I’m a self-proclaimed archiver. I still have pics and videos from years ago organized neatly in my laptop and phone. After a long, tiring day, I sometimes skim through my photo album before dozing off in the honor of reminiscing the old days. It allows me to (in a way) reflect on where I started and how far I’ve been going.
Graduation photo is amongst my favourite. Time flies and without me knowing it’s been a year already since the pic was taken. “What have I been doing” or “am I doing well” are few among many questions that I cannot stop asking myself. The fact that August 7th marks the anniversary of me entering the workplace only fuels up those questions to continue echoing, leaving me wonder what the answers would be.
I think about what I did this past year; what went well and what didn’t. Although achievements are great, I always consider myself as person who focus more on process. Looking at the progress that I’ve made so far, I can clearly tell that I learn a lot. You have no idea how very proud and grateful I am for it.
So.. ya. This is me wanting to share the insightful learnings. It’s been a while since my last blog post. It’s been a while longer since the last time I wrote something that is not prose-based—I think the last one was the Hanoi post (which is last year!! I had a Vietnamese lunch yesterday btw and it brought back soooo many memories). But anyway here I go.
Entering a jungle called “workplace” post graduation is indeed exciting, nonetheless it’s scary. There’s a vast new world in front of you. Unknown, yet real. As real as it can be. You are expected to be independent and self-sustaining. Everyone will treat you as an adult so you better act like one. Heck, you better be one. You have to make your own way when it’s very easy to get lost.
I am blessed to be given an opportunity to kick off my career working for an incredibly amazing startup, whose values are aligned with mine and whose impact to the society is without equal. It is filled with humble, helpful prodigies. I really am unable to think of working for any other company. All the fear and insecurities of entering a jungle gradually dissolved into the thin air the moment I hopped on board.
One thing I recently realized is that working in a startup resembles a never-ending roller coaster ride. I think working in basically everywhere does resemble a never-ending roller coaster ride, but everything is quadrupled in startup—the craziness, the thrill, and the exhaustion. When the sun is up and the birds are chirping, the ride is all fun and exhilarating. Until the storm comes and you get all wet and disheveled, wanting to puke and just quit.
But then rainbow appears and all is well again.
But it’s before the next batch of fire nation attacks.
Oh wait, suddenly the flowers bloom.
But wait..
The cycle goes on.
The point is that we cannot expect to see flowers every day; wherever we are, whoever we work for. Problems will always present. This leads to the first, most important lesson I learn from the workplace: solve problems and focus on action plan. Easy to say, challenging to actually (and properly) implement.
Throughout the year, I’ve been working closely with the company’s engineering team. You have no idea how I absolutely love the guys. One thing that I admire the most about them is that, in my opinion, they can solve problem in a relatively more effective and efficient way compared to other streams. It’s always “what can we do to make this better?” with them. Add “less drama” as your cherry on top. The latter one is crucial.
After spending minutes explaining to these guys that we have issues, their immediate responses always revolve around “then what?”, “what do we do?”, and “what do you propose?”.
I honestly was a bit uneasy at first when they threw me such questions. Then I thought why until I realized that I was so used to emotional-focus coping. I was so used to share my problems with people for the sake of curhat, channeling out my frustration, or seeking comfort. Emotional-focus coping does help you to get through the day, but the type of coping that we need to adapt is the problem-focus one. Because this is the one that really solves problem.
By asking “then what?”, “what do we do?”, and “what do you propose?”, I understand that I need to come not only with problems, but also with suggested solutions or action plans. Only by then I can work together with others to overcome the hurdles. The problem solving process with these guys is so structured, concrete, and fast; it mentally slaps me and makes me realize how very inefficient I had been all along.
Another important thing to take a note of is that new problems will never stop appearing. We should never want to get drowned in them—pretty much teaches me to get a grip and sharpen my own problem solving skills, making it more effective and efficient with each passing day. And to work on the issues one by one. More action. Less talk.
The second important lesson that I learn: time is invaluable.
Everyone is busy. Everyone. Each has his/her own unique responsibilities to deliver. Borrowing others’ time result in them sparing minutes that they can use to get their own job done. It becomes imperative for me to really appreciate each second of others’ time, as well as not to waste it. Both inside or outside the office.
A close friend of mine said that my life is underlied by the concept of conserving energy. I need to constantly recharge my energy to be able to function—I believe others do the same. One of my best friend literally said that she gets energy from people around her. That way of recharging energy doesn’t work for me. At all.
I choose to spend my free time doing solitary activities. I still allocate some slots to meet my inner circle, but most of the time I prefer avoiding people, especially when my battery gauge is drained to zero. An interesting (and somehow hard to believe) fact: I spent 100+ hours completing a game, consequently locking myself in my room every weekend, from Christmas until somewhere in March. Q4 2017 and Q1 2018 were extremely draining and I was unconsciously forced to withdraw from people during weekend, because I’d had enough during weekdays.
This got me thinking about how others are doing and what they do with their time. I watch my friends juggling between work and social activities they barely have enough space to breathe. Sometimes they still manage to arrange both professional and personal catch-up session with me in between office hour, after work, or in the end of the week, but sometimes they don’t—and that’s okay. It makes me respect and appreciate their decision + time even more. We should all do the same, without exception.
