Christmas ended last month, but we’re not quite ready to say goodbye yet. That’s why we did our New Year’s Resolution in a Secret Santa style. 😺
Editor’s note: Putting a spin on New Year’s resolutions is in keeping with tradition — we mapped out our resolutions the previous year.
The task: each person has to give two resolutions for a colleague, randomly drawn, about their work and personal lives. Aside from injecting a bit of novelty to the usual New Year’s resolution format, we hope that these resolutions, made in each others’ best interests, will allow everyone to be kinder to ourselves this year.
At least that was what we expected, in theory. Because we’re pretty close, some of our resolutions are just ruthless:
Resolutions for Dylan, by Joceline:
Work: Finish building Konti 2.0 (the revamping of our website!)
Personal: Save up enough to get a motorcycle (and buy it lol)
Reason: Maybe the adrenaline will help you code faster or reduce Peiying-induced stress. Jokes aside, you’ve been thinking about it for over a year, so might as well get it this year. You can relook at fulfilling your 2018 goal of travelling the Golden Triangle by bike; it may lead to new experiences and interests.
Resolutions for Joceline, by Bella:
Work: Be on time for work at least 3 days a week. Maybe use a habit-building app like Habit or Done. 🤓
Personal: Work on fun design projects for yourself (could be sketching baby Yoda or designing T-shirts with your sister).
Reason: You mentioned maybe starting a clothing store with your sister someday; why not start sketching out some designs this year? Also, it might be nice to just design for yourself rather than for the company/commissions.
As a palate cleanser, here’re some wholesome resolutions about achieving professional goals:
Resolutions for Bella, by Dewi:
Work: I hope that you become our data vis and data journalism expert whom everyone can consult about data-vis-related stuff, culminating in a small workshop or sharing session towards the end of the year. :)
Personal: I hope that you can run 10km by the end of the year. 🙂
Resolutions for Zu Xiang, by Dylan:
School: Graduate, and be happy.
Personal: Participate in meetups related to writing!
Reason: To build your confidence :)
While it’s important to have professional milestones, work isn’t everything in life. During our monthly meetings, the most frequently cited challenge the team faces is time management. Which is why we have a couple of resolutions about bettering our work-life balance.
Resolutions for Peiying, by Kenneth:
Work: Leave work no later than 5:00 pm, unless the roof is burning down.
Reason: Everyone in the team mentions you are real efficient and you come in at 7:30 am each morning, so you definitely earn it. Moreover, if Google can see a 40 percent increase in productivity by shaving off a workday each week, think of the energy gains from an early end to the day!
Personal: Schedule a fortnightly call with an international friend you care about.
Reason: I heard that you recently took a research trip to Japan and made many international friends there. Most of my closest friends are currently overseas, and I find that regular chats really help us stay close — even though they’re easy to forget amid the hectic Singapore lifestyle. In the end, you’ll have 26 great conversations to look back on for the year!
Resolutions for Kenneth, by Gwyneth:
Work: To get closer to the Konti and Potato people!
Personal: To feel at ease mentally and emotionally, as well as achieve a good balance between work and life.
Reason: To feel at ease refers to feeling comfortable even with stress, not necessarily to feel no stress. Hopefully, stress can push you forward, rather than hinder your progress. And work-life balance is always important :)
Resolutions for Aishah, by Peiying:
Work: To conduct an R workshop for the rest of the Kontinentalist team and showcase your awesome data skills. I think you know a lot about data analysis and the rest of the team can definitely benefit from understanding your skills better!
Personal: Start a new hobby!
Reason: It’s important to have some good work-life balance, and pick up new skills! Time to use that Potato learning fund to learn something new.
Editor’s note: Our parent company, Potato Productions, has a fund allocated for its employees to learn or pick up new skills.
Resolutions for Griselda, by Rifqi:
Work: Be able to handle hectic work, and try not to skip lunch even you’re very busy.
Personal: Be able to finish Inktober; at least draw one illustration every day for two weeks.
As a diverse team in both nationalities and interests, we get to learn and nerd out at each other. To get a sense of how freewheeling our conversations can go, check out our ‘Conversations with Designers’ series! 🧑🏻🎨
Here’re some of our resolutions related to nourishing our interests:
Resolutions for Gwyneth, by Aishah:
Work: Explore a data-driven story with a creative, unconventional layout
Reasons: I’m looking forward to developing a story with you this year because you have a lot of great ideas about how a story should look like!
Personal: To finish that Udemy course on character design that you bought but haven’t started. And also get that driving license!
Reason: Gwyneth is a Marvel-head — she is obsessed with comic book characters. And I guess that prompted her to get the comic character course but she hasn’t started on the videos yet. This is your push to start the course, Gwyn!
Resolutions for Rifqi, by Zu Xiang:
Work: Walk to the office from Somerset more instead of bus. Get those legs moving!
Personal: Visit at least 5 of these places over the year if you haven’t already:
- Skyville @ Dawson’s rooftop
- Hort Park / Henderson Waves, or the whole Southern Ridges if you’re adventurous
- Upper Thompson
- Jalan Kayu
- Telok Ayer
- Tiong Bahru
- Kampong Glam
- Punggol / Coney Island (cycle there!)
- Pulau Ubin
Reason: I recall a conversation where you said you’ve only been to the touristy places in Singapore. So please try these places that are more popular among locals, and some personal favourites of mine.
Resolutions for Dewi, by Griselda:
Work: Write a blog post / another story related to your interests!
Reason: Your previous Medium posts were usually about business/partnerships; I want to see you share your personal interests like tea, movies, and other cultural things! Especially because your Batik story was interesting, and conversations about movies with you are always fun.
Personal: Watch some Indonesian cinema and we can exchange opinions. 😊
Whether we actually choose to incorporate these resolutions is secondary. The bigger takeaway from this exercise is that as a team, we see each other. We notice when someone skips lunch for work, listen to one another’s aspirations, and cheer each other on. We may not discuss it often, but the choice to care for each other in the small things creates trust and brings us closer each year.
New Year’s resolutions for the office are a great reminder that keeping things professional doesn’t stop us from making genuine personal connections at work. In an era of toxic workplaces and growing social isolation, we believe this is a worthy aim.
