Stories by Yunzhe Zhou on Medium

December Monthly Review

Yunzhe Zhou — Mon, 30 Dec 2019 01:25:51 GMT

“I am abundant. I am brilliant. I am enough.”

Notes: I know I skipped a month — November seriously went by in a blur. I want to stay in the present so this reflection is for December and a look back on 2019!

REFLECTIONS 🎉

Highlights from the past month

What was your biggest accomplishment this month?

Biggest accomplishment this month is feeling enough! Currently I feel SO abundant and at ease. It feels like everything is right where it should be and I feel this strong trust in the universe. My dreams will inevitably come true and the universe has my back.

2. What was your peak experience this month?

It was when I was in a coaching session with my life coach and we were talking about brilliance and me realizing that I have the (academic) genius within me — I had it all along, I just resisted for so long against it because it was something that I felt was impossible.

3. What main challenge did you face this month?

I told my parents that I’ll be working from Asia next year! It was very scary and thanks to my partner and my coaches, I was able to let them know from a place of “I am enough no matter what you say” and confidently tell them that I’m going to be digital nomading :)

4. What do you want to do less of and more of to balance your life?

My life feels very balanced right now! I’d love more meditation & spirituality, and less turning to reading the news as a distraction (if you’re reading this, my love, I hope you’re chuckling at this 😉)

5. What is your favorite discovery this month?

That I’ve let go of suffering and that my inner wellbeing is GREAT! I’m also really happy that I’m not anxiously fretting over being apart from my partner right now — and that we have a healthy and abundant relationship ❤

FUN GOODIES 🎈

things that have captured my interest

Books I read:

Productivity experiments:

Focusing on what I want to do in the moment and then following that — I’ve found that I end up getting what I need to get done anyways with so much more joy and ease!

Questions I’m pondering

NOVEMBER HABIT PROJECT: Again, I don’t quite remember 😂 so will have to skip this one for now. Isn’t it wild November was just last month and because I didn’t record it — I can’t even remember what I did?!. Oh but I did start an Instagram for this month, you can check it out for the ARTS podcast here.

PLANNING ✏️

Intentions and goals for the upcoming month

The most important business priority is: Focus on creating 3 new clients for January 2020

The most important personal priority is: Being present with my family before I head off to Asia!

My January project is: Start and finish a weekly cycling routine. We’re planning to not only work from Taiwan but also bike along the island so I need to prep for that! And work some muscles so I’m not huffing and puffing 💪🏼

This is the end of my monthly review for December, thanks so much for reading! And wishing you an incredible New Year ✨ ✨

December Monthly Review was originally published in Life Projects on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

October Monthly Review

Yunzhe Zhou — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 00:03:20 GMT

“Our thought is not our reality, yet it is through our thought that our reality is created.”

Notes: This past month has been a whirlwind and it really feels like upleveling — and at each new level, there’s definitely breakthroughs and breakdowns :)

Everything also all came together this month: coaching, writing and podcast!!

REFLECTIONS 🎉

Highlights from the past month

What was your biggest accomplishment this month?

Getting booked out with consultation calls for a whole week (just a few months ago, my goal was to get 3 per week as a reference) — and getting even more aligned clients with being on track to my first 10K month!

2. What was your peak experience this month?

After a coaching session with my spirituality coach, realizing that wellbeing isn’t something that I have to strive for, but that it’s at the essence of my being. It’s already here. And everyday starts out awesome. (Cue song: Everyday is awesome! 🎶)

3. What main challenge did you face this month?

It is a bummer when I talk to ideal clients and get really excited about working with them, and then it doesn’t work out. And now I’m learning to be more clear in my communication and learning how to bring out the vivid possibilities more.

4. What do you want to do less of and more of to balance your life?

I want to do less of what I think I should do — I’ve been learning that it’s okay to say no to calls and people who want my time (it’s not rude to prioritize my own time and stand up for myself!).

I want to do more of connecting with my intrinsic wellbeing (that everything is inherently okay and happy), and slowly peeling away this mask of “shoulds” that I’ve been building up over my lifetime.

5. What is your favorite discovery this month?

It has been the book “Everything is Figureoutable” by Marie Forleo!! She has SUCH a gift of presenting ideas in different ways, and inspiring me and empowering me to take action.

