Remote working overseas

My Journey

If someone told me 3 years ago that I would be working completely remotely, ditching the 9-5 mentality, empowered by my employer & colleagues, working less and earning more while doing so from Bali, I would think you’re absolutely crazy. But here I am.

While COVID was a difficult time for me (and I’m sure others) it was actually the best thing that's happened to me in 29 years. It taught me to be comfortable in my own skin and to reflect more often. Living in Melbourne at the peak of COVID was an isolating time, not much socialising (if you’ve met me, you’d know how challenging this was) and difficult to be motivated. As I was living by myself, I spent a lot of time with my own thoughts, what I wanted to do and where I was currently at.

There were 3 moments that I can pinpoint (this is where reflection helps!) that took me from the 9-5 office to the fully remote Bali life.?

The first was the Christmas period of 2020 which set everything in motion for me. I had a trip booked back home to Perth for 6 weeks and had resigned from my current job. My plan was to interview online (COVID made this the norm) and secure something back in Melbourne for when I returned.?

Countless applications later, I had some interviews lined up. The opportunity at Prosple always intrigued me, but also made me extremely uncomfortable. Working in Sales for 4 years prior to this, on sales floors, mingling with colleagues all day, I didn’t understand how a sales team let alone an entire business could operate completely remotely.

As much as they took a leap of faith with me, I also took a leap of faith with them. I was incredibly excited to start a new chapter in my life and to work with what it seemed at the time, an incredible bunch of people (who definitely overachieved my expectation may I add).

I accepted the position in February 2021 and started working remotely from Melbourne.

The second moment was over the Easter long weekend in 2021. Over the 6 years I lived in Melbourne I fostered an incredible friendship group, however, it was small (probably no more than 5/6 people). Over that Easter long weekend, which is usually a very social time for me, no one in my friendship group was available (lots of them moving into different stages of life, partners, dogs etc!). So I took this as an opportunity to reflect.?

After the 6 week trip back home to Perth, I missed my friends and family but I didn’t want to resign from a job and move interstate again. Now that I was working remotely, this wasn’t an issue. By the Monday of the long weekend, I had made the decision to move back home to Perth, while continuing to work with Prosple. I believe I flew home 2 weeks later (I’m of the opinion that if you take too long, you’ll second guess it, just make it happen!).

So, in April 2021 I’m back home with my friends and family, where I have never worked professionally before. It was an initial adjustment period but I got up to speed pretty quickly. It was a great 12 months, but the third moment was soon to be upon me.

The 3rd moment presented itself when my lease came up and I was looking for another rental. It was an exhausting process and I was at the beach with some friends and was discussing this with them, one of my friends asked me why I didn’t move to Bali and oh boy the wheels started rapidly turning in my head.

I luckily have a good friend who has lived in Bali for a few years, I messaged him on the 22nd of March 2022 asking some questions about accommodation, visas, living expenses etc. and by April 17th, I was living and working completely remotely in Bali.?

What I have learned about remote working

I’ve been working 100% remotely now for about 2 years and it’s definitely not for everyone, I didn’t even think it was for me. There are a few things I’ve learned that keep me motivated, engaged and focused.?

The first is to be disciplined. Even though you’re working 100% remotely, you need to be disciplined in what you do on a daily/weekly basis. It depends on what you do, but for me, it’s about running meetings consistently, week in week out and ensuring my clients are looked after.?

The second is to have structure/have a routine. Now, this might just be me, but I am definitely a structure/process-orientated person so this was the biggest transition for me when starting to work 100% remotely. Finding a groove where you are getting the best out of yourself and can give the best back takes time but will give you work/life balance as you’ve never dreamed.?

The third for me was flexibility. This might be due to my job, but I need to be flexible pretty much on a daily basis. Clients reschedule and sometimes don’t turn up to meetings (remember, everything is online now!), emails come through that need urgent action etc. Being flexible allows me to not get stressed out if things blow up in my face, just assess, prioritize and move on.

The final one for me is focus. This is probably where I have excelled in my career more than anything since starting to work 100% remotely. The only distractions, are ones you put in front of yourself (like checking emails incessantly, browsing social media etc.) There are no “water cooler” chats, no one tapping you on the shoulder asking you how your weekend was (although I do miss that from time to time). You get the opportunity (if you are disciplined) to have HOURS of deep focused work and the amount you can get done is incredible.?

Working overseas

This was an interesting transition for me, I’ve been in Bali now for nearly 2 months and while I haven’t reinvented myself, I’ve had to learn how to prioritize the right things while still allowing myself to have fun.?

The quickest thing I learned was that I’m not on holiday. Living in Bali, it’s easy to forget because the majority of people you meet are there for a matter of days or weeks and are looking to have fun and blow off some steam before they go back home. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve let slip a couple of times but I now have a consistent routine and getting the best of both.

Something else I learned was to not be glued to my screen. While you aren’t on holiday, you’re in a completely different destination to what you’re used to. Go and explore, work from cafes (the wifi in Bali is better than in Perth most times!) and if you get this right (a bit of structure/discipline here) you’ll find that you are on the move and getting a lot of work done in the process. I myself usually have my meetings before 1 pm and then go and action administrative tasks in cafes until 3 pm.

For me, finding a routine was essential (for people who know me, they’ll just chuckle at this). I’ve learnt this about myself, if I don’t have a routine, everything else falls apart. I need to exercise, meditate, socialise, have me time, and read to function efficiently and give the best version of myself. So I weaved all those things into my life and make them a priority.

If you’re considering moving overseas, a little planning goes a long way. What is the visa situation? On average what is the wifi like? Local customs etc. Google will tell you all of this and chances are, if you’re thinking about it, someone has already done it and probably written a blog about it. Do some research, but don’t get sucked into too much, making the decision is the hardest part.?

What’s stopping you?

It could be a range of things, from kids, spouses, your job, you’ve just bought a house the list goes on. I was fortunate enough to not have any ties and could make the decision quite quickly.

But if you’ve thought about it, have a look into it. It’s far easier than you probably think with a little bit of planning. You could even give it a trial, go somewhere for a month, try it out, and see if you can function efficiently in another country, who knows, you might absolutely love it (I know I do!).?

If you are considering a move to Bali, please reach out to me on LinkedIn, I’d be happy to give you insights and answer any questions you may have!

All I can say is that my life has changed for the better since remote working came into my life, I hope it can for you to :)?

Elliott Cirkovic