Monday, June 27, 2011

Reflection

One year of MBA got done on June 11th. Time sure does fly when you're having fun. Now I'm on a four week break from school and I'm trying to catch up with regular life. Giving my all to work projects, making those long pending phone calls and visits and getting other major essentials (like my US visa) out of the way. In fact I'm working from Mexico over the next few days while waiting for my visa interview at the US consulate here.

I attended a leadership class at my workplace a couple weeks back where the coaches stressed the importance of reflection at the end of each day. I thought it was an excellent suggestion, and made a mental note to practice it, in order to improve efficiency/productivity etc. Of course I never got started. There was always the next activity to plan, the email to respond to, the dinner to attend, the movie to watch. Why would I spend precious minutes thinking back about what I did well or badly during my day? But now, stuck in a hotel room with spotty Wi-Fi, Spanish language TV channels, and the inability to make local phone calls, I feel compelled to reflect. Not only on my day, but on the past year.

One year of the FEMBA program. What had I hoped for and what have I gained so far? How has it affected my personal life and my day job? Would I recommend this to others?

I can confidently claim that I’ve gained a diverse (yet like-minded) set of friends, broader life perspective, and confidence in my driving skills. And I've been having loads of fun in the process. The FEMBA experience can definitely be a drain on one’s personal and work life, but it can be managed. I would recommend this program to anyone who is simply seeking new experiences and is happy to learn new things just out of interest.

But is this program helping my current job or career prospects? Am I progressing towards some goal while learning, making friends and having fun? Has it helped me chart out my future in some way? Is there something else I should be doing simultaneously?

I don’t have all these answers yet. My reflection so far has mainly yielded questions, but I guess it’s a good start. After all I have a few more days in Mexico to figure my life out ;)