Same visa, different pathways to achieve it. If you are a digital nomad then going the workation is preferable as its free for you to gather all the documents required. However, if you go soft power then you need to pay for the course and attend it. The benefit of the soft power in my opinion, the documents are mostly straight forward and seem to get approved with less hassle.

Have a look at the embassy website you're planning on applying with and see the lists of requirements to compare what is more suitable for your situation