Sliem El Ela — frankaffe

Sliem currently follows a double Master’s in Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, while being equipped with a double Bachelor's (honours) in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Amsterdam (UvA), in addition to a Minor degree in Programming. With seven years of experience in teaching already, he also leads eight business units (the Netherlands and the UK) at AthenaStudies tutoring company - which is where I was first introduced to him. Incredibly bright and with infectious energy, his choice of academic and work pursuits showcases clear intent. I have been amazed by seeing his diligent work ethic, and the sheer enterprise behind (for instance) the workflow and a comprehensive dashboard he has built from scratch for his teams on Notion. With wispy views of the Tokyo skyline on his horizon — we quickly catch up on where Sliem stands today.

2020-21 so far

“This cycle, I have chosen to 1) pursue a double master's degree, 2) be a Teaching Assistant at the UvA, 3) work as a teacher at IBOS (for high school students), and 4) work at AthenaStudies as a Business Developer. So you can imagine it has been stressful and taxing. But more importantly, it has also been very enlightening and educational. Most of my friends know that I like to take on more than I can handle, and this year has not been any different. Don’t get me wrong though, I don’t think it is impossible to do what I do, but it is definitely hard. It is a wonderful opportunity to expand my limits, and to actually get to know myself a bit better. So it has definitely been an interesting year (especially due to the pandemic as well).”

on balancing double-degree academics and work

“I am obsessed with productivity techniques and hacks. I constantly watch YouTube channels like Thomas Frank, Matt D’Avella, Ali Abdaal, etc. I like systemizing everything I do, and I am constantly asking myself how to improve. I believe this ability to observe myself and the willingness to improve is what brought me to where I am today.”

“I have to be honest though, I haven’t been doing as great as I would have wanted. Both in AthenaStudies and the academic world. So my approach is not perfect, but that is all the more reason for me to try even harder.”

on music, japan and language learning

“There are two main ‘projects’ that I (try to) pursue in addition to work and academics. Those projects are music and language learning.”

“Since I was 11-12, I fell in love with playing the piano. I regularly took lessons, and I genuinely thought my future would be in the music industry. Not so long after starting, I uploaded my first videos on YouTube on which I covered songs and made my own songs on the piano (search for sliem1998 on YouTube! Don’t be surprised at how bad it was, I was 12-13 haha). It was fun, but hard to manage to do all the things I wanted to do. I am not playing as much as I want right now, but whenever I have some extended free time, I always pick it up.”

“The second project is language learning. In the summer of 2019, I went to Japan on exchange for half a year and it was genuinely the best time of my life. It felt like exploring a whole new world and it was also the first time I left the home of my mother and lived by myself. It was exciting, and I definitely want to go back as soon as I can. I did not have any particular fascination with language learning before I visited Japan, let alone learning Japanese. In high school, the language courses were usually my weakest subjects. I even managed to get a 4.0 for the first national German exam I had to take. It was this course that deprived me of finishing school with cum laude. Needless to say, I hated language learning, and I did not get how other people found it interesting or how they managed to learn it.”

“However, when I visited Japan, this completely changed. I was absolutely fascinated by the Japanese language and tried to learn as much as I possibly could have. It felt like playing a game. The more I learned, the more I could do independently. While I was learning the language, I also noticed how the culture was heavily intertwined with the actual language. I learned about the culture by learning the language. This might sound like common sense to most language learners, but it was certainly not something that was obvious to me. This grew my fascination when it comes to language learning in general, but Japanese has a soft spot in my heart.”

on the choice of academics

“I chose to study mathematics and physics. The first reason I chose to study mathematics and physics is purely from an almost child-like perspective. I think things like black holes, atoms, radiation, and stars are cool. On the next level, I also think that everyone finds the inner workings of the world that surrounds them interesting to some degree. What I exactly mean with the ‘world around us’ is ambiguous. It could refer to how business works, our economy, and our society. It could also refer to literally the earth we live on, our solar system, etc. When I started studying, I found the latter more interesting.”

“The second reason I chose these particular studies is that they provide an almost perfect baseline to study almost anything else you want to study afterward — be it chemistry, computer science, or business. I don’t like to choose, and that is why I tend to do a bit too much for my own good. But another thing that drives me is the (probably selfish) idea of wanting to learn as much as possible about everything. I think the world has so much for me to offer, and I have so little time on this earth. I wish I had more time so that I can study everything, but that is unfortunately impossible. So I have to do with the coolest subjects ;).”

I find myself chuckling.

on inspiration

“Self-improvement and being eager to help as many people as I can. I believe that every day serves as an opportunity to learn more about the world around me and to be a better person. People that know me, know that I constantly ask for feedback.”

“Just a week ago, I made a list of all my bad habits and thought it could be a great starting point for improvement. I also like to bug my close friends and family around me as well. I asked my friends, my best one, and my mother all for extra bad habits I have. Unfortunately, both my best friend and my mom said jokingly: “Bothering us with this constant barrage of questions might be a bad habit?”. I, unfortunately, can't let this one bad habit slide haha.”

“Also, I get great satisfaction from helping work happen around me. I hope that I am later able to support society with the knowledge that I have gathered over the years — be it by contributing to the educational system or innovations that might pop up while working on projects in some company I might later work at.”

on staying updated

“I mainly use YouTube and LinkedIn to consume content when it comes to self-improvement, learning, and all my other passion projects. I have been thinking about actually getting a subscription for The Great Courses Plus, so I might add that to my repertoire.”

“For the rest, I try to get my information about world politics from as many sources as possible — websites like Forbes, Bloomberg — newspapers like The Guardian, Volkskrant (Dutch) — news networks like CNN and NPO (Dutch). It is not like I religiously use only these sources, but I tend to use whatever pops up in my feed. If an issue is pressing or important to me, I take the time to actually read multiple sources. For work, I mainly use the same outlets, but if I really need to dive into some research, I make sure to use Google Scholar.

books and music

“I am currently listening to some jazz, pop, and rock music. I also like listening to classical music once in a while. My favorite song at the moment is ‘My Way’ by Frank Sinatra.”

“My reading includes ‘How to avoid a climate disaster’ by Bill Gates and ‘Thinking Fast and Slow’ by Daniel Kahneman — and I just finished with ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear and ‘Deep Work’ by Cal Newport.”

“Alternating between books that are immediately applicable (books like ‘Getting Things Done’) is most preferred, and even books that inform me on topics I am currently interested in. Given the whole pandemic, the recent political developments, I just had to read the new book by Bill Gates. The next ones on the list are probably ‘The Making of a Manager’ by Julie Zhou and ‘A Promised Land’ by Barack Obama.”

Understanding Sliem, I admire and am inspired by his wilful, result-oriented actions which are concrete steps towards a self-determined future.

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