Looking Back at February
February was scattered, but it was also the month where I reinvented a lot of my company’s processes—especially how we produce copywriting with AI. I got mindblown by how much better Claude is than Gemini when it comes to executing procedural tasks and copywriting. (Claude Cowork, though… that’s another story.) I also rethought what standards I should apply to visual exploration. Looking back at past projects, I realise I overindexed on UX and neglected the UI details.
Working on the Kechara Soup Kitchen project taught me a lot about design workflow using AI. Well, not taught exactly—more like I got to explore what’s possible. Since it’s such a huge project, there are so many opportunities to use AI thoughtfully.
I also got to learn about Sanity and Astro integration, and how to set up live previews. I think Sanity is a really compelling CMS for most clients because it integrates beautifully with Astro. It’s much better than Prismic in that way, which only works well for Next and Nuxt projects.
On top of that, I got the chance to redesign my own company’s website, From Mars. It’s still in progress, but it’s taking shape. One thing I learned there is something I had to pause and think about: does the wording actually reflect my values? It felt like a small epiphany. I started wondering—is this how most of my clients feel when I design for them? I mean, the whole idea of prototyping is to design like we’re always right. I think that’s the whole point of design discovery, right?
Oh, and I closed my “old” company and opened a “new” one. A lot of logistical stuff got sorted out too. Now that I fully operate From Mars by myself, I’m still not sure what to make of this journey yet, but so far… it kind of works?
Alas, I spent almost a week in Bali—half travel trip, half workcation. Honestly, after that trip, I don’t think I’ll be doing another workcation. I just can’t take my mind off work when I’m supposed to be traveling. It’s different when I’m just answering messages during travel because I can detach from work after texting. But during a workcation? Man, I was still thinking about timelines and projects while getting a massage. My whole body was still tense after the massage.
Some other notable … achievements:
Envisioning March
March always feels special to me because it feels like the actual start of the year. Interestingly, this year didn’t really start with a blast. Instead, it feels like a year where I need to be more cautious and calculated—but still not forget to have fun with what I do.
During February, I planned out a few things to shake up my life. I want to do yoga again. I want to spend less on cafe trips and work from home more, so I can save money for other goals like networking and meeting new people. I also want to get active in the gym again. It sounds like a lot, but these are really just about finding my routine foundations again.
On top of that, the KSK project is heading into the visual exploration stage. Hopefully, by the end of this month, I can wrap up the design and move toward development. There are also two new clients inquiring about web design projects—each one is exciting in its own way.
With just these things, I think March will be a very busy month. I’m still learning how not to be busy for busy’s sake. Hopefully, I’ll slip in some downtime to read books. Right now, I’m reading The Prince. It’s certainly an interesting book, most of the teachings don’t apply directly to me, but I’ve seen how power and authority play out in the real world.
I also want to carve out some time for learning Google Analytics, Rive, and Midjourney. I’ve been meaning to learn them for years, and I think now’s the time.
So yeah… just so much to do. But I want to remind myself of something: sustainable productivity is what I’m prioritizing now. I no longer believe in suffering to attain success. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever really believed that—even though I thought I did back then. I do believe success comes with certain sacrifices, but here’s the important part: I want to do this on my own terms. I’ve always believed that the most dangerous person is the one who’s doing it for fun, not the one who secretly grinds away.
Writing all this made me think of something I realised a few weeks ago while jogging along Kuantan River. Years ago, some friends asked me what I like to do, and I froze. That’s when I realised I don’t do most things for leisure. I go to the gym to train, and yeah, sometimes I go just for the vibe and to escape work. But I don’t really like going to the gym. I write to vent, but I don’t really like writing blogs.
Sometimes that makes me think about how good it is that some of my friends in their marathon phase have something to aim for. But honestly, I have a big enough mission with what I’m doing right now. Maybe it’s better for me not to add another goal just for goal’s sake.
Well, I’m already getting a bit overwhelmed just by writing down what I have and want to do in March. Maybe I should stop here.