7 habits every nomad needs

7 Habbits that make your nomad life easier, more productive, healthier and happier

Why not start some easy habits that facilitate your nomad life, while making you healthier and happier?

Looking back at 2019 I realized I changed my habits completely. One habit at a time.

Now, I am happy again! Feel great. Balanced. Inspired. More productive and in peace with myself. And less stressed when travelling.

So I thought I share these habits with you. And maybe you can integrate one or two into your nomadic life to be fit, productive, happy and healthy. Let me know what you think. What habits work great for you in your nomad life?

Establish a morning routine to free up your mind

No worries. It doesn´t include getting up at 5 am (even though I heard it can be a game changer).

Getting a morning routine is not so much about when and what but more about having a routine at all.

Travelling constantly makes it hard to have a routine. Believe me I know.

Different time and climate zones, travel days vs. working days.

When house sitting having the pets´routine can make it even more complicated. But can also help you to stick to a routine.

Most of us live nomadic to escape routines and be free. But we are humans. And we need some routine to be happy. Habits automate our life, make us feel safe and free up our time and minds for the important stuff in life.

More time to plan travels, more time to be creative, more brain power for work projects, more productive! Having a morning routine frees up your mind for the day. So get a morning routine! And why not include some healthy habbits while you are on it?

My new morning routine starts with having a glass of water to rehydrate my body, also helps with digestion. After, I brush my teeth with my left hand to get my brain working. Teaching your brain a new skill first thing in the morning is firing it up! If we housesit, I walk the dogs. After I make myself Green Tea, shower (to keep the energy after yoga) and do yoga (just started 6days ago, so the yoga is not a routine YET but I am working on it). Full of energy I work til 1pm, which is when I usually have my “breakfast”. Why one 1pm? Because I do Intermittent Fasting. 🙂

Intermittent Fasting to free up time and energy and heal your body

Intermittent Fasting is perfect for any nomad.

Doesn´t tell you what but rather when to eat respectively when not to eat.

Only thinking about two meals a day makes travelling a whole lot easier!

And saves you so much time (and money).

We did a 24hours to 46hours fast on our roadtrips (skipping all the fast food on the road and saving money while cleaning our bodies). But usually I do the daily 16/8 up to 18/6 version (not eating for 16/18hours) fast.

With Intermittent fasting I actually only think about one meal a day, which is dinner. Because for “breakfast” (“breaking the fasting period”) around 1pm I always have oatmeal. So don´t have to think a lot about what to buy etc.

Oatmeal is maybe not ideal for everyone. But for me it´s the easiest option. For one I have acne and other health issues, so I put everything my body/skin needs in my oatmeal (blueberries, cinnamon, nuts, honey, apple, banana…).

Also, oatmeal for breakfast is a food you can get nearly in any country. You can have it cold or warm (complies with Chinese Traditional rules, warm and no dairy etc.). It´s also cheap (depending on what you put in). You can mix it with whatever you like, keeping it varied. And it doesn´t require a whole kitchen to prepare it. When on the road you can get it in restaurants serving breakfast, in many coffee shops and in the US even at gas stations.

In your 6-8 hours window you are free to snack whatever you like. The important thing is to have a no-food window of ideally 16 to 18hours where your body can heal, detox and boosting your productivity.

So my second meal is usually in the early evening depending on where we are, if we travel, if we just had a time difference, etc. Others do a 9 or 10 am breakfast and a late lunch at 4pm. Whatever works best for you!

After dinner I sometimes snack but only til 8/9pm so I keep the 17hours window til breakfast next day. Of course I am sometimes off an hour or two but that´s good. Listen to your body. Especially for us women our cyclus has a big influence on how long we can fast each day.

Btw, Intermittent fasting is also supposed to be great for loosing weight, especially around the belly. So yeah!! Making life easier and getting rid of the Holiday´s extra weight. Plus it helps to focus and boost productivity! Everyone can us that, right?

Drink Green Tea (and lots of water)

Hyped a lot but for a reason!

Green tea has so many health benefits and is one of the few things allowed in your fasting period. It´s amazing!

Green Tea contains caffeine, helping you stay awake without being so jittery.

Green Tea is also allowed in the fasting period (no sugar or other add-ons).

Green tea even lowers your appetite and increasing the fasting effect. So win-win-win!

Besides being rich in antioxidants (protecting your cells, making your skin look young and such), green tea can help loosing weight. But for travellers and nomads most importantly green tea is alkaline. So drinking green tea (instead of coffee) helps balancing out all the acidic food and drinks we take in every day. Especially when travelling a lot (and on a budget) eating healthy can be a challenge (especially in the US).

Reducing inflammation in your body, fighting headaches, migraine, shoulder pain, acne, you name it. Green tea is an allrounder. Three cups a day is good. Drinking enough water (and limit alcohol) also helps. 😉

I always have some green tea bags with me. Where ever I go. Most coffee shops already offer green tea. But even if they don´t. I take my reusable cup and my green tea and ask for hot water (sometimes you need to pay, sometimes you don´t). At gas stations, welcome centers, some supermarkets, Airbnbs, on flights, in Hotels/Motels.

Exercise & stretch daily to stay healthy and happy

Much easier when staying in one place for longer and when housesitting. Because sitting dogs includes walking them daily, usually two times a day. So it makes you to stay active.

