I wake at 5:00. Gym check-in at 5:15, timestamp on the story — every day, weekends included. My friends call it the 5:15 Club. I'm probably the most disciplined person they know.
This column exists because discipline wasn't enough. I studied in the States, worked on Wall Street — one of the most switched-on jobs in the most switched-on city — and I was all-in on hustle culture. The first place I ever found quiet was a Zen temple on Lexington Avenue, Thursday sits. I picked Thursday because it was newcomers' day and I could mini-socialise afterwards. Even my rest had a KPI. That's when I knew.
Years of training later, I was still the only man at the beach with his shirt on. The answer wasn't more discipline — it was the half of the equation nobody taught me: switching off. What I've learned since fits on one ladder — working hard < a good diet < good sleep < managing your stress < learning how to shut down and just feel.
I write The Slow Sunday Journal for people like me: educated in Singapore, wired to earn every break, world-class at switching on. Nobody taught us the other half. This is that class.
The rest of the week I run SGAI Studio, building AI for Singapore businesses. The full professional story lives there.