just do it, 2025

my dear (future) jamie,

It’s September 2025. 9 months into the year. 75% complete. And it’s been… a lot. But let’s still reflect on the remaining quarter — and turn that sh*t around to make it the year of ME.

🥂 Celebrate (things learned, moments won)

2024 was… not it. But I guess I had slated it to be the “year of the hustle” and hustle (at work) I did — but somewhat at the expense at my health. I’m thanking the George that I started a fitness journey 💪🏻 and prioritizing fully disconnected travel ✈️ that really tried to balance things out.

I learned a lot, got a lot of sh*t done in the face of immense career change, and came out on top for the most part. But… while I was starting to see the peak, a new mountain came crashing down to set me back to basecamp.

In the face of organizational change, and somehow surviving several rounds of layoffs and restructuring, none of the pain in my 9-5 negated the progress we made up to that point. One realization — leadership, strategy, priorities, the market; all of that will change, and it’s completely out of my control. But “working right” — and alongside people that push me creatively — is what’s gotten me here now. So I continue course. Just, with some attention on myself and my own well-being.

🙇 Appreciate (some gratefulness and self-affirmation)

I’m most appreciative of the people I choose to surround myself. While we all have adult lives, sometimes you don’t often realize that months pass by and you’ve not had a catch-up. We’re at a point of scheduling coffee weeks in advance at this point.

But, often it feels no time has passed.

It’s weird to think about — my work besties I see and talk to everyday; my life besties I see and talk to maybe every week (virtually), and every month (IRL). Having both have kept me relatively sane — and it’s absolutely okay to have that energy release.

📋 Focus (on what I achieved and what I want to do)

Focus is the best word: be intentional with disconnecting, with affirmations, with prioritizing myself to the fullest. The rest of the year will be about externalizing your thoughts into creative manifestations that spark joy.

Take a deep breath. And get to making and crafting stories. Because the rest is still unwritten. ✨

a quick bio...

💁‍♂️ Jamie Kwan is an Experiential Designer and Strategist, working at the intersection of space, service, and digital experience design. During the day, he’s a Lead Service Designer with Atlassian in 🇨🇦 creating white-glove customer experiences, but more broadly … He's a recovering Architect, 'creative-tech'-dabbling designer, and a research-driven brand strategist, who's worked alongside clients in the retail, technology, themed entertainment, and financial services sectors in navigating the future — transforming their brand purpose into designed experiences that connect with their audiences (and strives to make their heart skip a beat). ✨ Through his work, he's on a mission to inject the power of play, storytelling, and hero-centered experience design in envisioning the future. Selected clients include the Panama Canal Authority, CJ Group, Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), AIRMILES, Canadian Tire Corporation, Cineplex Entertainment, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).

want to chat more? ☕

Get in touch and say hello@jamiemkwan.com