Spread your memories throughout the world
If you live all the time in the same city, the memories will always take place in the same scenario and with the same people. It's easier to blur them
In today's edition, I tell how I am spreading my memories worldwide and why this is fascinating. There's also a very cool interview with remote worker William Nascimento, who has been in this life for 13 years, when it was all bush. He gives excellent tips for those who want to work remotely.
I arrived in Santiago, Chile, this Sunday, where I will stay this April. After a long flight delay, I only checked in the Airbnb after midnight. The following day, I slept until 9:30 a.m., had a hurried breakfast, and started working.
It's not the first time this has happened, but it's always strange not being able to enjoy a new country minimally. It's the duties of a remote worker with a set starting time for work. It's never going to be tourism, leisure, or work travel. And it will never be like living —at least not staying for one or two months like me. It's a limbo, something hard to classify.
If you own your business or are a freelancer, you can still better balance your schedules and take a stroll before diving into work. My alternatives are few, and I can't always realize them, like buying a flight for Saturday and having Sunday off (it depends on the price) or taking a day off (it was already an Easter holiday, and it would be bad not to work on Monday).
However, as soon as I stopped working, I felt the happiness of exploring a new place. This feeling can occur even if you already know the city, as is my case in Santiago. Once, I saw a word in Swedish (or from some Nordic country) that describes exactly this feeling (if anyone knows what the word is, please leave it in the comments).
In my 33 years, I have discovered that I live for this. Few things, or perhaps nothing, give me more pleasure, leading to this text's central point. By doing this repeatedly, it is possible to live many lives and spread memories worldwide. I feel like a Forest Gump of the nomadic life. Instead of running, I witness history walking around.
In Budapest, Hungary, I was 400 km, or four hours by car, from the Ukrainian border. My friend comes back from the beer line more excited than usual. "You won't believe it, the girl I talked to was Ukrainian. A war refugee.” Then two, three, several appeared. And we were at a party in the middle of the Hungarian dawn next to history.
In Buenos Aires, Argentina, I experienced the historic election of Javier Milei, the ultralibertarian president. I watched the second presidential debate on TV alongside an Argentine journalist who contextualized the answers I didn't understand. I saw Brazilians commenting on the discussion on Twitter and felt privileged. I was in Recoleta, eating pizza with my friend and having a lesson on the Falklands War. Life is much better outside of a social network.
In summary, with each trip, I increased my understanding of the world, met people, and lived stories I will remember for a long time. Incredible things can happen in a routine life, but memories overlap, creating a hierarchy. If you live all the time in the same city, this recycling will always occur in the same scenario and with the same people. It's easier to blur them.
If you spread memories around the world, they will be in a different corner of your brain and will come with a synesthesia of sensations. When I remember the daily walks on the Rambla in Montevideo, Uruguay, it's as if I am transported to those days when I was so happy. Time will also erase some memories or mix up others, but they will still be different because they were made in a country other than yours, in a context of more ecstasy, with new feelings.
It's a parallel with our childhood. Do you remember more of the ordinary day-to-day or the trips with your family? Trips will always be an easy way to create memories. Being able to do this all the time in a nomadic life is fascinating. I strongly recommend it.
Who is this remote worker
William Nascimento, 33 years old, from Catanduva, São Paulo, Co-founder and Director of Desenvolve Cursos.
William, you've been working remotely for 13 years, when it was uncommon, at least outside the technology sector. What was that scenario like?
Thirteen years ago, few professionals worked remotely, even in the technology field. Hearing people criticizing those who worked from home or anywhere other than within a company was widespread. Typically, people judged such work as easy or low-earning.
In this scenario, my partner and I started building an edtech focused on accessible learning. We directly contributed to the professional success of over 125,000 Brazilians.
Have you always been 100% remote? If so, how was this decided?
