2024 in Review

A life unexamined is not worth living - Socrates

I have been doing yearly reviews for some time now (Here are the more recent ones: 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)

It started more as a full year review of my online stats (the number of website visits, growth of my social media account, you know, the vanity stuffs)

Perhaps due to age, I gravitate towards on reflecting on deeper stuffs that matter to me such as life in general, accomplishments (which my self-deprecating personality always reject instinctively) and learnings along the way.

For someone who has quite good memory (me) with specific events that happened decades ago, I always found doing any form of reviews difficult.

I could barely recall anything due to recency effects (i.e. you can only remember what happened recently and not like 9 months ago).

And as much as I cringe at good feedbacks, I managed bad ones even worse.

It is a personality flaw (or feature? Hmm) that I have to leave with and that is why I conduct my exposure therapy to do these reviews.

As the saying goes “a life unexamined is not worth living”, here we go

As I look back on my journey through 2024, it’s clear that this year has been a significant chapter in my life—one filled with challenges, achievements, and personal growth.

Highlights

No More Bosses

The most notable milestone was the launch of my book, which was published by Penguin Random House SEA .

After dedicating two to three hours each day to writing while juggling deadlines, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief now that it's out in the world.

The stress during the writing process was intense; there were moments when I questioned whether I should have embarked on this endeavour at all.

However, seeing familiar faces at the book launch event made all those worries fade away.

The launch took place at Arcc Space and was made even more special thanks to Reginald Koh from The Financial Coconut for featuring me in an episode that helped drive traffic from the event.

During our fireside chat, I shared an interesting hiring philosophy from Mark Zuckerberg: he asks himself if he would be comfortable being stuck with someone for hours in an airport lounge.

It resonated with me because I felt incredibly grateful for everyone who came out to support me—I’d happily spend time with them in any airport lounge! (Okay, maybe not the crappy airports)

3-year Solopreneur Anniversary

This year also marks three years since I started offering fractional marketing services as a solopreneur.

It’s been a rewarding experience sustaining this lifestyle and adapting to self-employment's unique demands.

I started the year with 3 assignments that continue to more than sustain my lifestyle choices.

Grateful that they placed their trust and confidence in me. One of them even gave me the opportunity to travel to Jakarta, Sydney & Vancouver as part of the work.

All these would not have been possible if I had not religiously (although not intentionally) worked on content marketing for over a decade and consistently wrote about the topics within the HR and HR Tech space.

And for an introvert like me, writing is easier than going out there to pitch and network. If you are unsure how to begin, check out my online course.

Work it podcast by CNA x 80+ episodes

On another front, I'm proud to have wrapped up over 80 episodes of Work It by CNA.

Throughout both seasons, I've had incredible conversations—including one with Piyush Gupta, former CEO of DBS Bank—in his office!

Big thanks to Crispina Robert for making it possible.

Podcasting has not only sharpened my interviewing skills but also allowed me to meet fascinating people along the way—a bit like how comedians test their material before going big!

Travel

On a personal note, family vacations were highlights throughout 2024—we travelled together across beautiful destinations like Perth and Japan (Fuji & Kyoto).

One memorable experience involved staying at an eco-friendly camping site where we embraced nature despite some unexpected roughness compared to glamping standards!

Visiting my university campus in Perth added another layer of fulfilment since I'd never seen it first hand while studying remotely.

Family

Additionally, we welcomed Luca into our family—a playful Pomsky puppy who brings joy (and chaos) into our home!

Health

On top of that adventure is my commitment towards health; completing over 100 sessions at BFT is no small feat!

While recovery seems slower than ever due partly due inflammation issues creeping up on aging joints—it remains essential for maintaining vitality.

LinkedIn

Social media engagement surged too—I reached around 42k followers on LinkedIn along with impressive impressions across posts reflecting growth beyond what I'd anticipated earlier this year despite the fickle algorithm changes.

Which is why I’m shitposting most of the time now since no amount of well-crafted essay which I spent 50 hours channelling the spirit of Hemingway can get the same reach as the pretty lady who did a duck-faced selfie with lorum ipsum caption.

And hence my personal favourite post of the year (albeit not the best performing) is the one where I self declare myself as LinkedIn Top Noise.

If you are not already, follow me on LinkedIn.

Lowlights

Life is never a straight line as much as people on social media would present otherwise.

