So, the last reflection of August, and my second last summer reflection. It's been a good run, but I'm saving the full reflection of what I accomplished versus aimed to for next week. This week instead, I'll talk a bit about what I did per usual, but then think out loud (doesn't translate well to a blog... write straight from my thoughts??) about progress and learning. Partly because I did a full other blog about lifelong learning that really touches on some of my core beliefs like how all effort is meaningful.
Getting old school with my design
Let's set the scene. I'm at this cottage complex(? condo-style resort community?) with my family. It's a weekend getaway. There's a shared pool and games room, yet we still have many hours in the day and everyone eventually wants to find their own activity.
In preparation, I was thinking about how to use this time to relax and enjoy something I normally wouldn't do. I was inspired by a good friend of mine who was drawing lots at their job, so decided to bring a sketchpad and begin designing. What, you may ask? Why, naturally it was the projects page for my personal website that I still haven't completed!
Pre-amble aside, I genuinely had a lot of fun trying this. I have never considered myself artistic (well, I feel like I have a million ideas yet lack the experience to portray them properly), but I thoroughly enjoyed thinking of designs and drawing them out to see what they might look like. I also noticed a habit to try and visualize a lot in my head before drawing, only going to paper when it wasn't clear or I needed a comparison at first.
Though I am admittedly embarrassed to share my sloppy artwork, I believe the best examples come with visuals, so please enjoy my experience and projects page designs.
On the experience page, I thought of the classic timeline. Some notes on the side (forgive my chicken scratch, I know not the last time I properly wrote something by hand), with the "grandest" idea being that any photos I have to share would pop out from the side as you scroll.
On the projects page, I started with a general thought of a landscape card with a description underneath. I then had a good sense of it, so tried a slightly higher fidelity design below and included a lot more detail. For example, do I include a date, and if so, where? How about a button to let someone try what I've made if there's a useable demo? Lots of thoughts to explore and honestly would recommend as an exercise for anything creative.
My take on lifelong learning
I dedicated an entire blog post to this, but wanted to give a small preview here. Lifelong learning is important, but effort, intentionality, and reflection are what make it truly valuable. If you believe that the accomplishment of goals is important to a satisfying life, my argument is that you must reflect on what you're learning and then put effort and thought into what you learn next to bring you closer to your goals. Learning with no plan can be helpful but may not move you the way you hope for it to.
References, a way to know someone?
I've worked (volunteered) on the engineering society at my school for 3 years now, 2 of which I've been managing multiple teams of developers. After talking about the importance of references while at Scotia, I had received advice that as a manager, I could write a reference for someone because I've literally seen their good work for at least a year, AND I could ask for a reference in return to highlight my skills as a manager.
Something fun this week was reading over the reference that someone plans on writing for me on LinkedIn! I was honoured to read their thoughts and am super excited to include it (we need a few edits first because it went over the character limit). I obviously put my best efforts into their letter as well, especially because it's from a manager's perspective, so I'm in a perfect position to sell why they would be a fantastic addition to any team.
I've been thinking about the importance of references, because they hold many features. First, getting to know someone through another's eyes. Second, getting to know their work. I've been incredibly proud of the reference I received for my time at Scotia, but I always wonder what someone who doesn't know me thinks when reading it.
Send that message, it is meaningful
Over the past few years but especially this summer, I've learned that "just sending" that message in your mind is always a good idea. Sometimes I see something and wonder if I should tell someone about it. They're almost always grateful when I decide to, so I've tried to make it a habit to properly share my thoughts.
A great example this week was with someone I really admire with their own weekly blog on substack. They posted and at the end, included a point about how people could reach out with ideas on what to talk about in the coming months. I had some thoughts, and also just wanted to reach out, so shot them a message on LinkedIn. I also included my lifelong learning post because it seemed like something they might enjoy based on our discussions.
The result was better than I could have ever expected! They loved it, responded so kindly and made me so happy for sharing, and asked me if they could share both my content ideas and blog because they thought others they knew would enjoy it too! Not only that, but they wanted to share it on their blog next week!
Needless to say, I was honoured, ecstatic, and grateful I decided to reach out. I've had some great outcomes from reaching out to someone, but this further solidified the idea in my mind that it is just something extremely important to do.
Wrapping up
So, lots to think about this week, and a wonderful time. I also went downtown twice, first to see some good friends from Scotiabank where I had a great time discussing human psychology (like the way that even if information is easy to find, many people default to asking a real person for it) and relationships. I also did a perfume workshop with my girlfriend and had such an amazing time that I'll write a blog in the upcoming days about it because I think there's some cool thoughts floating around about scents and personality (if it's locked while you're reading this, it's still in the works).
Overall, I am once again extremely grateful to have the time to explore so much this summer, and I'm in a very reflective mood so I may write more soon about more of my views on life.