The third lesson (slash homework to work on): we have to find our own balance.
I can spend 10+ hours a day to work. I personally don’t mind giving more of my time and effort on something that I’ve wholeheartedly committed to. Combine it with a sprinkle of perfectionism et voilà, madame et monsieurs, a workaholic descends from the sky above.
So yes, during my first 3-5 months of working, I arrived at the office at 9.30 am and returned after 7 pm, then continued to work again from home for additional 1-2 hours. At first it was fun and I was happy. Until my mom religiously asked when would I come home to check on how she and dad were doing. And I forgot my best friends’ graduation.
Then I felt horrible.
That was my ultimate turning point to stop for a while and reflect on what I had been doing, and on why these things could happen in the first place. I realized that I need to draw a line. Despite the fact that I love my job, I need to limit my working hours in a way; to make it healthy and reasonable. I need to think and spend more time on things outside office. People start to see me as if they see a monster, or an alien, that only cares about work.
Yet I cannot stop comparing myself to other hardworking people. I cannot stop thinking that sacrifices do need to be made; that you have to give more in everything that you do. On the other hand, I also understand that work-life balance is unquestionably important.
It was so hard. It is still so hard.
Instead of fussing over achieving the oh-so-called work-life balance, I decided to adapt the work-life integration. LOL. Doesn’t work. It only blurs the line even more and it made me feel worse. So I came back to the concept of work-life balance and started to construct my own definition of it, in the quest for peace.
Constructing the definition allows me to experiment with different ways and/or combinations of balancing work and life. It allows me to feel comfortable with my own conception and choice albeit what others’ conceptions and choices are. I highly suggest people to create their own definition and just stick to it—iterate it, and navigate your way through it. It really helps, at least for me.
Small steps that I have taken is prohibiting myself to work after arriving home on weekdays and not to work at all on Saturday. I’m in the process of setting a hard deadline to leave office at 7 or 8 pm. I can now easily allocate 3-12 hours a week to hang out laughing with people. However, when it is at the utmost need and urgency, I have no problem staying longer at the office for straight five days and spend hours working on Sunday. So far so great.
There are many other things that I learn, but those are the highlights. They are actually simple. Everyone in the planet talks about problem solving, as well as about "the most precious thing someone could give you is time". Millions of article about work-life balance are available on the web (basically including this post, ha ha ha ha ha). But firsthand experience makes the learning real and doubles up its value. You will never understand the true meaning of solving problems, how precious time really is, and the complexity of work-life balance unless you experience them yourself.
Here's to more challenges to come, more pics to take, and milestones and memories to archive. We barely even started.
Graduation photo is amongst my favourite. Time flies and without me knowing it’s been a year already since the pic was taken. “What have I been doing” or “am I doing well” are few among many questions that I cannot stop asking myself. The fact that August 7th marks the anniversary of me entering the workplace only fuels up those questions to continue echoing, leaving me wonder what the answers would be.
I think about what I did this past year; what went well and what didn’t. Although achievements are great, I always consider myself as person who focus more on process. Looking at the progress that I’ve made so far, I can clearly tell that I learn a lot. You have no idea how very proud and grateful I am for it.
So.. ya. This is me wanting to share the insightful learnings. It’s been a while since my last blog post. It’s been a while longer since the last time I wrote something that is not prose-based—I think the last one was the Hanoi post (which is last year!! I had a Vietnamese lunch yesterday btw and it brought back soooo many memories). But anyway here I go.
Entering a jungle called “workplace” post graduation is indeed exciting, nonetheless it’s scary. There’s a vast new world in front of you. Unknown, yet real. As real as it can be. You are expected to be independent and self-sustaining. Everyone will treat you as an adult so you better act like one. Heck, you better be one. You have to make your own way when it’s very easy to get lost.
I am blessed to be given an opportunity to kick off my career working for an incredibly amazing startup, whose values are aligned with mine and whose impact to the society is without equal. It is filled with humble, helpful prodigies. I really am unable to think of working for any other company. All the fear and insecurities of entering a jungle gradually dissolved into the thin air the moment I hopped on board.
One thing I recently realized is that working in a startup resembles a never-ending roller coaster ride. I think working in basically everywhere does resemble a never-ending roller coaster ride, but everything is quadrupled in startup—the craziness, the thrill, and the exhaustion. When the sun is up and the birds are chirping, the ride is all fun and exhilarating. Until the storm comes and you get all wet and disheveled, wanting to puke and just quit.
But then rainbow appears and all is well again.
But it’s before the next batch of fire nation attacks.
Oh wait, suddenly the flowers bloom.
But wait..
The cycle goes on.
The point is that we cannot expect to see flowers every day; wherever we are, whoever we work for. Problems will always present. This leads to the first, most important lesson I learn from the workplace: solve problems and focus on action plan. Easy to say, challenging to actually (and properly) implement.
Throughout the year, I’ve been working closely with the company’s engineering team. You have no idea how I absolutely love the guys. One thing that I admire the most about them is that, in my opinion, they can solve problem in a relatively more effective and efficient way compared to other streams. It’s always “what can we do to make this better?” with them. Add “less drama” as your cherry on top. The latter one is crucial.
