Holidays are the time for reflection and thinking forward. I have had some ups and downs over the past year. While it is tempting to write about what I achieve, which is by no means numerous, I prefer writing about what I failed at and what I can improve on in the near future.
Insufficient focus
Like many others, I succumbed to the constant distractions in our daily life. News, friends, entertainment, TV shows, sports, music, you name it. I wasn’t as focused as I should be. The amount of deep work time wasn’t as much as I would like it to be. It definitely sits at the top of my personal to-do list this year and moving forward.
Gained weight
When do you think you would spend more time in the gym: while working 20 hours at school, 20 hours as an intern at work and taking a Dual Master’s degree or after you graduate and have only your full-time position? For me, it’s the former! I know, shame on me. I did manage to spend less time in the gym for the past year than when I was still in school. The consequence? 12 more pounds was gained. Clothes became tighter. Confidence was sapped.
Lost control of expenses
The second half of 2019 witnessed arguably my wort self in terms of personal finance. Some expenses were inevitable such as learning to drive, buying a car and paying for accompanying costs such as insurance, car washes and maintenance. What worried me was my reckless spending on booze, unnecessary dining and excessively expensive coffee while I could have free coffee from work and my own building. Since my H1B status limits what I can earn in addition to my full time job, the failure to save money effectively was pretty embarrassing on my part.
Missed calls on the stock market
Apple stock stood at $142 on 3rd January 2019 after Tim Cook’s letter to announce a revised guidance. I didn’t load up on the stock. 12 months later, the stock is around $290 today. It’s just one of the few examples of how my indecision hurt me financially. I did have some stocks in my portfolio that didn’ perform as expected. However, the disappointment with such stocks didn’t eat me up as much as the regret over indecision. Lesson learned.
Lack of sales skills
I am not good at sales. Emphatically not good enough. I ought to be better at selling my ideas, my opinions, my work and myself. At the end of the day, we humans interact with one another and having decent sales skills can be helpful in my career and personal life.
Dearth of volunteering work
I need to start involving in the local community more. It’s not a high bar when the total number of volunteering hours l accrued this year is a grand zero.
I may sit here at this time next year and write about the same failures again. I do plan to work on some, if not all, of them in the next 366 days. Regardless, I do want to keep myself honest and accountable.
Minh Quang Duong 