New year, same friends

weeknotes

Jan 7

Happy 2024, and happy it has been indeed (for the first time in a long time, because of non-work related reasons). I've been spending a lot of time with old friends — the ones that I can be myself around, unrelentlessly so, and in complete surrender. One of my favourite feelings in the books, truly.

Jumping (diving) into the first week of the year

Constant chase of sprint milestones
The pain of context switching
Wireframes on wireframes: translating old workflows and processes into new softwares

Syndrome of an imposter

Working in agile is still very much a new thing for me, which is a daunting feeling to have in a large project. I've been in my role for just over a year, and imposter syndrome has always been an emerging theme. Whilst I’ve pulled myself back from a lot of negativity and workplace anxiety, it still creeps up on me in the face of new challenges.

And challenging it has been this week… in ways that demanded lots of relationship rigour and positive self-encouragement (> hard work and productivity). I could reflect on the wireframes that took up most of my work week, or the mental setbacks of context switching, but I'm conscious that my ‘per-fessional’ journey would make far more of a valuable reflection to look back on (one hopefully with pride). Here are some lessons I've learnt to keep those symptoms at bay:

Collecting a 'win' jar: as someone that used to depend heavily on validation as a marker for progress, I've realised how praise can dilute in meaning overtime (i.e. feedback that no longer serves you). So I'm shifting my perspective from collecting praise > my interpretation of it.
- My manager once complimented me for being very driven, to which I took very warmly. It felt like being recognised for working so hard, but that feeling didn’t last very long nor relaxed me any more than I needed to. Looking back, I realise that feeling driven only surfaces when I'm most inspired (like being proactive in networking for projects that interest me).
'Fake it till you make it'
70/20/10 rule: 70% of my work will be mediocre, and that's okay. 20% will probably suck, and that's okay too, because the 10% will be freaking awesome.

Life is one lifelong WIP indeed.

On fitness

I'm still on a functional fitness hype, and F45 has really helped take the planning out of my exercise for me. 2023 was a year I truly found joy in getting stronger physically, and my sanity will forever be grateful for it. Highly recommend using Classpass or signing up for trials to mix different formats and styles — fitness should feel funky, experimental, easy, exciting and playful (much like most things in life).