FUN GOODIES 🎈

things that have captured my interest

Books I read:

Productivity experiments:

Focusing on 3 core things I want to get done for the day — and letting go of the things that I think I should do by a particular time. Time expands for me, when I take things off of my choose-to do list

Questions I’m pondering:

How to get even better at coaching?
How to shift towards internal wellbeing?

SEPTEMBER SIDE PROJECT: Launch a career changer podcast ✅

Just launched a podcast called ARTS: Asians Redefining Their Success, and it’s for asians who want to break out of the box and go after more unconventional careers!!
It was definitely a learning process, and really proud of myself for going outside of my comfort zone and launching this :)

PLANNING ✏️

Intentions and goals for the upcoming month

The most important business priority is:

Serve my clients and enroll new ones powerfully.

The most important personal priority is:

Align my actions with more of what feels good to me and building that self-trust. Especially since historically, I tend to overthink.

My November project is: rebuild my meditation habit

Since everyday feels less spacious, I’ll make it so that I’ll meditate at least 3x a week!

This is the end of my monthly review for October, thanks so much for reading!

October Monthly Review was originally published in Life Projects on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

September Monthly Review

Yunzhe Zhou — Mon, 07 Oct 2019 02:37:23 GMT

“Everything is exactly where it needs to be”

Notes: This is the first month when I looked at my day and said: “wow, I’m living my ideal life.” My current reality is my ideal day.

And there’s no more striving or feeling like I’m not enough — just being.

REFLECTIONS 🎉

Highlights from the past month

What was your biggest accomplishment this month?

Getting one of my first long term high ticket clients!

2. What was your peak experience this month?

Starting something I really like and one that feels exciting — a podcast for Asian American career changers.

3. What main challenge did you face this month?

closing a client
getting sick and not knowing where I would be
coming from a mindset of abundance and enoughness

4. What do you want to do less of and more of to balance your life?

I want to do less of entertainment to pass time and more of intentional self-care activities

5. What is your favorite discovery this month?

Astrology actually! I’ve felt a stereotype distaste for it, always brushing it off, but now I’m learning more about it and really like the idea of past lives, and a closer connection to the universe than I originally thought.

FUN GOODIES 🎈

things that have captured my interest

Books I read:

Productivity experiments:

Time blocking chunks (i.e. writing, client calls, personal time) and allowing the space to be there to do to what I feel drawn to

Quotes on careers:

“To do marketing, you need to understand your audience. To build a great career, you need to understand yourself”.

Questions I’m pondering:

How do I continue to grow spiritually?

SEPTEMBER HABIT PROJECT: The Bliss Project

I actually did this for about 5 days and found it difficult to follow through because there were so many aspects (no excuses, judgements and criticisms)
However, September still ended up being such a blissful month — I’ve experienced my ideal day and there’s so much abundance in terms of partnerships and clients and projects :)

PLANNING ✏️

Intentions and goals for the upcoming month

The most important business priority is:

Working with aligned clients + book out the rest of 2019

The most important personal priority is:

Take time for myself (Zumba, meditation, painting, NLP, etc.)

My October project is: Launch my podcast!

This is a bit different — launch it. Won’t work on it everyday but will have weekly deliverables to finish.

This is the end of my monthly review for September, thanks so much for reading!

September Monthly Review was originally published in Life Projects on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

August monthly review

Yunzhe Zhou — Mon, 02 Sep 2019 02:34:25 GMT

“Everything that you want is already here”

Notes: Rather than solid physical things, so much of my change this month has been mental, which is interesting (because it’s hard to measure, but so fundamental to any change I want to make in my life).

REFLECTIONS 🎉

Highlights from the past month

What was your biggest accomplishment this month?

Getting into the feeling of being more abundant, such as:

Saying no to things that don’t fit into the life I want to live (no to clients, no to job offerings, etc.)
Doing things from a standpoint in which I want truly want to, instead of from the mindset of FOMO (fear of missing out)

And speaking of abundance, I also got my first cold email about clarify call from a super aligned potential client! It’s been awesome to have people finding me and reaching out to me through my content :)

2. What was your peak experience this month?

Lying next to my partner after our daily night stretches and gazing into his eyes (he’s also my accountability buddy). I feel so much in love, and it feels like I fall in love over and over again every day 💕.

