Last Year Recap & Takeaways

I've been working for just over a year now, after completing my Master's, and it struck me that I never marked this with a blog post. It's been a pretty eventful year in which I:

• moved off my mountain (and out of the country, again)
• started a career in software testing and tried my hand at a little recruiting
  
• visited Europe for the first time
• read a lot, and
• learned to play ultimate (well, still learning).

I still have tonnes to learn (note how hard I'm clinging to my Canadianisms), but I do have a few takeaways from my experiences so far:

• Don't be afraid to keep telling your ideas to people who will listen, even just informally. Use these discussions to keep refining them and don't give up if you think they are interesting. Eventually, it may pay off!
• It's easy, when starting out, to get sucked into the minutiae of your daily tasks. Try to keep an eye on the 'big picture' and what's going on around you. Maintain your vision!
  
• Take advantage of slow times to rest and gear up for the hard times, because there will be lots of them. No one can keep a pace of 10-12 hour days, 6 days a week forever without burning out! Keep going to the gym, get up from your desk regularly, and meet your friends for lunch. Work hard the rest of the time (and keep the 6 day weeks to a minimum). :)

Of course, I'm guilty of not following my advice on many occasions... but I've seen how these things can pay off so I try to keep reminding myself to stick to them anyway!