Week 1,516

This week was about reconnecting with my writing routine. I enjoyed a solid writing session each day.

Although my throat is sore, it feels on the mend. A night of quality sleep would do me good.

Here’s how my week unfolded.

1. What I read.

This week, my reading took place in a unique setting: in bed at night. Whether I was trying to fall asleep or recovering from interrupted rest due to coughing, I found myself flipping through pages.

Why Is Meeting People So Difficult? — 38 Tips to Protect Your Mental Health (なぜ人に会うのはつらいのか-メンタルをすり減らさない38のヒント) by Tamaki Saitō and Masaru Sato

The quote that stuck with me:

“The pain of meeting people comes from the ‘violence’ inherent in it. However, that ‘violence’ has meaning.” (人に会うのに苦痛を感じるのは、そこに「暴力性」があるからだと理解する。しかし、その「暴力性」には意味がある。) — p.115

2. Who I saw.

A colleague from the Japan office recently relocated to the Paris office with his family. Given the nature of our roles — his job was to assist merchants in implementing our services, while my role was to address any technical issues that arose after the services were launched — we’ve worked closely together in the past.

The little details I observed:

Although he’s originally from the country, moving abroad still seemed to come with big challenges — professionally and personally for him and his family.

A friend of mine once described him as “the least French French person” he knows. As I get to know him, I’ve always admired his flexibility and adaptability. These traits not only make him a great fit for our company culture, but they also open up exciting opportunities in life.

He has a keen understanding of what it takes to serve Japanese merchants, particularly the local nuances involved, while also knowing when to leverage the global nature of our company. He also knows when the Japan team can benefit from his non-Japanese perspective.

3. What I created.

This week, I created a recurring event called “Goal for the Week” in my Google Calendar. I set one event for both work and personal life.

The story behind it:

In Week 1,512, I briefly discussed the concept of quarterly goals. This is how I break them down into weekly tasks. I aim to keep the number of goals under three to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

The goal is to stay mindful of your objectives so you can prioritize tasks and eliminate, delegate, or postpone those that don’t contribute to achieving your weekly goals.

The key is to keep your weekly goals visible throughout the week. They should be something you check every day. Google Calendar works well for this, as it’s easy to access on your laptop, and you can also use the mobile app when you’re away.

Next Week’s Peek — What I’m looking forward to and why

I’m looking forward to meeting a couple of friends from my school years. I can clearly recall where we left off the last time we met, as our conversations were particularly meaningful to me. I’m excited to catch up and hear what’s been happening in their lives since then.

Hope you had a great week.

Catch you next week!