3. What main challenge did you face this month?

Family relationships: I overcame the challenge of opening up to my parents more (specifically Dad), and having the first heart to heart conversations in a really long time! Really proud of my progress and both of us :)

4. What do you want to do less of and more of to balance your life?

Less of entertainment news in the morning, and more of unscheduled free time for myself to just be.

5. What is your favorite discovery this month?

I have two, because #abundance.

Accomplishment lists: where I write down one thing I accomplished that day. It helps me feel grateful, grounded and appreciative of what I do every day
Laws of attraction & manifestation from Loren Trlin: Believing in the universe, and that we are one with universe — putting it out there and trusting the process. Because I’m building a business & career I can *thrive* in for a long time

FUN GOODIES 🎈

things that have captured my interest

Books I read:

Productivity experiments:

Time blocking in my ideal day — Morning :: writing, afternoon :: helping others, evening :: personal time

Quotes on careers:

“You are living success for yourself, not for others.”
“When will it be ever enough? Enough is now.”

Questions I’m pondering:

AUGUST HABIT PROJECT: 30 days of forward folds

I can barely touch my toes before and now I can put my head to my knees! It’s amazing what 30 days of consistent practice can do.

And all with 5–10 minutes too :)

PLANNING ✏️

Intentions and goals for the upcoming month

The most important business priority is:

Building a stable freelance writing business with ongoing clients

The most important personal priority is:

Seriously get clear on goals with abundance in mind

My September project is: The bliss project

Inspired by Loren, it’s similar to self-care where everyday, I’m leaving behind and letting go of:

excuses
judgments
criticisms

And just be in a state of love, adoration, gratitude and abundance

This is the end of my monthly review for August, thanks so much for reading!

August monthly review was originally published in Life Projects on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

July Monthly Review

Yunzhe Zhou — Mon, 02 Sep 2019 02:02:19 GMT

“Sometimes the only way to ever find yourself is to get completely lost.”

Notes: Just got back from an East Coast roadtrip up to Maine! 🦞. This month felt super relaxing — though I’m pretty aware of the recency effect where how you feel at the end applies over to the whole month.

REFLECTIONS 🎉

Highlights from the past month

What was your biggest accomplishment this month?

Slowing down and having fun with my days / work (which is interesting that it feels like a skill that’s necessary to acquire).

2. What was your peak experience this month?

Seeing the sunrise at Jordan Pond in Maine in Acadia National Park! It was so beautiful and misty — even though it didn’t have the colors of the sunrise, it was even better, with that foggy misty feel (and 100% worth getting up at 5am).

Oh and the night before, we read at the picnic tables, cooked a yummy dinner and chased the sunset :)

3. What main challenge did you face this month?

The ups and downs of freelancing — just when you think that you got it, stuff comes up and happens. It’s unpredictable and uncertain, and I’m learning to roll with it.

4. What do you want to do less of and more of to balance your life?

Less of having strict standards for myself, and more of intentional working & playing balance.

5. What is your favorite discovery this month?

The beautiful lakes in Maine!

FUN GOODIES 🎈

things that have captured my interest

Books I read:

Productivity experiments:

Making a list of the 3 things I CHOOSE to do, instead of 3 Most Important Things, because the former helps me feel more in power of myself and inspires me to take a step back and ask: what do I really want?

Quotes on careers:

“Do the work that feeds your soul”

Questions I’m pondering:

JULY HABIT PROJECT: 30 days of flexibility (😞)

I actually haven’t done that — being on the road has been hard and actually definitely forgot about this, though I do still have my headstands down! Will be picking this up for this month

PLANNING ✏️

Intentions and goals for the upcoming month

The most important business priority is:

Create a stable freelance writing career (either contract or part time)

The most important personal priority is:

Getting clear on my *goals*

My July project is: 30 days of flexibility

Specifically forward folds .🤸

This is the end of my monthly review for July, thanks so much for reading!

July Monthly Review was originally published in Life Projects on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

June Monthly Review

Yunzhe Zhou — Sat, 06 Jul 2019 22:22:38 GMT

“What if we believed in ourselves without wavering, like how we believe that toddlers who fall down again and again could walk?”

Notes:

What a beautiful month. Looking back, it feels like a dream, when I was living in reality versus the other way (daydreaming to escape reality). I feel like I’m in paradise, especially with simple living 🌻

REFLECTIONS 🎉

Highlights from the past month

What was your biggest accomplishment this month?

