Hey friends,

I'm temporarily back from my mini hiatus from taking a breather and living life as a college student. I thought it would be a nice time to pop into your inbox as it's the start of a new fiscal year (I run my personal and professional life on the July-June year). It's less that I've not been doing work, but rather prioritizing strategic work instead of execution this summer ☀️.

For a mini update, this has been my summer thus far 🛩️:

• May 10: Leadership Triangle's THRiVE!
• May 10-12: Austin, TX
• May 13-18: RDU, NC
• May 19-29: Bay Area, CA
• May 30-June 4: London, UK
• June 5-28: Singapore, SG
• June 29-July 1: Bangalore, IN
• Now, on my way back to Singapore :)

👀 My Musings

I love summer. It's the one time a year I don't feel like a headless chicken, but also feel the most productive. Usually, I feel reactive during the year, but in the summer, I can prioritize strategic planning: for my personal life, professional life, and YAS life. Now that I'm back, I have lots of thoughts to share, but we'll use this week to talk about how I've planned this summer.

At the start of the summer, I read The 12 Week Year. It's a wonderful book that essentially talks about Parkinson's Law: "work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion." Meaning, if you give yourself three months to finish a paper, it will take three months. But, if you genuinely believe you will only give yourself a week for the assignment, you are more likely to knock it out. Similarly, that's the biggest challenge with New Year's resolutions - often the end of the year feels so far away to the extent that you don't need to prioritize the goals(s) until the end of the year comes around. But, this time could have been better well spent.

So, instead of creating a bunch of resolutions and such for the year ahead, on May 27, I journaled and created a baseline understanding of where I'd like to see myself in the next 3-5 years and what steps I can take in the next 12 weeks (the rest of the summer) to get there. And as we're just over a month into the cycle, boy can I tell you, this 12 Week Year thing works 😧! There is a sense of urgency that comes with only having twelve weeks to accomplish all your goals, and it keeps me energized to work toward them.

TL;DR on my professional/purpose-driven goals (15 pages of journaling later): I've set goals around shaping the future of YAS, professional speaking, large-scale advocacy, teaching more through different avenues, and filling skill gaps, amongst other things.

To execute, when planning back in May, I noted everything I wanted to accomplish in the twelve weeks and broke it down by month. From there, every Monday morning, I set time aside to see what I have the capacity to take on based on my other workload and personal obligations (there's nothing more demoralizing than not getting the majority of the things on your list, done!). I make sure at least one action item from each goal is completed. That said, I also understand there will be an urgency starting the second half of July to get more done as it will be the last four weeks of the cycle. But for now, I have struck a close-to-perfect balance between working toward my goals and having a social life :)

Here's a great Ali Abdaal video on the topic. Totally recommend you read the book since it also talks about personal accountability, being energized by your work, entering your zone of genius, and more.

🪄 Casual Magic

A great public transport system in Singapore! I pop around the city daily to work out of different coffee shops. #sanctityofspace

🧠 Productivity Tip

Morning Dump: Every day, take a few minutes to dump all your thoughts on a page. This can include things from to-do's, to how you're feeling emotionally, to notes from your meetings. As David Allen says, "The mind is for having ideas, not holding them." So, be sure to add all the items that come up, no matter how small. Then, you can clearly tackle the things you have to accomplish.

🥳 Community Event Spotlight

Your girl is so out of touch with what's happening in RDU, that I had to think about it! But, have a great one for you 😊.

​Book Harvest’s annual Summer Block Party will once again fill the concourse of Durham. The free, outdoor event is a joyful celebration of books, summer, and community. There will be free children's books for kids to take home and keep, plus activities for the whole family! The first 300 attendees will receive a voucher for concessions and there will be special surprises for everyone.

When: Saturday, July 13, 2024, from 1-4 PM

Location: Durham Bulls Athletic Park

Cost: Free

Find more, here!

❤️ My Favorite Things this Week

1. 📕 Book - I've been meaning to read Becoming by Michelle Obama for years, and have just got around to it. I love the way she thinks about the world.
2. 🎙️ Podcast - Ali Abdaal & Cal Newport: The Secrets of Slow Productivity. This is what the summer has proven to me. You often get more done when you're able to delegate and work intentionally through a few projects, than rush to get more done. It also keeps you further away from the potential of burnout.
3. 📱 Productivity App - I've been using Meetup to attend free events and meet people in all the new places I travel. It's a great way to get to know locals and try things. In Singapore, they have events such as trivia nights, hiking, pool parties, socials, and so much more (the same goes for other countries!).
4. 🎁 Product - I got a travel-size diffuser! It can fit in my backpack or suitcase, and I can take it wherever I go. It's so soothing and I swear I get 10x better sleep.​
5. 🚀 Nonprofit - Gigi's Playhouse has fifty-nine locations providing free educational, therapeutic-based, and career development programs for individuals with Down syndrome, their families, and the community, through a replicable playhouse model.​

✍️Quote of the Week

“To get the most out of your time and money, timing matters. So to increase your overall lifetime fulfillment, it’s important to have each experience at the right age.” ~ Bill Perkins, Die with Zero​