4 controller and only playtest the game using it. Carrying a PS4 is obviously out of the question since it’s too heavy and would take pretty much 100% of my luggage space! But it’s easy enough to test the game at 1080p from the computer or by hooking a monitor up. I just can’t test the PS-only features, of which there are none yet. We’ll see what I’ll do then.

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