2020 review

Finally got the time to post a review of 2020. Glad that I keep a short daily diary of some sorts to refer to.

2020 is now coming to an end and heres my logical self-reivew of what I did in 2020. Really was a heck of a year.

2020 was a year of ups and downs. It was the year I experienced the most mental growth and saw my coding skills being pushed to its limits. For the first time in my life, I decided to put myself first before everyone else. Since Secondary school, I was always giving my all to everyone around me and I left little time for my own self-development and introspection.

This year, I focused alot on the lone wolf mentality and regularly kept in touch with only a select group of friends, so that I could dedicate all my time into my work and do what I truly love. I found that they were the ones who truly cared about me and what I did. They checked on me regularly and volunteered to help as much as their means allowed. Everyone else didnt care much and I found out what true friends were. When I was in my darkest hours, majority of the people left me alone except for the few who are still here.

However, this is a part and parcel of life because I cannot expect everyone to follow suit with my thoughts and actions and no, I hold no resentment towards anyone of any sort simply because it would hint at an entitled mindset, which I do not have. If I were in their shoes, I would also not have cared because 99% of startups and ventures fail, and I cannot fault anyone for a lack of faith and belief. I have no regrets because I dont like to regret things and I know that there is no time for regret. Pushing forward over the next 10 - 20 years is what matters the most.

Thats all for the executive summary. I will now be doing 2 sections of preliminary life assessments, before doing a deep dive using Alex Vermeer’s 12 life areas to review and assess my year.

Things I felt I did well

I coded full-stack, inclusive of security and full site design using CSS and ReactJs. I registered a business and learnt about ACRA. I was able to grow the business Instagram page to over 1500 followers through different methods and I got better at design using Canva. Business acument was also heightened as I learnt to talk to random stangers so that I could understand things from a different POV. I was able to keep track of my daily activities on the most part and got back a little into reading. I grew the first SG Uni discord server to about 950 members in under 3 months, with an online rate of about 20%.

Things I didnt do well

The business was unable to gain traction and we were unable to fully hack the SEO. I was also unable to make substantial gym gainz and kept going off-track from my diet, even though I have cut down from 83kg - 73kg ish. I also did not try hard enough to gain traction, probably due to fear and also due to some slight burnout.

Alex Vermeer’s 12 life areas

Values and Purpose

I have good values and consider myself to be moral. I will not stoop to corruption or cheap methods that I myself do not believe in. I have a clear purpose which is to be successful by making the world a better place. I still believe strongly in changing education, fighting poverty in the future and influencing people for the greater good. People should earn based on merit and a degree should gain back its value.

Contribution and Impact

Currently, I dont think I am providing much value or even impacting the world greatly at the moment. Nothing much to reflect on here.

Location and Tangibles

I live in Singapore and am happy with where I am staying for now. Living conditions are great and there isnt much more which I need. My life isnt cluttered, since I am saying no to alot of things and that is a good sign. I have some posessions but I havent been shopping much and I believe the possessions I have are manageable.

Money and Finances

Looked into investing this year and have started using robo advisors. Looking to move to using IBKR for future investments. Most of my money is spent on food and I havent been spending as much. I spent the most on my workstation setup and it set me back about 1 - 1.5k. I need to continue the habit of dilligently recording down my spending into my app. I believe I am spending my money alright at the moment. Im not frugal and I splurge on food, but I deem it to be acceptable.

Career and Work

Co-Founded Travellist and that is about it. Nothing much here to reflect on.

Health and fitness

Im generally quiet alert, but have been sleeping late and feeling tired recently. Currently still cutting, and have been on some semi IF and low calorie for the longest time possible. Gym and cut has not been going very well and I really need to start getting the discipline to run more. Will discuss with William and see what else we can do. I sleep alright, getting about 6 hours but I need to get more. Im also at around 73kg, 17% bodyfat maybe so definitely need to cut down.

