A recently retired relative of mine told me that one of the most important lessons she learnt after dedicating more than 25 years to her job, is to enjoy the ride.
“I’ve invested so much time stressing about work and its projects … and I regret not spending time enjoying my job,” she said.
What my relative said resonated deeply with me. I am a perfectionist and I want to see quick results. It’s not without a reason I am nicknamed “Speedy”.
Whenever I and my team handle a new project, I ensure we cover every aspect, and go that extra mile. We always strive to beat the deadline and jump-start our next project. While that’s great, it meant that I was spending more than the required time on a project.
But my situation and that of my relative are not unique. Many entrepreneurs as well as employees find themselves in a similar scenario. An acquaintance of mine once said that she hadn’t taken a vacation in such a long time, and that she would now rest only when she retires. She didn’t know how to turn her mind off work.
My mind, too, was always in management mode, and whenever we were done with a project, I would think of the next. Rarely did I dedicate time to reflect back on the special moments of the day.
Constantly being in management mode eventually resulted in burnout for me. I found myself dreading work, and no longer felt excitement. I asked myself why I hated what I was once passionate about. After giving it careful thought, I knew that my dread had nothing to do with work, but the way I approached it. I didn’t stop and reflect back on the good moments, I never properly took a break to celebrate how far I’d come.
Navigating work through the Covid-19 pandemic hasn’t exactly been a nice walk in the park for many of us. Stress levels heightened, and many of us ended up putting more hours into work. It is exactly at such stressful times that we need to allow ourselves time to celebrate, to reflect back on the mini milestones we achieve, and to applaud our colleagues, who are most likely stressed out just like us.
Reflecting back on special moments is as simple as writing a journal. It’s also important to share these moments with your team members.
Whenever we achieve a mini milestone, my colleagues and I would order a simple meal and celebrate by recalling what we enjoyed most about the project. A colleague of mine celebrates her mini milestones by drafting a presentation, including highlights of her journey. “This way, I don’t forget the details,” she says.
Entrepreneurship has been the most satisfying journey for me. But it also comes with baggage. The key is to remind ourselves to enjoy the ride, and to celebrate our mini milestones as well as the big ones, for it is these simple actions that make the journey worthwhile.
Manar Al Hinai is an award-winning Emirati writer and communications consultant based in Abu Dhabi
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
U19 World Cup in South Africa
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Vriitya Aravind, Deshan Chethyia, Mohammed Farazuddin, Jonathan Figy, Osama Hassan, Karthik Meiyappan, Rishabh Mukherjee, Ali Naseer, Wasi Shah, Alishan Sharafu, Sanchit Sharma, Kai Smith, Akasha Tahir, Ansh Tandon
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
'Laal Kaptaan'
Director: Navdeep Singh
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain
Rating: 2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
Brave CF 27 fight card
Welterweight:
Abdoul Abdouraguimov (champion, FRA) v Jarrah Al Selawe (JOR)
Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (TUN) v Alex Martinez (CAN)
Welterweight:
Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA) v Khamzat Chimaev (SWE)
Middleweight:
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Rustam Chsiev (RUS)
Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) v Christofer Silva (BRA)
Super lightweight:
Alex Nacfur (BRA) v Dwight Brooks (USA)
Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (JOR) v Tariq Ismail (CAN)
Chris Corton (PHI) v Zia Mashwani (PAK)
Featherweight:
Sulaiman (KUW) v Abdullatip (RUS)
Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) v Mohammad Al Katib (JOR)