However, exercising daily is also possible and necessary when travelling. No matter what way you travel. Habit of exercising or walking daily seems so basic but with all going on, we often forget it.

You don´t need to run or go to the gym. Walking 30min, ideal 60min, a day is already health beneficial. Helps you to focus and increases your mental and emotional well-being. Releasing endorphins, energy and thus increasing productivity and creativity. Both so important as a nomad.

If you are feeling down sometimes, overwhelmed or stressed out taking the time to just walk 30min can do wonder. It can be difficult to start and sometimes we forget, so remind yourself with an alarm, a habbit tracker or whatever you like.

Usually on traveldays, and most often the day before, I don´t have or don´t take the time to exercise (working on that this year). So I try to at least stretch. I get up on the air plane or on the train and do my stretches. Commonly for me travel days are typically the days when my whole upper body is tight and when I get a headache or even migraine.

Classic example. Last month I flew to New Orleans for a housesitting gig very early. Had to get up at 4am, took the flight at 7am from Orlando and arrived at New Orleans at 8am. 3pm in the afternoon. Boom. Migraine. So bad I couldn´t even attend dinner with the host family.

So stretching is solution for the days you can´t do 30min walking or exercising. Also good and necessary on roadtrips.

Roadrips can be triggy as well. You sit a lot and don´t move as much. So stretch when stopping for gas or food. Plan some longer breaks for walking a bit. At a rest area, walking around in a small town on the way or stop for a little hike in the woods, by the beach… You can also do stretches for the upper body in the car. So no excuses. Don´t forget you do it for yourself. To be able to enjoy your travels.

Keep a journal as your best friend, always on your side

If you read some of my others stuff, you know how I feel about Journals. I love them! They changed my (nomad) life!

A journal is your best friend on the road. Always listening! Always understanding! Making you not feeling so alone along your (nomadic) journey.

My first journal was a travel journal for my backpacking journeys in New Zealand and Australia. My second one also a travel journey (for Thailand). Keeping all the memories I´d otherwise have forgotten. And now I finally have a personal journal! Where I put in everything. Writing things down help me to reflect and to understand the world and myself. Where I am and where I wanna go.

So to all of you who struggle in life, nomad or not, buy a book with empty pages and fill them!

With your adventures, anxieties, learnings, thoughts, ideas, struggles, to-do or to-see lists, whatever you like. That´s the beauty of a journal. You decide what to put in.

5 Min Quiet time for more (self-)awareness

Don´t forget why you chose a nomad life. For freedom. Freedom to disconnect. To have time to enjoy the moment and be present.

When travelling (and housesitting) full-time, building a business (on the road), networking, exploring, doing all the things that come with a nomadic lifestyle we sometimes forget to breath. To appreciate.

But we shouldn´t just passing through. But rather acknowledging where we are. And taking in all the little details a new place has to offer and its people. So take 5 minutes a day to do exactly that. Appreciating. Being present. It´s one important step to be happy. And works well as an evening ritual.

Maybe even start meditating. It has so many health benefits for body, mind and soul. Clearing up your mind.

Establish a bedtime ritual to sleep better where ever you are

On the road, when travelling or when having a lot going on (which is always in a nomadic life, right?), a good night sleep can be a challenge, but is so important. Even more in a nomadic life.

As a housesitter I sleep on average every two weeks in a different bed. In a different home. Sometimes having cats or dogs sleeping in the bedroom or even in the bed with me. At some places it´s cold, at others way too hot. Sometimes I can´t open the window (yes I like to sleep with my window open, even in a real winter), other times I don´t want to (too loud or hot). And don´t get me started on mattresses and pillows, motels, hotels, Airbnbs, Airplanes, Airports (yes did that once in Moscow), night trains, buses, night ferries (one of a lifetime experience sleeping with a stomach bug and seasickness on the floor of a night ferry somewhere in Thailand).

My point, a sleeping experience will be different where ever you travel. Add climates and time-zones, etc. and having a good-night sleep or sleeping at all can become a nightmare.

And as a nomad you need your sleep. You need and want to be fit the next day. Be it to get work done or to go out and explore. Which is why having bedtime ritual is crucial. It prepares you and your body for sleep wherever you are.

Clean your face. Brush your teeth. Listen to music, a podcast or an audiobook. Have a cup of tea (make sure its decaffeinated). Meditate. Do yoga. Journal.

Do whatever you like or need. Just make sure it develops into a routine and that you put all devices away at least an hour before going to sleep. Happy sleeping!

"The struggle is real"

It may seems a lot. But these are seven habits that helped me become happy again. They also helped me to focus on my goals and this blog again!

Check out my blogpost “How to achieve your goals and become happy” for tips to achieve your goals!

And as you can see these habits are not difficult. But they take time, devotion and work.

Take one habit at a time and make it work. So you can enjoy your nomadic life to the fullest, while being healthy, productive and creative!

I hope you enjoyed reading this post and maybe even integrate some of the habits in your life.

As always, sharing is caring! So go ahead and share away to help others be the best version of themselves and live a healthier and happier nomad life.

Thank you for reading! I am always curious how you liked it. So let me know! 🙂