Shifting my mindset from “they’ll find me if they really want it” to putting myself out there and powerfully serving clients — I’m really proud of myself that such aligned clients enrolled in my Get Unstuck program!

2. What was your peak experience this month?

Spending all the days and nights with my partner :). I feel such a sense of contentness, gratitude and true happiness.

3. What main challenge did you face this month?

Letting go of time. Quality time is my love language, and I’ve also realized how it’s been holding me back from truly enjoying the present. Sometimes I’m so stringent on it that it makes me anxious. I’m slowly learning to allowing myself the space to ease into new environments, and letting myself to take it slow + adjust during the first week, especially when traveling.

4. What do you want to do less of and more of to balance your life?

Less of “doing”: checking off tasks and routines.

More of “being”: nurturing my mindset and being in the present. Because both are so incredibly important, and my “being” affects my “doing”. The best coaches are present and attentive to their clients. Sometimes that’s all I need to do for a powerful experience.

5. What is your favorite discovery this month?

Nonviolent communication! During one of my sessions with my own coach, I found it so difficult to be come up words to be assertive — because I’ve been relying on passive communication, without even realizing it.

Here’s an example sentence stem: I feel _____ when you ______. I’d like to _______.

FUN GOODIES 🎈

things that have captured my interest

Books I read:

Productivity experiments:

When traveling, having one day for waking up normal or late and one day for waking up early to easefully adjust while still being productive

Quotes on careers

Here’s a myth: Hard work is what makes money vs. Money is made by how we think and the value we add
What do you need to think, feel, do now that’ll get you to the future you (want)?
You only want the thing because of how it would make you feel, and in order to achieve it, you need to feel that feeling now
What are you using as an excuse to not believe?

Questions I’m pondering

If retirement is doing things you actually want to be doing — how can I have that now?
When can I get there? When is it enough? Will I ever get there? Am I already there?

JUNE HABIT PROJECT: Connecting with 100 people ✅

I ended up connecting with way more :). A huge lesson that I learned and am so grateful for is that the consultation calls don’t have to be scripted. When I let go of expectations and outcomes, that’s when I can really be there for potential clients.

PLANNING ✏️

Intentions and goals for the upcoming month

The most important business priority is:

Fully move into freelance writing in addition to coaching as part of my ideal lifestyle.

The most important personal priority is:

Adjust to being back home again and figure out what I want to spend those extra hours on.

My July project is:

30 days of flexibility. It’s been a while since I’ve stretched (don’t forget me splits!) and I’m getting the feeling that I haven’t been stretching myself past my comfort zone lately (pun intended haha). This will be good for me to prepare to get back into creative dancing as well as work on my personal progress 💃🏽

This is the end of my monthly review for June, thanks so much for reading!

June Monthly Review was originally published in Life Projects on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

May Monthly Review

Yunzhe Zhou — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 20:12:28 GMT

“If you’re in a hurry to achieve your goals, it’s because you think that it’s better there than here.”

Notes:

Current feelings are: wow, it’s already May? And only May?

Regardless, I’ve definitely made a lot of progress while being at home.

REFLECTIONS 🎉

Highlights from the past month

What was your biggest accomplishment this month?

Finally getting coaching. And not one…BUT TWO! This is huge for me, especially because before this, I didn’t feel like I was worthy of being invested in, as well as I didn’t believe in myself enough to achieve the results I wanted.

One is for career/ business related, and one is specifically for LinkedIn. And I get so excited and giddy when I get coached by them because they are totally the type of people who I look up to and aspire to be.

2. What was your peak experience this month?

In the mornings, I’ve dedicated the whole morning to journaling, meditation, and money mindset stuff. It feels very nourishing (and at first I felt a bit guilty for doing this personal development work because it’s not “business” …and it’s taken a while for me to come to the mindset that as a coach, this is totally is!). Just because I enjoy it doesn’t mean that it can’t be work 🌻

I feel happy, zen and giddy inside. SO MUCH FLOW :)

3. What main challenge did you face this month?

I went to a retreat and that was actually pretty challenging for me. In the sense that it felt exhausting afterwards — I realized that I didn’t take time apart for myself.

Filming LI videos every day was also an ordeal and definitely a journey in itself.

4. What do you want to do less of and more of to balance your life?

Less in the weeds of do, and more of the important things, like giving back / spreading the love, prioritizing friendships and focusing on love ❤.

