The past year has been a rollercoaster of experiences, challenges, and triumphs for all of us.
We recognized the importance of not only celebrating the grand achievements but also cherishing the small and mundane, often overlooked moments that make us be ourselves at work and at home.
To capture these milestones of this journey, we decided to get to know the personal reflections of our team members.
We answered a series of lighthearted questions, exploring everything from the highs and lows to the moments of joy and personal growth.
We invite you to read fragments of individual stories that shaped our 2023 — more than just answers, they are windows to the lessons learned, mistakes overcome, and the unique perspectives that made 2023 memorable.
A thrilling cake, with chilling toppings
Challenges and difficulties are mostly temporary, and they can be opportunities for growth.
Stubbornly sticking to an impractical idea, even when it became clear it wasn’t the best fit. It caused setbacks, but the silver lining was learning to be adaptable and open to changing strategies.
Figma, it’s always Figma
Mind reading would definitely help with those “make it pop” emails.
Playing with my daughter after a hard day always does the trick.
The Banshees of Inisherin
A friend told me that I’m a lot more organized than I used to be. 🙂
Adaptability
Finding joy in the journey, not just the destination. I learned to embrace the process and celebrate every small milestone I’ve set.
Not asking for help.
I had some days this year when I was in over my head, but being found in that situation made me come up with solutions and be more adaptable.
At the beginning of the year we started using ClickUp, and I think it made a huge difference on how organized I was during some busier periods of 2023.
Having the ability to pause time—whether for spending it with my family, work on design details or just have more to myself.
Cooking something I enjoy.
After eight years of avoiding it, I finally binge-watched Breaking Bad and loved it.
The best book I read this year, hands down, is ‘La Sombra del Viento.’ Not only did I enjoy the story, but I also got to practice my Spanish.
The brainstorming sessions with the design team. We always achieve great results by contributing to each other’s ideas.
That I’m a reliable friend.
Rollercoaster
Our thoughts and self-affirmations are extremely powerful. Repeating them over and over again slowly turns them into our beliefs, shaping who we become. Therefore it’s very important to be aware of them and to be mindful of what we empower.
Being afraid to ask for help. This was a mistake I actively kept making for some time. There’s actually nothing wrong in asking for help, whether from a close friend, a family member, or a therapist. Most of the time, you will get an objective opinion, and that might help you break out of your loop and encourage you to try new things or different approaches.
ChatGPT & Reddit
Having a clear & present mind.
Reading & sometimes meditation.
The power of Now – Eckhart Tolle
There’s only a specific one that crosses to my mind, meeting Vlad in Wien, having some nice talks and a glass of mulled wine – since I’m working remote, but other than that, every progress, achievements and growth we’ve done as a team.
You bring joy to our team.
From: Us
To: Denis
Stability
Done is better than perfect.
I ended up working 10 times more on a task because I didn’t research more for solutions and instead I just jumped in head first.
ClickUp
To be in more places at the same time.
Spa time – took some time to pamper myself.
America Express (similar to The amazing race).
Working with Andrei and Natalia at a tight-deadline pitch.
“You are my favourite supplier.“
New beginning, again.
More is not always better. Over the last few years, I tried to build several projects in parallel, and even if I still don’t think it was a bad idea, it wasn’t the best choice in my context. Because I didn’t really have much to leverage and lacked enough time to focus on either of them, I didn’t manage to make much progress.
I tried to hire someone for business development this year, but because of a lack of clarity on my side or proper reporting, we didn’t manage to make any progress, and it took too much time to understand that. This forced me into finally working on building the business and getting new clients myself and this turned to be, in the end, a good step forward.
LinkedIn. So many people there and so much good content.
I would like to be a genius to figure out a social system where no person is homeless or hungry.
I take a big breath and remind myself that the alternative to what I have right now is nothing, not something better, just nothing. So I realise that whatever happens in that moment, it’s not really that bad.
This book: “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” by V.E. Schwab.
Being at the BBN (the world’s B2B agency) conference in Milano this year with such amazing people.
Victor, my son, told me one day that he thinks I’m actually really smart.
EXPLORE
Delegate to awesome people and everything will be fine!