After spending minutes explaining to these guys that we have issues, their immediate responses always revolve around “then what?”, “what do we do?”, and “what do you propose?”.
I honestly was a bit uneasy at first when they threw me such questions. Then I thought why until I realized that I was so used to emotional-focus coping. I was so used to share my problems with people for the sake of curhat, channeling out my frustration, or seeking comfort. Emotional-focus coping does help you to get through the day, but the type of coping that we need to adapt is the problem-focus one. Because this is the one that really solves problem.
By asking “then what?”, “what do we do?”, and “what do you propose?”, I understand that I need to come not only with problems, but also with suggested solutions or action plans. Only by then I can work together with others to overcome the hurdles. The problem solving process with these guys is so structured, concrete, and fast; it mentally slaps me and makes me realize how very inefficient I had been all along.
Another important thing to take a note of is that new problems will never stop appearing. We should never want to get drowned in them—pretty much teaches me to get a grip and sharpen my own problem solving skills, making it more effective and efficient with each passing day. And to work on the issues one by one. More action. Less talk.
The second important lesson that I learn: time is invaluable.
Everyone is busy. Everyone. Each has his/her own unique responsibilities to deliver. Borrowing others’ time result in them sparing minutes that they can use to get their own job done. It becomes imperative for me to really appreciate each second of others’ time, as well as not to waste it. Both inside or outside the office.
A close friend of mine said that my life is underlied by the concept of conserving energy. I need to constantly recharge my energy to be able to function—I believe others do the same. One of my best friend literally said that she gets energy from people around her. That way of recharging energy doesn’t work for me. At all.
I choose to spend my free time doing solitary activities. I still allocate some slots to meet my inner circle, but most of the time I prefer avoiding people, especially when my battery gauge is drained to zero. An interesting (and somehow hard to believe) fact: I spent 100+ hours completing a game, consequently locking myself in my room every weekend, from Christmas until somewhere in March. Q4 2017 and Q1 2018 were extremely draining and I was unconsciously forced to withdraw from people during weekend, because I’d had enough during weekdays.
This got me thinking about how others are doing and what they do with their time. I watch my friends juggling between work and social activities they barely have enough space to breathe. Sometimes they still manage to arrange both professional and personal catch-up session with me in between office hour, after work, or in the end of the week, but sometimes they don’t—and that’s okay. It makes me respect and appreciate their decision + time even more. We should all do the same, without exception.
The third lesson (slash homework to work on): we have to find our own balance.
I can spend 10+ hours a day to work. I personally don’t mind giving more of my time and effort on something that I’ve wholeheartedly committed to. Combine it with a sprinkle of perfectionism et voilà, madame et monsieurs, a workaholic descends from the sky above.
So yes, during my first 3-5 months of working, I arrived at the office at 9.30 am and returned after 7 pm, then continued to work again from home for additional 1-2 hours. At first it was fun and I was happy. Until my mom religiously asked when would I come home to check on how she and dad were doing. And I forgot my best friends’ graduation.
Then I felt horrible.
That was my ultimate turning point to stop for a while and reflect on what I had been doing, and on why these things could happen in the first place. I realized that I need to draw a line. Despite the fact that I love my job, I need to limit my working hours in a way; to make it healthy and reasonable. I need to think and spend more time on things outside office. People start to see me as if they see a monster, or an alien, that only cares about work.
Yet I cannot stop comparing myself to other hardworking people. I cannot stop thinking that sacrifices do need to be made; that you have to give more in everything that you do. On the other hand, I also understand that work-life balance is unquestionably important.
It was so hard. It is still so hard.
Instead of fussing over achieving the oh-so-called work-life balance, I decided to adapt the work-life integration. LOL. Doesn’t work. It only blurs the line even more and it made me feel worse. So I came back to the concept of work-life balance and started to construct my own definition of it, in the quest for peace.
Constructing the definition allows me to experiment with different ways and/or combinations of balancing work and life. It allows me to feel comfortable with my own conception and choice albeit what others’ conceptions and choices are. I highly suggest people to create their own definition and just stick to it—iterate it, and navigate your way through it. It really helps, at least for me.
Small steps that I have taken is prohibiting myself to work after arriving home on weekdays and not to work at all on Saturday. I’m in the process of setting a hard deadline to leave office at 7 or 8 pm. I can now easily allocate 3-12 hours a week to hang out laughing with people. However, when it is at the utmost need and urgency, I have no problem staying longer at the office for straight five days and spend hours working on Sunday. So far so great.
There are many other things that I learn, but those are the highlights. They are actually simple. Everyone in the planet talks about problem solving, as well as about "the most precious thing someone could give you is time". Millions of article about work-life balance are available on the web (basically including this post, ha ha ha ha ha). But firsthand experience makes the learning real and doubles up its value. You will never understand the true meaning of solving problems, how precious time really is, and the complexity of work-life balance unless you experience them yourself.
Here's to more challenges to come, more pics to take, and milestones and memories to archive. We barely even started.
No comments
Post a Comment