And being more of me, rather than what I think I “should” be.

5. What is your favorite discovery this month?

THE BOOK called: You’re a Badass at Making Money. It’s been a TOTAL life changer 💸

FUN GOODIES 🎈

things that have captured my interest

Books I read:

Productivity experiments:

Instead of counting things down the hour, I’ve started to write 3 things for each chunks of day (morning, afternoon, night) and doing tasks according to my energy levels. I also like that it gives me fluidity and spaciousness and spontaneity

Quotes on careers

Your worthiness doesn’t come from being better than others, your worthiness comes from being fully you. You are worthy intrinsically, by design.
In order for you to grow into your next version, you won’t have familiar thoughts nor be in familiar surroundings

Questions I’m pondering

What really matters at the end of the day?
How can I 100% enjoy the process?
How can I make work totally FUN?

MAY HABIT PROJECT : 30 days of LinkedIn 🎥

I finished 30 days of LinkedIn videos! It’s definitely been super eye-opening, I got loads of DMs for the first time, and met really awesome people in the community. #blessed.

PLANNING ✏️

Intentions and goals for the upcoming month

The most important business priority is: focus on results you can control — prioritizing getting on calls with people (CONNECT).

The most important personal priority is: have fun while working (create the most fun version of my ideal day)

My June project is: connecting with 100 people and powerfully serve them ✨

This is the end of my monthly review for April, thanks so much for reading!

May Monthly Review was originally published in Life Projects on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

April Monthly Review

Yunzhe Zhou — Sat, 04 May 2019 00:51:31 GMT

“Even after all this time, the Sun never says to the Earth “you owe me”. Look what happens with a love like that, it lights up the whole sky.”

Notes:

April was a whirlwind — I was definitely not prepared for this. The original intention was to take a break from the last 6 months of deep work and visit some friends & clients in LA and SF.

Then came some shockers:

I got featured on Forbes on how to overcome the imposter syndrome! 🎇
I had a total meltdown over my relationship 💔

April started with such a high and then a low, and now back again to contentment. It feels like when you have one area figured out (careers), something else then comes along (relationship tribulations).

And I learned that important to remember that this is the ebb and flow of life. Everything, especially growth, is a lifelong practice.

REFLECTIONS 🎉

Highlights from the past month

1. What was your biggest accomplishment this month?

Definitely getting featured on Forbes in the careers section! This was a dream and goal that I had set for this year (it actually felt really embarrassing to put set a big goal online for everyone to see). And I’m glad I did, because it’s been amazing to make it happen, learn about the whole publications process, and get connected to incredible people online.

It’s also scary to think about what the alternative would’ve been if I didn’t let myself dream this big: If I didn’t believe in it, then I wouldn’t have tried to make it come true. If I didn’t believe in myself, I wouldn’t have worked hard to pursue it. And it would’ve been a self-fulfilling prophecy.

2. What was your peak experience this month?

It was falling in love again 💕. At the tail-end of my west coast road trip with my significant other, I felt like I was falling in love with him a second time. It was like a wave — this strong and immense love for him filling up my heart. I had no idea this was going to happen, in fact, I felt my love for him was continuously tested and wavered a lot throughout the trip. We’ve had very difficult conversations, at times, I wasn’t sure if we would be able to make it.

Especially since during the last 6 months, my biggest priority was to focus on my work, so much that love has taken a backseat in my life. I was still nurturing it and being grateful for it, but it definitely became a stable background in my life. And now, it felt like a renewal in our commitment to each other.

I’m so so thankful to be feeling this way, and continuously choosing to work on this relationship. He inspires me and I want to become an even better person because of it ✨

3. What main challenge did you face this month?

Relationships: when my partner suggested alternative forms of dating, I flipped out. My whole life, I only know one way — the traditional form. And so it felt like my whole world was uprooted when he suggested that, and all my fears about abandonment, rejection and feeling that I wasn’t good enough came up.

During this time, I learned to become fully responsible for my life: to make requests, ask for what I want, separating feeling from action, etc.

4. What do you want to do less of and more of to balance your life?

I’d like less doing, and more being. If I take on the identity of someone who I want to be, the actions will naturally align and flow (thanks James Clear’s Atomic Habits!).

For example, if I internalize that I am a secure person, then I’ll take actions that reflect my security. If I take on the identity that I am a six figure career coach, then I’ll naturally think big and act like someone who is.