Due to multitasking and juggling with several priorities in the same time I missed double-checking a setup to a Linkedin campaign which resulted in spending more out of the aimed budget. In the end, the campaign went well, the client understood, and my team helped me come with a proper fix. I learnt the importance of prioritization, saying no to new tasks when my to do list was already full, and to delegate so I can better oversee.
ChatGPT, when I needed to research & brainstorm ideas for content, and when I needed to adjust my content for the
X platform.
Expand time to do more for my clients, my team, and myself 💪🏻.
I called my teammates who are compassionate & (very) optimistic people, and with whom I was able to quickly brainstorm solutions to fix the issue that was stressing me.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, a book by Stephen King
I have many and it’s hard to select just a few, but I’ll try:
“Amongst our team (i.n. the clients), you are a superstar! You brought extraordinary results to our initiative.”
All things happen for a reason
You can do anything if you’re consistent.
Not taking care of myself (physically and mentally).
ChatGPT & YouTube.
To not have to sleep.
Spend time with friends.
The movie Entergalactic (2022).
Pushing myself to solve things.
That I’m wise.
CHANGES
When in doubt, always trust yourself & your gut feeling.
Not taking notes for a task, believing I could remember everything made me miss important parts & definitely taught me to pay more attention to details.
ChatGPT.
Flying – it would make it easier to travel more & see the world.
Drinking coffee.
The Maidens: A Novel. Book by Alex Michaelides.
I remember being in a very busy period when I was told that I’m doing a great work even under a lot of pressure. This compliment motivated me to organize myself even better in times of crisis knowing that my efforts are appreciated.
Adapting
Shifting from freelancing emphasized teamwork and aligned workflows for collective success.
Transitioning from freelancing stressed aligning work with team dynamics and highlighted the crucial role of seeking help.
Elementor.
The ability to momentarily slow down time at will, not just for work efficiency but also to savor and enjoy significant moments.
Just taking a break to reset my perspective on tough days.
The movie Seven (1995).
Celebrating team achievements and milestones together, especially during challenging projects.
Being praised for delivering pixel-perfect implementations on WordPress projects.
Sunrise catcher
Do things that make you uncomfortable, they force you to grow in so many ways. Embrace change; it’s the best catalyst for growth.
One mistake was my tendency to make everything perfect from the start, and I have learned that a more heuristic approach is better for the business.
ClickUp (organizational p.o.v.) & Figma (‘you can do anything in there’ p.o.v).
I think being able to teleport might be an awesome superpower; (Just imagine traveling anywhere while coming home for dinner on the same day.)
Usually watching a comedy series like ‘Friends’ will do the trick; but I always look at those days with a sense of acceptance: the glass is always full, even if it spills a little.
The Walking Dead’ Spin-off Series;
‘The Mountain Is You’ by Brianna Wiest (book).
I make good decisions due to my analytical nature.
Never a dull moment.
Setting and communicating very clearly the terms of a new collaboration is a key success factor.
As an expert it’s your job to set what you can and will deliver (in terms of commuted time, timeframe, expected results or completed deliverables). And, just as importantly, make sure the client understands those terms.
Rushing through this phase can lead to misunderstandings further down the road and opens the door to dissatisfaction on both ends – more commited time and effort than estimated, working on other tasks than initially agreed or an underlying feeling of “we still feel we didn’t get all we signed on”.
Working on too many things at once. I was trying to work on day to day tactic things that were urgent and then on strategic directions to grow the agency. The reality is that it was easier to complete day to day work and “put out fires ” and that left me with little time and energy for the long term actions.
HubSpot for sure, I used it for web analytics, campaign analytics, understanding how leads are progressing through the pipeline. It’s a game changer to have a system that stores all your client data in one place – if you took the time to set it correctly.
Prioritization without mercy:). Work is endless and choosing where to put your focus and what to say ‘no’ to is one of the most powerful tools you have.
Chatting with a friend in the space and sharing struggles, realising other people have similar experience makes things a bit easier. And just getting out of my head and speaking to another person helped me a lot.
The movie “Sing” on Netflix, watched it with my son and loved it.
Going into the office every Thursday when most of us worked from the office and getting lunch together.
When a client reminded me that a committed team that is always ready to help is not something you find easily.