The first time my family visited me in KL, it was during a long public holiday weekend, shortly after I had moved into my new place.

I had barely settled in. There was no proper furniture yet. At the same time, I was in the middle of a hectic M&A transaction and the client wanted to meet over the holiday to go through the transaction agreements.

I thought I could spend half a day with the client, then get some basic furniture before they arrived.

However, I ended up at the client’s office until the evening. By the time I got home, my family was already waiting outside for me to let them in.

Mom is visiting again this time.

It seemed like déjà vu. I was in the middle of another M&A transaction, but work unexpectedly slowed down due to external factors.

Working in M&A, things often move quickly and sometimes unpredictably. We plan around deliverables, timelines and closing, but not everything is within our control. Part of the job is to stay steady through it.

I used to feel the need to optimise every bit of my time, but this time I was able to slow down and be a little more present – something I didn’t manage the previous round.

This post was first posted on LinkedIn on 2 April 2026.