Mahdieh Rassafiani’s Post

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Civil Engineer at Arcadis || Empowering individuals to reach their full potential

How do you manage your time to stay aligned with your purpose? 🤔 Hello everyone, I’m Mahdieh. It’s been 2 years since I graduated from UNSW with a civil engineering degree. After finishing university, I felt a void. I had dedicated 4 years to my studies, with half of that time during the COVID-19 pandemic. I love my work, the organisation I’m part of, and the people and culture there. However, outside of work, I’ve been focusing on personal growth, trying new things, and discovering my purpose in life. As an extrovert, I’m always on the go and rarely take time to relax. This often leads me to overestimate my time and take on more than I can handle. Sometimes, I spend too much time on activities that don’t truly fulfill me. I am working on finding a balance and instilling positive habits while breaking those that don't align with my growth. I know many of you might be going through similar experiences, whether you’re at a different stage in your life or facing different challenges. I’d love to hear your insights on managing time and expectations while striving to achieve your professional and personal goals. What advice would you give to yourself or others trying to navigate through life and manage their time effectively? 👇 Please share your thoughts in the comments below 👇 #growth #purpose #career #development #goals #engineering #inspire

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Chioma Igwenagu (Okafor) PhD

Soil Biogeochemist | Soil Carbon Scientist | Natural Capital Advisor

5mo

Mahdieh Rassafiani, thank you for sharing your story. I find that this can often have an underpining factors for eg culture and value (passion, the environment we were raised in etc). I have experienced similar. As someone who grew up in a society where helping people, sharing (community service) , working hard and bagging portfolios seems to be promoted more than finding personal purpose (which if done right actually could lead to the aforementioned), you can find that sometimes you can get lost in achieving goals, and putting every other things first than yourself, than actually making life changing impacts (Postive ofcourse) that means more to you. So I have found purpose and managed my time by making sure that my job, is aligned with my desired life goals.

Alex Maiorana

Integrated Transport Planning 🛣️ | Program Management 🌟 | Stakeholder Engagement 🗣️ | Special Events 🌆 | Developing Strategy and Building Community 🚀

5mo

Quite bold to come out and admit this, a great way to grow by seeking advice. I find I have started having recent thoughts myself. Right now, I am keeping an eye out for social activities where I am not focussing on work or my passion (both being very similar). I hope to learn more about how social interactions can lead to great experiences without the feeling that I am not making personal progress because it is not within my desired career space or passions and interests.

Erik Denend

Aspiring Tax CPA | Leadership | Integrity | Self-Improvement

5mo

Thank you for your terrific post, Mahdieh. For myself, I get ready for the day with a solid morning routine. I then take each day as a "one day at a time" approach and then make progress toward my most important goal, even if it's small steps. When the day ends, I turn in acknowledging and feeling proud of myself that I made progress toward that important goal. I also make sure to celebrate my wins for the week by rewarding myself.

Thanks for articulating the thought so well. I have faced something similar for sure. But one way of gaining the feeling of satisfaction could be to finish what you start and only then jump on to the next thing. For ex-I start an online course but then adter 2 days jump on to another course, instead its better to holistically finish the first and then pick up the second one saved in to-do list.

Tim Summers

Senior Project Manager at Arcadis

5mo

Mahdieh, having recently retired i've had a bit of time to reflect on my working career. My advice, understand your own values and keep them in focus as you move through life. There is a lot of noise out there at the moment, more noise than ever, most of it is best ignored. Tim

Mai Lam

Senior Associate - Utilities

5mo

Well done for speaking out and sharing your view Mahdieh. For me it is learning to put myself as the number 1 priority. This is probably the hardest challenge that I am still trying to work through. For now just learn to be grateful for each day (small step)

Mahya Rassafiani

Undergraduate Electrical Engineer

5mo

So proud of you Mahdieh! My advice would be to try your best and take it easy

Nina Banfield

Smart Places Cities and Active Transport

5mo

You certainly are an inspiration! So proud of you!

Fariba Ahmad

Senior Drainage Engineer @ AECOM

5mo

Thank you for sharing and articulating this feeling that we have all experienced in our careers and life in general. My advice is similar to Tim’s and that is to know what your values are and to focus your time and energy on experiences and people who align with those. And to also focus on what you feel is right for you - what gives you joy and happiness. I know in my earlier years working in industry, I felt a pressure and expectation to do what senior people advised/told me to do. I was focused on being seen as a team player and out performing all my peers (who were all male). It took me a few years of seeing different personalities and styles of leadership, getting to know what makes people tick, to understand who and what aligned with what I stood for. People give advice with their best intentions, but its based on their own personal experiences and values. The advice may not be right for you and your vision of your life, and its ok to say no. In the end of the day you know yourself the best and it is YOUR life. Don’t let someone else take the wheel.

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