The life of a digital nomad is something that many people dream about achieving — and with recent changes in the professional landscape around the world, it’s seeming like more and more people may be able to effectively pursue this kind of approach to their professional lives.

Today, remote working is becoming a more established and accepted part of global work culture by far — and remote working undoubtedly comes with many benefits.

Flexible work arrangement policy examples can be found across all sorts of different industries, and among all sorts of different companies.

The question, really, is whether or not remote working is right for you, personally — and at this current stage in your life and career.

Here are a few potential challenges of remote working that it’s important to be mindful of and to consider.

Social Isolation

Whenever you are working remotely, away from colleagues and shared office spaces, there’s always a significant risk that you will end up becoming socially isolated and withdrawn.

If you have a live-in partner and an active social life, and make time on a regular basis to meet up with friends and spend time with them, this may well be less of an issue. But if you’re one of the many who mainly interacts with people at work on an everyday basis, it’s important not to underestimate how disruptive it might be for you to begin working exclusively from home, or remotely.

Looking for hybrid working arrangements, spending time in coworking spaces, and looking for opportunities to join clubs and hobby groups can all help to offset the potential risk of social isolation that comes with remote working.

Maintaining a Consistent Schedule

It can be very difficult to maintain a consistent schedule when you’re working remotely.

At first glance, “schedule flexibility” often looks like one of the big benefits and selling points of a remote working arrangement — but although it’s certainly a good thing to be able to tailor your working routine to the other demands and realities of your personal life, there can be some real downsides to this kind of “flexibility,” too.

Work often contributes greatly to how we structure and schedule our days — and a consistent schedule has a major impact on everything ranging from the natural state of our circadian rhythms, to our ability to consistently achieve our personal and professional goals, even when we don’t feel like it.

When working remotely, it’s very important to do what you can to maintain a consistent schedule. Naturally organised individuals may find remote working less of a challenge in this regard.

Dealing with Potential Sources of Distraction

As a general rule, it’s always going to be easier to fall prey to distraction when you’re working from home by yourself, than when you’re working in a conventional office setting, and are surrounded by coworkers and supervisors.

Dealing with potential sources of distraction is an important challenge for all remote workers to overcome. Consider investigating apps and tools that are designed to help with this.