I got here pretty early today, mostly because I had set up a couple of calls on Thursday during my short cross-over window with folks back home. Except, that actually means early morning Friday to me. Not early morning Thursday. Lesson learned.
The upside (other than being able to get a few more hours of work in), was that I pretty much had Outpost to myself. It's a gorgeous co-working space in Ubud with tons of windows, high ceilings, great Wi-Fi (which I have learned is not the easiest thing to get here in Ubud), and a gorgeous shared pool (which sadly does NOT have great Wi-Fi).
They also do a lot of talks and social events to get people interacting. So far, I've just caught a group lunch, but it was absolutely incredible to hear stories from digital nomads who have turned this into a very successful way of living. Most people are in industries similar to my own - digital marketers, designers, content managers, developers - from all over the world. Some people have been doing this for years, and while I don't think that being a permanent nomad is for me, it's fascinating to hear their stories and how they make it work.
It's a quick 5-minute walk here from where I'm staying, which is great, since the Wi-Fi at the villas has been questionable the last couple of days. There's a yoga studio a few minutes away (I tried hot yoga for my first time yesterday, the jury is still out on if I'll do that class again), tons of healthy food nearby (while I won't become a vegan, I've got to say they have some delicious options here), and a lovely walk down a sidewalk-less road (which has forced me to get used to being in close proximity to cars and bikes).
Now that I'm a few days in, I've really started to find my groove. It's amazing how much more you can get done without the distractions of calls and emails that come in seemingly every two minutes when you're at the office. Although the time difference makes it a little tricky to connect with the offices back in Alberta, I'm thankful that I'm a morning person and can find a couple hours between 6 and 8AM (so 3 to 5PM, the previous day, in Alberta) to chat about projects and take calls. The next steps is just to remember which day those calls are on for me!