This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Did you know that working remotely from Thailand can be pretty stressful? Actually, it's not the most amazing thing to go and move to Thailand or wherever it could be, could be Bali somewhere else, wherever you imagine the digital nomad hotspot, a great place to go and work remotely, build your business or work for an employer, as we're gonna hear about here in this story. Sometimes it's actually difficult 'cause you have to coordinate with people back on your time zone. You have to deal with the effects and hazards of being in a faraway location, even if it seems like that shouldn't matter. That's what we're gonna hear about here today.
Like it seems like everybody's working remotely, why does it matter where you are actually located? But sometimes it does, right? That's the long story short. So let's hear about it more in this story and welcome to Side Hustle School. My name is Chris Guillebeau.
Today's feature, Failure Friday, a collection of short stories about mistakes, missteps, disasters, all of the things that don't go so well, all the things that go wrong, that kind of caused somebody to regroup a little bit and to say, okay, that didn't work, what should I do differently? And the hope with these stories is always ultimately positive, even though we're looking at what can be a negative experience. It is what you learn from that experience, how do you move forward positively? So today we're gonna hear from this software developer from the Bay Area, I believe, who took advantage of his company's flexible remote work policy to move to Thailand. I don't know if he moved permanently or at least for a few months or so, but he basically tries to relocate and then struggles in adapting to working in the middle of the night, among other issues.
So let's hear this story more from Scott. I'll come back at the end to wrap us up. Kind of hand it over now to Scott. [Music]
- My name is Scott and I'm a software developer for a tech startup based in San Francisco. Embarking on what I believe to be the ultimate work life balance stream, I packed my bags for Thailand, craving a change in scenery and the allure of tropical beaches alongside my remote work duties.
The pandemic had taught us that jobs could be done from anywhere. So why not from a country I heard so much about? Our team had adapted well to remote work, but as I'd come to learn remote within the same country was one thing. Doing it from across the globe was another. In the first few weeks, Thailand was everything I'd hoped for and more.
My evenings were spent exploring night markets and relishing the vibrant local culture, but then the work really kicked in. The 14 hour time difference meant the morning team calls were at 3 a.m. for me. I thought I could manage it, but the odd hours began to take their toll on both my health and the quality of my work. My teammates were supportive, but as time wore on, I could sense their frustration.
Deadlines were missed due to delayed communication and I wasn't there during the core collaboration hours. I started to drink copious amounts of coffee just to stay awake through the night and then I couldn't sleep during the day because well, it was daytime and my body was confused. It wasn't just the hours that were against me. It was the vibe. Working remotely from the U.S.
meant you were still part of the action even if it was through a screen. In Thailand, the disconnect was noticeable. The idyllic setting felt incongruent with the pressures of my Silicon Valley job and the solitude of my beautiful surroundings lost her charm when I was living on an opposite schedule as everyone around me. After four months, I decided to return to the U.S. It felt like admitting defeat and I dreaded the "I told you so" comments that might await me, but the story doesn't end there.
Back home, I couldn't shake the sense of freedom and adventure that Thailand had given me. I wasn't ready to give up on the digital nomad life, but I knew I had to approach it differently. So I started developing a side project, software that would help remote workers find and transition to optimal time zones that match their work schedules. It's a blend of travel, tech, and telecommuting all rolled into one platform. I'm still working on that project, hoping to help others achieve what I couldn't, at least at first.
I definitely hope to give Thailand another try just not when I have to be online at 3 a.m. every night. [Music]
Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. Thanks a lot to Scott for sharing this story. As I have mentioned from time to time, I work remotely and I'm kind of doing stuff all over the world at different times, sometimes more often than others.
And I've always found it easier to maintain something than to start something new. So that's another tip for you. If you're trying to start a new business or take on a new role in a job, sometimes it's easier to be in one place for that for a while and then if you're just maintaining, you can kind of do that a bit easier. But of course it's different with jobs and with the expectations that people have on different teams and such. So I appreciate Scott with the story.
I'm glad he's looking forward and maybe in the future, he'll do something a little bit different, right? Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason. That's the lesson he shared. I'll leave that for you today. If you have a question and update about your hustle, sidehustleschool.com/questions.
Otherwise, thank you for tuning in. We've got some questions coming out tomorrow. We've got a look at a vintage luggage upcycler next week. We've got some good questions next week as well. And of course, more stories.
Excited to bring you the podcast every single day. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
