Money Diary #25

Morning: Dad wakes me up at 6 since I promised to do some computer stuff with him before work starts. After I do the laptop work with him, I go shower and sign into my 8 o'clock webcast. Eat breakfast of toasted & buttered Hawaiian rolls with a jalapeno omelet while listening to the webcast. Once that ends, prep for the morning meeting with my manager. SO texts about going to IKEA later this week since they have a deal about buying food and getting an equivalent discount on furniture. Meeting with manager goes well, and I set myself reminders on a couple of action items. 

Afternoon: Lunch is naan and spicy egg stew with a glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice, and then I start working on a large project which I'm trying to do a little bit of each day. My last meeting of the day is at 2:30 with my manager and another colleague, so once that ends, I work some more on the large project. Have a bit of a Tolberone bar with Mom and then an English tea for a late afternoon snack. Call it a day and read for a bit. Here is what I learn: 

• On the most important question: Even if it's good for my career, is it good for my mental health? 

• On remembering to be grateful: I WFH and lead a simple life. By any definition, my life isn't an Instagram-worthy one. But, I am surrounded every day by "my people" -- my SO and my parents -- who form the basis of my everyday interactions. Thanks to WFH, I don't need to project a certain image on Zoom and I don't need to figure out what to wear.

• On golden handcuffs: An associate in a high-paying industry has over $1 million saved up. The salary difference between staying in that industry and doing non-profit work has become so large that even though the latter was the dream several years ago, that's no longer the case. As they put it, "it's so difficult to pull the trigger and give up the current goose laying golden eggs." 

• On what a leader is: A leader owns "a mutual fund of employees." Even if one of their direct reports heavily overachieves, but others are simply average, a leader is dependent on making sure their entire team succeeds.

• On community: "Community is built from repeat small interactions." 

Evening: I miss a call from a former coworker who wants to catch up, so we schedule some time to connect later in the week. An early dinner of rice and egg stew. Afterwards, I do a bit of work on the large project and will aim to complete the entirety of it tomorrow. I'm super tired, so brush my teeth, play on the phone a bit, and bed by 9:30.