Since the company's foundation in 2011, we have worked remotely. All the employees who have been with us and those who have passed through our company have worked 100% remotely. I haven't personally met 99% of the professionals who work with us. Absolutely everything is remote: accounting, finances, student support, lesson recording, preparation of complementary materials, data, and IT, among others.
One benefit is finding highly qualified professionals who couldn't work with us if the work model were in-person.
In our workflow, we reduced the use of tools to manage everything better. We use cloud services to manage files and traditional means of communication for the team.
Good communication among professionals makes all the remote work we do possible. This virtue is fundamental for anyone wishing to work in this model. Excellent writing and good verbal communication are essential.
You can learn a lot in 13 years of remote work. What lessons could you share with No Direction Home readers?
One of the mistakes we made for several years was the difficulty of delegating administrative processes to other professionals and companies. Today, our accounting is 100% delegated to a specialized company in the field. Another company adjusted all website tagging. So we can focus on what matters to our business: generating content for our students.
One thing we always did right was control costs. I remember that in the company's early days, we used 100% free software and services. The only expense at the time was the website domain. This allowed the company's cash flow to grow exponentially. Thus, we invested in what was really necessary, and the company quickly achieved good market numbers.
You worked on-site at a hospital in Catanduva. Did you always want to work remotely?
On-site work is necessary in many professions, and remote work will not replace everything. When I worked on-site, I always thought about working in the technology field, but I didn't think it would be remote for so long.
Remote work requires much more discipline than on-site work. Communication, as I've already mentioned, is also fundamental. A professional cannot stand out by writing incorrectly. The message arrives with noise and problems that affect the business.
On-site work has an undeniable advantage: interaction. This is crucial for those who enjoy working with people.
The pandemic came in 2020. Many companies had to adapt from zero. Did you get ahead in this process?
We definitely got ahead. Our company was already fully adapted to the remote model, and we achieved significant growth during the pandemic. We didn't need to make almost any adjustments to accommodate thousands of students from all over Brazil who were at home seeking professional qualifications.
There's a lot of criticism about remote work's supposed lack of productivity. How do you see this?
Remote work doesn't pay off for poor and mediocre professionals. Let's be honest: most professionals today fall into these two categories.
It's not easy to find good professionals for remote work. We've had many bad experiences. Unfortunately, professionals who didn't meet deadlines and didn't complete the projects delivered were quickly dismissed to prevent them from contaminating the rest of the team, which was focused on producing quality work.
Today, we can ensure that we only have excellent professionals. We pay above the market average, and this is the result of everyone's work.
After the pandemic, there's been a return to on-site and hybrid work. However, many people are unhappy about dealing with traffic, crowded transportation, rain, etc. How do you see this scenario?
It is a complicated scenario. A company with on-site work already has the entire structure for processes to be carried out by employees. In most cases, transitioning from on-site to remote work is not as simple. Many professionals might even think they are prepared, but they're not.
What I find regressive is a remote professional who delivers quality work being called back to on-site work. That makes no sense at all. Companies should encourage remote work to reduce their costs.
Companies that insist on on-site work will lose talent, especially in technology. There's no denying that.
Another crucial point in remote work is the possibility of expanding the diversity of origin and income of employees who cannot live in large cities. How is this at Desenvolve Cursos?
Most of the professionals who work with us live in small cities. We have professionals in Catanduva/SP, São Carlos/SP, Belo Horizonte/MG, and São Joaquim da Barra/SP, among other cities.
Everyone works remotely. We don't want professionals stuck in their homes. We always give long deadlines for projects. That way, each of our employees can work where they feel best.
What's it like to be able to work remotely for so long?
I work about 7 hours a day. Some days more, some less. This work model has allowed me to visit 13 countries in 5 years. I worked remotely in all of them.
Remote work has greatly benefited my personal life: I have improved my health, experienced less fatigue, and spent more time with family. Overall, I think that's what every professional is looking for.
Life is way better out of social media. Lots of great conversations I’ve had since I became a nomad would be impossible online (the land of algorithms and extremism).