A year long sabbatical

My friends and ex-colleagues have been asking me what I've been up to lately, but instead of sending out a barrage of emails, I thought I'd share my story with you all.

As it so happens, this marks the end of an incredible sabbatical that's given me the chance to step back from the corporate world and experience life as an IT digital nomad. For almost a year, I've called Barbados home, soaking up the island vibes and making the most of my time off. Of course, no sabbatical would be complete without a little adventure – so I took a short trip to the UK in the summer months to reconnect with loved ones and try my hand at oil painting. But for the majority of my time here, I've been focused on rejuvenating my mind and body, while also staying sharp with my IT skills.

A tiny bit of background

I primarily work on business transformation projects as an architect or team lead. This involves using the Adobe experience manger (AEM) platform and products allowing businesses to showcase there websites using an architecture of components and Java backend micro services. Lastly to hi-light my expertise, I shall give one example of a problem solved on my last contract at First direct bank (an HSBC company).?

On day one of my last assignment, I was taken upstairs to the canteen for an induction. It was there that I learned about the team, my role, and the necessary procedures, including setting up user accounts and receiving a laptop. My manager also mentioned at that time that after a week of settling in, they would introduce me to a pressing issue the team had been facing with AEM builds - a problem that was causing production deployment issues and releases to fail, ultimately affecting business deliveries of new products to market.

As I listened to the team's ways of working, my mind wandered back to this challenge. Before long, we headed downstairs to meet the team, and I immediately inquired about the issue they'd been struggling with for weeks. Within three hours, I had successfully isolated the problem and got the build pipeline up and running despite initial resistance from the team as they tested my proposed solutions.

From that point onwards trust had been earned

Back to the subject

For years, I've had a strong desire to spend time in the Caribbean, and Barbados has long been at the top of my list for its perfect blend of warm weather, friendly locals, delicious cuisine and stunning beaches.?

A typical week day for me in Barbados

• Wake around 6am as the sun rises, sit for a few moments of meditation to give thanks for another day
• Put on my swimming shorts and pop off to the beach which is 5 mins by car or 7 minutes by mini van (local bus service goes anywhere on the island for under ￡2)
• I swim for around 30 mins or so whilst watching the older folks have their exercise classes in the sea, a great sight with voices of laughter
• Back home for breakfast on the veranda and watch life go by as people and immaculately dressed school children start their day
• Start my sudo working day reading and doing IT related activities - old habits die hard
• Lunchtime usual involves either another swim, DIY or making arrangements for the evening entertainment out.
• The afternoon is either more IT, music creation or art
• Evening is anybody guess as to what happens next, there is so much going on on this small island that no 2 days are the same (if you want).

Every day it's possible to meet new people, I figured out some of the happiness people can be found in the crystal blue sea because they want to be there and are willing to engage in conversation.

What does Barbados have to offer to a digital nomad

• Excellent work live balance
• Super fast and reliable broadband
• Great climate and no need for 5 layers of clothing when a pair of shorts and a business shirt (for face to face meeting)
• Small and friendly population where good morning is the norm to be said not the exception
• Computing accessories are available
• Lunchtimes can include a 20 minute swim and a bite to eat at the beach.

Here's more if you want to read here?https://nomad.digital/americas/barbados/

My way of working as an IT digital nomad

To clarify how my activities are assigned and performance measured, I'd like to walk you through the typical workflow for each business transformation engagement.

When working across departments with a business team, processes play a crucial role in ensuring successful outcomes. As an architect or team lead, my remote work arrangement typically involves the following steps:

1. Meeting with stakeholders and cross functional teams to define business objectives which are then captured as project proposals.
2. Objectives are subsequently sized into technical project tasks including estimated costs and timelines for delivery to production.
3. Task assignments are made through Agile sprint tasks and these are documented in our project tracking tool.

Over the course of 2-3 weeks, depending on task complexity, deliverables are produced, with ongoing communication facilitated via Slack chats, Zoom meetings, emails, Confluence documentation, Jira project task updates and regular code checkins to source management tools like GitHub. This ensures seamless collaboration with peers, simplifying tasks through features like Git version control and automated pipeline builds.

As the project nears completion, a show-and-tell session is scheduled for stakeholders to review and provide feedback. If everyone is satisfied, steps are planned to progress the system feature to production via comprehensive testing including user acceptance routes.

To be successful in my roles the following qualities are essential:

1. Self-discipline: The ability to work independently with minimal supervision and stay focused on tasks.
2. Technical expertise: Strong problem-solving skills to address technical issues as they arise, along with a deep understanding of systems architecture and integration principles.
3. Learning agility: A commitment to continuous learning, with the ability to adapt quickly to new technologies and tools and strong programming skills to get hands dirty where required.
4. Team mentoring: A willingness to help others develop their skills and knowledge, while also sharing expertise and best practices.
5. Business acumen: A genuine interest in helping the business succeed in its technological objectives.

Additionally, it's often necessary to "hit the ground running" by:

• Setting up a computing environment from scratch, ensuring security and stability.
• Quickly getting familiar with project-specific tools and collaboration platforms using provided documentation.
• Rapidly learning how to deploy and integrate projects effectively, often under time pressure.

My future plans?

As I embark on this new chapter, I'm excited to continue working as a digital nomad, leveraging my expertise in IT to drive business transformation projects. With the increasing demand for intelligent solutions, I'm eager to blend my technical skills with AI capabilities to enhance business efficiency.

By combining my knowledge of IT systems and processes with the power of artificial intelligence, I aim to help organisations streamline their operations, improve decision-making, and unlock new levels of productivity. Whether it's implementing AI-powered automation tools or developing custom solutions to tackle complex business challenges, I'm committed to staying at the forefront of innovative technologies.

As a digital nomad, I'll have the flexibility to work from anywhere, allowing me to tap into diverse talent pools, explore new markets, and experience different cultures while delivering high-quality results. With my expertise in IT and AI, I'm poised to make a meaningful impact on businesses worldwide, driving growth, innovation, and success.