Hey guys, I know that it has been quite some time since I’ve wrote something. And I don’t mean writing and publishing something for the sake of filling up my blog listing. I mean doing it with purpose and intention. Yes, I think you will be seeing that word being mentioned a couple of times throughout this entry today – intention. So yes, as of this very recent Tuesday, I’ve just spent my very last day at the now previous company.

I joined the company, BitRabbit Pte Ltd back in late-May. I believe I have written about it back then. And how excited I was about having the opportunity to finally put my passion and calling into practice. After nearly a decade of pursuing my passions and to discover my “ikigai”, I was finally able to realize it. But what happened since then?

To be fair, I need to provide sufficient context for everything that has happened in the past four months plus. This company that I was recently hired to work for wasn’t something that I was looking for. Not exactly. I was more focused on trying to land a role that is specific to Web Front-end Development. But the company that approached me wanted me to work on their Android mobile app. Just to be clear, I did spent roughly 7~8 years working on mobile apps (quite intensely), so it feels more like I’ve spent 15 years on this area of my skills and experience. As a result, I felt like my web-based skills were falling behind and also quite rusty. So ever since the pandemic started in 2020, I had been using that period of time to refresh and upgrade my skills in the around of Web Front-end Dev. I had already spent many years prior working with Angular, and the one area that I haven’t touched was React. During those early months of the pandemic, React was starting to gain more attention and focus. By 2023, the number of companies claiming to be hiring React developers had dominated the job listings on so many websites (including LinkedIn). To me, it was a sign that I was heading in the right direction.

Over the past four years, I had been learning React while also attempting to do some small-scale React-related freelance projects. There were nothing compared to a full-sized web project. Instead, it’s usually just a small portion, or a single web page or two pages worth of components. And so, I have been thinking a lot about resuming that sort of freelancing. They don’t usually pay a lot, but in my current situation, I think making $500 ~ $3,000 on each freelance gig will be very helpful towards my current circumstances.

Focusing on My Part-Time Studies

The other area that I am also thinking into serious considerations is my current part-time diploma. I’m currently at the tail-end of the first semester, and there is another semester to go before the course is official finished. After everything that I had experienced in the last few months, I think it is safe to say that having more time to work on my assignments is actually not such a bad thing. One of the reasons why I failed at my job recently is because I had a huge challenge when it comes to managing my time efficiently between my studies and work. There had been times when I would constantly wondered, “If only I had more time to work on my assignment.” But the truth is that I should’ve been more self-disciplined and focused. That said, I am also acknowledging and accepting that I am only human. After a crazy day at work, sometimes, all I really want to do when I come home is to chill, relax, maybe play some PC game and then sleep. But no, with my part-time studies, it would mean that I have to give up on a lot of that relaxation and play time. From what I have already experienced, by being self-disciplined, I go from work to studies to sleep and the cycle just repeats. It has been exhausting.

In fact, when I was in school yesterday, I had already began to experience the post-effects of a burnout. I had been overworking myself for the last few months. While I didn’t feel anything while I was going through it, it is starting to sink in right now. It is also a major part of the reason why I have chosen to take a few days to recharge, sleep more and get myself back to a more energetic level.

Freelancing First, Full-time Career Later.

And that is also where you will find me right now. The most consistent thing my lecturers and fellow classmates (those with some experience doing this) have said to me yesterday, is that I should seriously consider focusing on my studies for the next 6-7 months and then go back into full-time work afterwards. In the meantime, they have also suggested that I consider resuming my freelancing first.

Clearly, I need an income at least, so I can’t just do nothing and study. So, the most realistic thing I can do right now while ensuring I still have time for my studies is to do some freelancing for the next few months. Once my studies is finished in June next year, I will begin the process of looking for something more permanent.

If my recent hardships have taught me anything, it is that I shouldn’t try to plan too far ahead. For now, I think I can afford to think of it one-month at a time. Looking ahead, I am thinking about December and when December rolls around, I will begin to think ahead into January and so on.

Mean time, I will continue to enjoy this period of recharging and relaxation. I believe I earned it after pouring my heart and soul into my recent work opportunity. I have no regrets because I know that I have done everything possible and to the best of my ability.