With every up, there will be down.

Slipped Disc

For me, a key one would be my experience with a slipped disc, which technically began in late December of last year but required surgery early this year.

The aftermath was quite difficult, leaving me incapacitated for three months.

This all came about after I aggravated my injury while attempting deadlifts at the gym—a decision fuelled by poor form and perhaps a desire not to lose face among peers.

It’s a stark reminder that trying too hard to impress others can lead us into precarious situations.

Living with a slipped disc is no small ordeal; the pain radiates down your nerves, manifesting as shooting and tingling sensations that can be incredibly uncomfortable.

Through an MRI, my doctor discovered two slipped discs—one likely stemming from an incident during my national service decades ago. The surgery was performed using a keyhole technique, which I hoped would provide relief.

However, the recovery process was gruelling. For about two to three weeks post-surgery, I had to relearn how to walk due to the severity of my condition.

Lost two assignments

Additionally, this year brought unexpected financial stress when two assignments fell through mid-year.

This caught me off guard and left me feeling panicked as I had planned my finances around those projects.

While I'm working on conserving resources and adapting to these changes, it remains one of the more significant hurdles I've encountered in 2024.

Despite these setbacks, I'm hopeful for what lies ahead and am learning valuable lessons along the way about resilience and self-care in both physical health and financial planning.

Which is the perfect segue (we like to call it in podcasting) to my learnings.

Learnings

Having a reputation makes meeting new people easier

As an introvert, I've come to realize the significant impact of personal branding on meeting new people.

This year, I encountered two distinct situations where individuals approached me after our conversations, mentioning that they followed me on LinkedIn.

It’s fascinating how having a reputation that precedes you can facilitate easier interactions.

In networking scenarios, when people recognize you, it alleviates the pressure to adopt an extroverted persona and makes conversations flow more naturally.

This observation isn't entirely new; I’ve been aware of this dynamic for a while now.

However, it serves as a valuable reminder as we move forward into the year: consistency in your identity is crucial.

Constantly changing your lane can hinder your ability to build equity and experience in your field—much like compound interest requires time and consistency to grow.

Change of my travelling preference

On a personal note, I've discovered that I can't handle rushed travel well—it genuinely frustrates me.

A recent trip to Sydney highlighted this fact when I found myself short on time for my tax refund at the airport.

The resulting expenses were far beyond what I'd anticipated!

Reflecting on my travels in Japan—a fantastic road trip—I realized I would have enjoyed taking more spontaneous stops along the way to explore small towns rather than sticking strictly to our itinerary.

Taking breaks are important

Additionally, during my recent hiatus from my newsletter before heading off to Japan in November, I learned how refreshing it could be not having the weekly pressure of content creation and formatting tasks weighing down on me.

This break reminded me of Noah Kagan's podcast schedule; he has adjusted his frequency due to family commitments because sometimes something has to give.

Dictating my posts

While I'm not abandoning my newsletter altogether—I truly enjoy connecting with my community—I'm seeking ways to manage it more efficiently moving forward.

Instead of relying solely on AI tools for drafting content—which feels somewhat disingenuous—I’m experimenting with dictation using an app called SpeakApp.

Although it's awkward at times listening back to raw footage, AI can help format it effectively so that I only need minimal editing afterwards.

If you are wondering, this post was deliberately created with SpeakApp.

There is no way I can type a first draft faster than I already am.

Moreover I have the bad habit of editing while I write.

Dictating can feel weird at first but just like how I felt when I started podcasting and youtubing, it just takes enough reps to get used to it.

If you are keen to replicate what I did, I get the app to apply Casual tone and turn the transcription into a blog post.

For this post, I broke it into 3 recordings for each section.

All together, I recorded 20 mins of audio and another 30 mins to edit.

And I dictated freestyle.

If you prefer more structure (which I believe I will apply in the future), you can create a list of questions (use ChatGPT) to ask yourself and just record your oral answers into SpeakApp.

With practice and persistence—just like with any other medium such as podcasts or videos—I hope this approach will streamline my workflow and reduce the time commitment required for producing newsletters while still engaging meaningfully with my audience.

Try SpeakApp for free and let me know what you think.

And that’s my tl;dr version of 2024.

What’s yours? Happy to read it or (even better) see you publish it.

Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter and may 2025 be your best year ever.

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