I always say that my work feels like fun because it's so dynamic and interesting. That being said, if I had to choose activities that I do in my free time without the stress of deadlines and impending fires to put out, here's what I'd tell you.
It's Ping-Pong, but make it serious.
Some of my fondest memories with my dad are when he taught me how to play table tennis. Little did he know that he was the catalyst to a lifelong competition between anyone else that likes table tennis and myself. Fun fact, in my freshman year of college, my roommates and I had bought a ping-pong table for our apartment and set a wager - The person with the most wins at the end of the year wins the table to own. Needless to say, while I can't fit the ping pong table in my new apartment, my parents were highly confused when a moving truck showed up with a semi-new ping pong table for their garage.
Didn't grow up the healthiest, but I'll be damned if I die that way.
Did you know that 1/6 youths in America are obese? Lesser known fact, did you know that I was the 1/6 people that statistic was talking about?
I grew up in a home with extremely hard-working immigrant parents who did their level best to make sure that my brother and I always had food on the table. That didn't always meant that we would have the healthiest options available. Now, I could sit here and tell you about my life's story of the many different mental and physical struggles that I have had over the years, OR (and this is what I prefer to tell you) I could tell you about how I am actively working to reverse it all.
Over the years, I have read countless books on mental wellbeing, physical fitness, and nutrition. I go the gym anywhere from 4-5 times a week (at least in 2024), journal and meditate before I sleep every night, and maintain a caloric defecit. Now, with all that said, do I have a crazy physique? Not yet. Am I inconsistent at times? Very much so. But at my core, I am committed to making sure that I am working towards my mental and physical best everyday.
There's too much in this world not to know about.
In elementary school, I'd always go to the library during lunch to go say hi to my friend, the librarian. She'd always have a new book that she thought I'd find interesting. It started off with books about the water cycle and recycling. But eventually, she started giving me all kinds of books. Origami, Nebulas in Space, even Poetry. Personally, I believe this is where my fascination with learning came from (also known as the birthplace of my ADHD).
While I may not have time to pursue a career in folding paper cranes anymore, I continually make an effort to learn more about different skills and industries. For example, during COVID, I had the idea of starting a personalized mask company. There was only one problem: I had less than zero ideas on how to make that happen. So I started researching different fabric printing options and how to source the materials needed in bulk to make it happen. The business became an incredibly successful side hustle for me and I credit it all to curiosity.
There is a drawback though. Sometimes, the things you actually need to know are the things that you are least curious about. For me, curiosity is a strong motivator, so sometimes, the things that I really NEED to know can take a backseat. That being said, I've figured out a way to gamify those tasks and make sure that they aren't on the backburner for too long.
In fact, coding is one of those things that I was always putting off. But the way that I convinced myself to continue learning this skill is by focusing on two things: