Welcome to the Freaking Nomads Newsletter, your weekly dose of stories, insights, tools, and opportunities for digital nomads and remote workers building a life without borders.
Hey Freaking Nomads,
While I was in Diani Beach, Kenya a few months ago, I woke up and literally couldn't turn my head to the left.
I'd spent the previous three days hunched over my laptop on a bed, because the "desk" in my apartment was a decorative table roughly the height of my knees.
And I laid there thinking, damn it, I'm 30-something, not 90!
For ages I just blamed it on getting older, which felt very tragic and mature of me. Turns out it had nothing to do with age. It's the fact that I've been shrimping for years, curled over a screen on cafe stools clearly built to get you to leave, hips sliding forward, spine folding into the shape of a prawn.
An accurate depiction of my “shrimp” posture
Once someone pointed it out to me, I kept seeing it everywhere. Every coworking space was suddenly full of shrimps.
Since then, I started carrying a few deeply unsexy items to fix my human shrimp posture:
A foldable laptop stand that weighs nothing and finally lifts the screen to eye level, instead of me folding down to meet it
A little wireless mouse and (foldable) keyboard, because typing on a raised laptop is a medieval kind of punishment
A laptop-bag-sized microfibre towel I roll up behind my lower back when there's no cushion and the "ergonomic" seating is a wooden bench. It’s great because I also use it to go to the beach, so I don’t feel guilty packing an extra piece of gear!
Blue-light glasses for the nights I forget I've been staring at a screen since sunrise working on Freaking Nomads
Since then, I've stopped waking up unable to look left, and for the first time in years my body isn't something I have to negotiate with every morning.
You can replace the laptop, the phone, the whole bag if you lose it. You cannot replace the body.
So maybe stop treating it like the thing you'll deal with later. And maybe, occasionally, stop shrimping.
What's the thing your body has forced you to fix out here? Hit reply, I'd like to know I'm not the only prawn in the nomad community.
Luca
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🧑💻 The Nomad Resource of the Week
A laptop stand and wireless keyboard fix the slow, boring damage. But unfortunately, they won't help the day something actually goes wrong, like a scooter spill or a stomach bug that won't go away.
That's why for more serious stuff, we've personally used and recommend Genki for years:
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Telemedicine included, so you can get a doctor consultation to evaluate your symptoms without hunting for a local clinic first, especially useful in areas with limited healthcare access
Flexible monthly subscription, from 1 to 12 months, so you're not locked into anything longer than your actual trip
Genki has insured more than 50,000 nomads across 193 countries, and it's backed by names like Allianz as risk carrier and Squarelife as the actual insurer.
(Disclaimer: not medical or insurance advice, just a provider we've used and trust. Always read the policy details for your specific situation.)
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