What I have learnt from Summer 2020

It is one of the strangest, fun-packed and hectic summer that I have ever had.

Living in a pandemic, working on a remote job, moving from places to places, watching the news that just kept getting worse.. Everyday there was a dreaded news that is waiting for me.

Yet through the process, I learnt to be independent, stay focused and how to fight for opportunities when every door seems to be shut.

Stay Focus

When the pandemic hits, every company was terminating their hiring, some rescinded offers, some canceled the program completely. There was nothing to do other than to apply for anything and everything, hoping the summer would not go wasted.

I was fortunate enough to get accepted to many programs, from self-initiated project community Product Buds where teams had to come up with an original product idea, test and iterate, to Engineering Lead at Techstars-backed Provider Pool, to Head of Operations at VineyardAppCamp. On top of that, I was still running my own startup Genade and trying to finish a book that is releasing October 2020. The endless to-do list took a toil on my mental health and physical health as I would be awake from 8am to 2am to catch up on all the commitments, wishfully thinking that I could do it all and prove my friends and family wrong.

Well, things took a bad turn mid July when everything seemed to be at the inflexion point. When I felt so burnt out and drained from all the commitments, I realized the hard lesson that it is better to concentrate and focus on one task rather than multi-tasking and stretching myself too thin, thus lowering productivity and causing barriers to communication.

That’s when I decided to take a step back and recalibrated what’s important for me, whether everything I was doing was aligned with my long-term goals. I realized that I might not be able to complete the Product Buds project, and I wanted to pursue software engineering roles. These led me to slowly pull away from two of the commitments, which relieved some anxiety and allowed me to perform much better in other commitments.

Staying focused is a lesson that I have learnt the hard way.

Doors open if you knock

When every opportunity was turned down because of the unique circumstances, it was inspiring to see others who paved their own way to success. Some emailed hundreds of companies, I cold linkedin reached out to get a chance to speak with the Head of Operations and Growth at Better. I then reached out to Jordan at VineyardAppCamp and asked him for the role of Operations. There were no open business roles at VineyardAppCamp, if I didn’t ask or show my interest and passion for the operational role, I would not have the enriching experience that I had with the VineyardAppCamp team this summer.

It always started with a simple ask, a pitch to kick start some amazing opportunities that you don’t find on job posting boards.

The lesson learnt here is there is something for you out there, but it is like a treasure that is kept secret. You have to ask for it, fight for it in order to find a place that suits you.

The Art of Living Alone

I have never realized how lonely the pandemic made me feel. Being away from family and friends in Singapore, seeing how New York has turned to a ghost town, everything forced me to grow up, be independent while taking care of my mental and physical health.

It was extremely difficult in the beginning to keep to a normal schedule and to remember to eat, sleep and socialize virtually with friends and family. It was hard to indulge when things were so dreadful and I found myself distracted by work constantly. Apathy took over me.

Slowly finding a rhythm to get through the day and block off time on my calendar to make a conscious effort to eat well, live well have been a small struggle at first. With time, audio book “atomic habit”, I learnt to keep showing up for myself, to keep the good habits and learn to live well even when isolated from people who can keep me accountable.

This summer has been challenging, yet fulfilling. I got to see the other side of America, struggling and recovering from the pandemic and pushed myself in ways never imagined before.

[Stil ongoing, I will keep updating when I think of new things that I have learnt the past summer]