Hello,

If you've been wondering where I disappeared to these past three months, I owe you an explanation.

I've been wrestling with a question that wouldn't let me go: How do we find meaning in work that often feels meaningless?

It began as personal frustration—a compliance professional questioning why I spent more time on approval meetings than on actual problem-solving. But the more I explored this tension between authentic self and professional role, the more I realised this wasn't just my story.

So I made a decision. Instead of continuing to explore life's broader philosophies (though I still believe deeply in simple pleasures like good food, close friends, and books), I'm focusing this newsletter on something more specific: our relationship with work.

This feels like a natural evolution. After all, we spend a third of our lives working. If we can't find purpose there, how do we find it anywhere?

From now on, you'll hear from me weekly as I write the book I wish I'd had 5 years ago, sharing insights about breaking free from productivity theatre and building systems that actually serve your life.

I've been thinking about introductions lately. Specifically, how mine changed without me noticing.

Summer 1998, university dorm room overlooking golden rapeseed fields: "I'm a Malaysian studying Management, who loves good food and travelling, hoping to break into banking and finance."

Five years later, networking event in Singapore: "I'm in asset management."

Four words. That's what my entire identity had become.

Why I'm Writing In A Coworking Space

For the past few months, I've been cycling (and driving, on rainy days) to the coworking space in my village, away from distractions and kids, to write. Not emails, not compliance reports, but something I never thought I'd attempt—a book.

It's the book I wish I'd had 5 years ago, when I was drowning in approval meetings for presentation font choices whilst my actual expertise went unused.

The Question That Started Everything

Recently, I asked a colleague a simple question: "If you had to introduce yourself without mentioning your job title, company, or industry—who would you say you are?"

The long pause that followed told me everything.

Many of us have become so absorbed in our professional roles that we've forgotten who we are underneath them. We've traded our identities for job descriptions and our authentic selves for corporate personalities.

What I'm Learning

Writing this book is teaching me as much as I hope it will teach others. Each chapter forces me to examine my own patterns, my own compromises, my own moments of choosing convenience over authenticity.

These few weeks, I'm working on the chapter about how our personal identities gradually get absorbed into our professional roles. It's more common than we think, and more costly than we realise.

A Small Experiment

This Sunday evening, try something simple: imagine yourself sitting at your desk Monday morning at 9 AM. Just let yourself feel whatever comes up.

Notice what your body tells you. Notice if there's any tension, any resistance, any particular sensation.

The body doesn't lie.

I'd love to know—what does your Monday Morning Test reveal? Simply reply to this email. I read every response, and your insights might just influence what I write next.

More soon,

Inès

P.S. Next week, I'll share what I'm discovering about how our bodies respond to work that doesn't fit—and why paying attention to these signals matters more than we think.

Follow my writing journey as I explore what it means to work with purpose rather than just productivity.