Lesson Learnt from a Year Working as Lab Assistant

After finishing my CIE A-Level exam, I took a gap year working as a Lab Assistant at my former institute.

Here are the things that I have learnt:

1. Divide and conquer

- Break down the tasks assigned to me and tackle them in order. This may be obvious but when the tasks stack up to ten or more, I tend to switch from task to task before finishing it. Another things I learnt is to group similar/related tasks together and finish them in one go. Old wisdom applies here: A stitch in time saves nine. Also, my lecturer’s extensive use of containers to separate teaching materials between different intakes inspired me about this.

- Set a deadline for myself – a self-imposed deadline that due before the actual deadline set by my boss. Completing tasks before the deadline builds people’s confidence in you; shows your discipline, your time-management skills and your ability; and impresses your boss!

2. Backup, backup and backup

- Important documents are just gone if they cannot be found. Prepare for the worst case scenario. However, physical backup copies should be disposed after the next backup.

- Besides backing up, a systematic approach to storing documents is very important too. A cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind. An empty desk is a sign of being ready to deal with new tasks, like a blank paper ready to be written or drawn by people.

3. Keep learning, keep improving

- My job is to get my job done faster, better and more efficient.

- It’s okay to make mistake, but it’s not okay to repeat the same mistakes. Learn from mistakes, not only from your own mistakes, but also from people’s mistakes.