Education and development

Took a 1 year LOA to found the startup. Might have to do some massive overload and I will need to plan out my modules for the next few semesters that I have in school. Still reading Information Systems in SMU as well. Development wise, I developed a little of everything here and there, continuing on my jack-of-all-trades history and this might be a bad thing. I continue to plan to develop more coding skills in the future and I will need to relook before next year as to what exactly I will need to do.

Social Life and Relationships

Life at home is great and I have good relationships with my closest friends. Im still in a relationship with YY and its our 7-year anniversary in about 2 weeks. Im thankful for Allan, Yang Kai and Zhi Yuan as well, since these are now my closest friends (they always have been) and have been supporting me for the longest time ever. My social circle has shrunk tremendously as compared to past years. I havent went back to SJBS this year, but am planning to revisit it in 2021 to help out the district since they could use some help and Jiatong needs help I guess. Relationship with YY is great and I am very thankful that she has been accomodating to my schedule and has been tolerant with me and my obsecure thoughts and ramblings for the year. I couldnt ask for more and theres nothing more which I need from her, except for her to maybe start slacking a little less and work harder because life is going to be tough for her soon and I hope she does well in her career since she really deserves it. I must admit that I was a little lackluster in the relationship as I am starting to put my career first so that our family in the future can lead a carefree life and will not have worrisome money matters to think about. However, after a 6+ year relationship, I think its OK because we know that we dont need to go out on lavish dates and go out to every new bazaar that pops up etc. Its just a waste of time to me and I rather work hard so that I can give my family the best that I can in the future. Money is not everything, and by best I do not refer to just money.

Emotion and Well-Being

Life is ok but I am kind of in the burnout phase. Thoughts have been getting a little negative and life on a whole has been feeling very stale and ‘sian’ if you would allow me to say. Overall, Im still pretty optimistic and am generally a postive person. I try my best to be tactful and not let my emotions take hold of my thoughts, since logic and reasoning should always come first. Have been thinking about whether Im falling into a depressive phase since this is a new form of negativitiy which I havent felt before. However as startup founders, the only thing we can do when we phase burnout is just to hustle on. There is no other option except to keep hoping and that is what I will continue to do - continue to hope that in 10 - 20 years, I’ll be able to impact the world and make it a better place.

Character and Integrity

My key strengths are still my extroverted personality whenever I want to, as I can pretty much strike up any convo with anyone. Im also great at pursuading people in real life. I have a small identiy and I try to keep my identiy small, as per Paul Graham’s advice. I dont take sides except for the side that is just. I am analytical as well. My character is also fine and I just need to work a little more on my self-discipline, confidence, persistence and focus for now. I have been getting a lot of imposter syndrome lately and have realised how unsmart I am as compared to many others out there. I didnt realise that I was so far behind thebest and I have definitely got to start putting all my effort and time into a single thing.

Productivity and Organization

2020 has been mostly productive, except for the past 2 months where productivity dipped by about 50% - 75%. I have been starting to organise and plan my thoughts as well, using tools like this blog, Alex Vermeers 12 categories, and other proper documentation methods to set goals. I am doing deep work but not enough deep work. I will need to continue finding the time for more deep work.

Adventure and creativity

Creativity in 2020 was alright as I did well in creating the Travellist Instagram and also this website. The fun things I have been doing would be using discord, watching anime and playing some games like Wild Rifts and Breath of the Wild with YY. Havent been doing much adventuring as compared to 2019 and am hoping to travel again (soon) and explore the world.

Summary and last thoughts

Its been a long year and I am slighty excited to be going back to school. 2020 has been harsh on me but I definitely needed some bitter medicine to help me kickstart my lifelong journey of learning and making the world better.

I am thankful for the people I’ve met through growing the first ever SG University Discord server and to my Contributors, Veterans and Seniors, thank you for taking the time off to help me keep the server a great place to be.

Im looking forward to greater things to come in the future and that is all for now.