I want to start living into that now and reality will follow.

5. What is your favorite discovery this month?

Circling! I did circling (similar to meditation and authentic relating) where we held space for each other, with my good friend before I left Palo Alto and time seemed to stop. We had our eyes closed and I felt so content, with white fog, distant birds, sunshine and slight breeze. Time was still and I was just there, sitting; breathing ; taking it all in.

When we looked at the clock, 3 hours has passed.

Earlier that day too, everything looked so bright, vivid and slow. I don’t know what happened but I’m content knowing that I can bring that back into my life again. It was like heaven, paradise.

FUN GOODIES 🎈

things that have captured my interest

Books I read:

The Happiness Project
More than Two
The Ethical Slut (I know, marketing plays a big role in titles)

Articles I liked (mainly concepts):

Jealousy: it’s the feeling of projecting one’s uncomfortable feelings onto one’s partner. Jealousy might be associated with wanting to be number one. But there’s no ranking of who is better or not, everyone is unique and irreplaceable. And like it or not, the only person who can make their jealousy hurt less or go away is you.
Security: “may your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” Security comes from within, that everything is already enough the way it is, without needing external metrics or comparisons to validate. Confidence comes from self-acceptance — not changing anything about yourself, but rather your beliefs about them.
Clean love: is love without attachment, opening our hearts to someone with no expectations, loving for the joy of it, regardless of what we might get back. It’s love without jealousy, without possessiveness — love washed clean of all its clinginess and desperation.
Unconditional love: the most important part of love isn’t loving someone for their beauty, strength, and virtue. Unconditional love is when someone sees us for everything that we are (strengths + weaknesses) and still loves us.

Productivity experiments:

Solid 3 hours in the morning or afternoon when traveling (really doable and leaves so much space for fun during the day)
Not watching tv shows out of boredom, this is something that I often notice the absence of when I’m traveling and think I’m close to quitting watching dramas to waste time for good!

Quotes on careers

“Work to become, not to acquire.” (I want to create a new norm — where your career empowers you the lifestyle you want to live)
“Your beliefs create your reality.”
“Luck is when opportunity meets preparedness.”

Questions I’m pondering

In the grand scheme of things, what actually really matters?
How can I practice self love, self worth and security?
How do I unconditionally love someone?

APRIL HABIT PROJECT : 30 days of LinkedIn 🌱

My original project for April was LinkedIn videos but I didn’t follow through on it, because I prioritized traveling over consistent content creation. Though I did do a couple of things:

Met up with some content creators at a LinkedIn summit in LA
Took some LinkedIn video courses by current influencers
Made a list of people whose posts / work that I love

PLANNING ✏️

Intentions and goals for the upcoming month

The most important business priority is: master LinkedIn videos to provide value and build relationships with career changers.

The most important personal priority is: nurturing love for myself and in relationships (oh, and maybe some headstands)!

My May project is: 30 days of LinkedIn (finally)! Everyday, I’ll be doing some form of LinkedIn, whether it’s through video, status posts or articles.

This is the end of my monthly review for April, thanks so much for reading!

April Monthly Review was originally published in Life Projects on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

March Monthly Review

Yunzhe Zhou — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 21:09:52 GMT

“Don’t downgrade your dreams to match your reality. Upgrade your belief to match your vision.”

Overview:

March was a difficult and emotional month — not just during work but also during at home. I think I may have finally overstayed my welcome at home…in the sense that I am ready to finish this deep work focus for the last 6 months and take a small break and “reintegrate” myself back into society.

Highs from this month was that most of the time, I did enjoy this month much more than before — I took it slow and listened to myself. But the lows were awfully low — work was really volatile and things would fall through all the time.

Overall, thanks to the last couple of months, I finally got my routines down and feel pretty confident that I can still do 4 hours of deep work even when traveling!

REFLECTIONS 🎉

Highlights from the past month

1. What was your biggest accomplishment this month?

Creating a Youtube series for my newsletter readers! It’s a 5 mini video series on the most common questions that are asked during my calls with my clients. This was inspired by thinking about how I can deliver even more value and get more personal with my audience. It was a lot of work behind the scenes (took me wayyyy longer than expected — about a week and half to film and edit). I have so much newfound respect for Youtubers now, and in the end have enjoyed it!

(if you’re curious about the process, it looks something like this: brainstorm topics to write about, write video script, write email drafts, film videos, edit videos, finalize email drafts, and set up backend for emails to be delivered continuously. Phew.)

2. What was your peak experience this month?

Honestly, it was finally being able to get through the day and balance the work-hard mindset with a leisurely pace. I took on more self-care this month, and would stroll in the afternoons to get some sun. Basically living my dream life now instead of waiting for the perfect time in some distant future :)

3. What main challenge did you face this month?

The ups and downs of business. I’m working on something that’s very exciting and would be a HUGE deal if it works out. So fingers crossed and just learning about how to provide value in the best way possible. We’ll see if this pans out. At one point it seems like it would then it didn’t so it’s mostly a waiting game, being patience but also keeping faith in myself, and learning from each experience.

4. What do you want to do less of and more of to balance your life?

I feel pretty balanced right now in terms of routines (it took me about 5 months to get to this point, but so worth it.) I’d like more friends in my life, in terms of being physically close to them. I’ve realized that environment is one of those hidden factors that have a huge impact on your personal growth — being in Silicon Valley has made worlds of difference for me, as well as every conversation has changed the trajectory of life in some way.

And while being at home everything is mostly taken care of. I’m missing out on social connections and community and whatever spontaneous intellectual fireworks that happens. I feel recharged, so my answer would be less of being home and more of being outside.

5. What is your favorite discovery this month?

The book Reach!! Oh my goodness, I CANNOT articulate how amazing this book is. It’s all about getting out of your comfort zone and the magic that happens as a result (this is basically my life story). So if you’ve enjoyed reading about side projects and enjoy engaging stories and scientific evidence like me, then you’d love this book because it highlights the different processes you can use and different stages of comfort zones. Very meta and gave me such a greater understanding of what it was at work behind the scenes.

FUN GOODIES 🎈

Things that have captured my interest

Books I read:

Reach
Big Magic (also amazing book!!)
Trust Me, I’m Lying

Articles I liked:

Mark Manson’s ultimate guide to personal values: “Our values are constantly reflected in the way we choose to behave. Actions don’t lie. Values are won and lost through life experience. Not through logic or feelings or even beliefs. They have to be lived and experienced to stick. And our values are extensions of ourselves. They are what define us.”
Mason continued: “ Here’s what people mean when they say they need to “find themselves”: they’re finding new values. This is the “self” you feel you have “lost” — a sense that you are no longer the one navigating the ship of your own existence.” (examples of good values: honesty, building something new, vulnerability, standing up for oneself, standing up for others, self-respect, curiosity, charity, humility, creativity).
Amy Porterfield’s podcast: the importance of understanding what your safety blanket is and how it’s likely holding you back — “feeling safe and comfortable can be the exact thing that’s holding you back and stuck”.
From conversations: “All disgust and hate stems from self.”

Productivity experiments:

Make 3 MIT list and instead of going down systematically, do the one that feels good first depending on my mood or situation

Quotes on careers

Derek Sivers: “There’s no speed limit: standard rate is only for chumps.”

Questions I’m pondering

What is success? How does success look like?
What am I actually working for?
Am I gonna be able to make it?

MARCH HABIT PROJECT : 30 days of reaching out 🌱

I did also do 30 days of gratitude (and actually finished the whole 30 days!) but because I’ve already been practicing that a lot in my 5 minute journal, It didn’t feel like it was something new, or a difficult habit to pick up. So I decided to focus more on reaching out.

Here are some people I reached out to during month of March: editors at Forbes, HuffPost, Fast Co. as well as guest writers at big publications. I enjoyed this proactive side of me — it’s nice to send people these letters of appreciation and I’ve been amazed by the kind responses I’ve gotten.

As you can tell, I’m really upping my writing and publication game this month :)

PLANNING ✏️

Intentions and goals for the upcoming month

The most important business priority is: experiment with LinkedIn video to reach a wider audience (and yes, getting published in a big publication by June is still something I’m working towards).

The most important personal priority is: savor traveling (I’ll be in D.C., LA and SF for a bit — to see clients, friends and make new ones!) while still keeping up with routines.

My April project is: 30 days of LinkedIn video! (probably the first half will be research and understanding the space, and the second half will be actual implementation).

This is the end of my monthly review for March, thanks so much for reading!

If you’re curious to read more, here’s my:

March Monthly Review was originally published in Life Projects on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

February Monthly Review

Yunzhe Zhou — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 01:51:44 GMT

“Never forget your own worth.”

Notes:

February was a month of hard labor. Or was it love of labor? Either way, I was very close to burnt-out. I would work all days of the week, including weekends.

They didn’t lie when they said that in entrepreneurship, you work more than you would in a regular job. It was strange to feel simultaneously that I had so much work to do, and that it didn’t feel too exhausting in the moment — because I was pouring all my heart and soul into this thing. Perhaps this is what happens you’re fueled by purpose.

REFLECTIONS 🎉

Highlights from the past month

1. What was your biggest accomplishment this month?

To be honest, even though this review is only a little more than a week late at the time of writing this, I can’t pinpoint the exact accomplishment. If I had to guess, it would be realizing that people all over the world are doing and inspired by one month projects! Like Mimi’s project for becoming fully stacked as a developer and Jeremiah’s side project of tab tossers.

2. What was your peak experience this month?

February was a hard month — I really had to learn to take care of myself and remember to express gratitude. One of my peak experiences was looking at my self-care schedule as the sunlight was filtering in through the window blinds, and me feeling proud of all that I accomplished during the day.

3. What main challenge did you face this month?

It would definitely be comparing myself to others. I haven’t had such a strong feeling in so long when I came across someone who had a similar background and situation, and she managed to make so much progress in a shorter amount of time. I couldn’t help but envy how much ahead of me she was. I even started to regret my decisions in the past, especially traveling for most of last year.

Then I worked it out and realized that there’s nothing I’d wish to change in the past (and I couldn’t have even if I wanted to). And the more present I am right now, the less comparisons I make. After all, there’s so much to be grateful in this moment! ✨

4. What do you want to do less of and more of to balance your life?

For doing less: I want to do less of what I think I should do or what others tell me to do or the “best” strategies. Instead, I want to show up more authentically and do the things that are more true to me. If it’s not me to be super energetic, then so be it. If I prefer to write as a marketing channel, then so be it.

For doing more: I want to live in the moment more. Life is made up of each moment, and so living in the past or for the future is only wasting the preciousness of now away. So, how can I take the type of actions that’ll lead to more enjoyable moments? How can I savor this moment deeply?

5. What is your favorite discovery this month?

The amazingness that is weekly reviews. Is this super nerdy? 🤓Haha. I’ve been doing weekly ones on and off, and to be honest, it always felt like more of a chore or something I “had” to do or that it was “good” to do. After viewing it not as another great habit I should have, but rather as a time for me to reflect and organize my thoughts + schedule for next week, it’s been such an enjoyable activity. I don’t know how I didn’t do it before, it feels so cleansing.

FUN GOODIES 🎈

things that have captured my interest

Books I read:

Designing your life (again!)
Style: lessons in clarity and grace (on and off)
40 rules of love (on and off)

Articles I liked:

Ted ideas: multiply your time by asking 4 questions about stuff on your to do list (ask: What’s the most important thing I can do today that would make tomorrow better?)

Productivity experiment

Finish 3 hours of deep work by noon
Stop working by 8pm

Quotes on careers

Learn to be happy with what you have while pursuing all that you want
Don’t worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try

Questions I’m pondering

Is Pinterest an investment that’s worth it?
What is long-distance love? 🤔

FEBRUARY HABIT PROJECT : 30 days of yoga 🌱

To be honest, I just finished (as of 3/10!). And I’m pretty proud, even teared up at the end a little bit when the ending music came on. I especially loved how this series were more scientific, so I could understand how the muscles were interacting and benefiting (rather than forever lying in corpse pose). I was also able to really sink in and enjoy the stretch or be aware of it, with my tight hamstrings and all. AND I’m so glad I tried to give yoga one last shot this month, after many attempts before and coming out from the class like SMH.

PLANNING ✏️

Intentions and goals for the upcoming month

The most important business priority is:

Take guest posting up a notch, and get started on my goals of getting published in big publications this year :)

The most important personal priority is:

Trying to make each moment as enjoyable as possible. Being, instead of rushing to a destination.

My March project is: reach out to one person every day! (also lowkey doing 30 days of gratitude).

This is the end of my monthly review for February, thanks so much for reading!

If you’re curious to read more, here’s my:

February Monthly Review was originally published in Life Projects on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.