Reflecting on 2023, I realize it was an exceptional year for me. I’m writing this post to recap highlights from the past year, reflect on my previous goals, and set new ones for the upcoming year.
Here are previous yearly reviews that I’ve written:
Contents
- 3 Key Lessons Learned
- Books I Read
- My Year of Efficiency
- We Adopted a Puppy
- Travels
- Switching From Data Science to Software Engineering
- Goals
- Closing Thoughts
3 Key Lessons Learned
Avoid letting perfectionism hinder progress. I’ve discovered that my perfectionism, despite its good intentions, hinders my growth. For example, I cited this as one reason why I wasn’t publishing more blog posts.
Don’t be overambitious with side projects. I noticed that I’m too ambitious with my side projects, aiming to impress others. As a result, I prioritize longer-term projects that I eventually abandon once I start feeling overwhelmed. Finishing up smaller projects in a shorter period can also be rewarding. These can help me learn fundamental skills that will serve me well for more ambitious efforts.
Embrace ambiguity and uncertainty. For a long time, I’ve tried to avoid ambiguity and uncertainty as much as possible. For example, I’ve been anxious about determining the next steps of my career trajectory in light of recent AI developments. I’ve since understood that ambiguity and uncertainty can empower me to explore various paths, and uncover promising possibilities that I haven’t imagined.
Books I Read
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin. I heard so much hype about this book but it didn’t impress me. The concepts and the setting were interesting. However, the poor character development made this one fall flat for me.
- Infinity Gate by M.R. Carey. I liked the multi-verse concept that this book presents. But, the author was too ambitious. There were a few different subplots that each could have been separate books altogether.
- Wool and Shift by Hugh Howey. I started reading this series after watching Silo on Apple TV. These books were fun to read.
Software Development & Engineering
- Programming Phoenix LiveView by Bruce A. Tate and Sophie DeBenedetto. I’ve found this book to be the most helpful introduction to Phoenix and LiveView. It clarified so much of my confusion regarding Phoenix and gave me confidence to build a simple project. The book is in beta and contains a few typos at the time of this writing.
- Algorithms to Live By by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths. I loved this book. It was a remarkable exploration of how to apply computer science concepts to everyday life.
- Practical UI by Adam Dannaway. This was a practical primer on good user interface (UI) design practices for non-experts. It sparked my interest in visual design.
- The Missing README by Chris Riccomini and Dmitry Ryaboy. This book contained lots of practical tips on getting into software engineering. However, I didn’t get many new insights that I hadn’t previously learned from other sources.
Entrepreneurship
- Lean Startup by Eric Reis. One of my favorite books this year. It helped me understand the importance of shipping my work more often, instead of constantly aiming for perfection.
Self-help
- How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson. I was interested in reading this because I’ve read through Meditations by Marcus Aurelius many times. However, I found this book too repetitive.
- Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson et al. This was an effective guide for navigating tough conversations.
- The Effective Engineer by Edmond Lau. This book taught me key lessons regarding the importance of prioritization, automating simple tasks, and learning new technical skills. It prompted me to refine my task management workflow.
My Year of Efficiency
I’m proud I devised a task management workflow that I’ve stuck with for a long period. This includes routines for writing periodic reviews to reflect on my progress towards my goals and identify opportunities for improvement.
I achieved this by adopting these tools:
- Obsidian: I’ve used Obsidian to manage my notes and orchestrate my periodic reviews, which occur weekly, monthly, and yearly.
- Things 3: I previously experimented with Things 3 but finally got into the groove of using it. I wrote about this in a recent blog post.
- iA Writer: I started using iA Writer more for writing blog posts because of its minimalist interface and other built-in features, like its focus modes, that mesh well with my writing process.
We Adopted a Puppy
My partner and I adopted a 2-month-old golden retriever. We named her Hana, after the city in Maui.
Taking care of Hana was so much work, especially when she was much younger. I even had the puppy blues from time to time and wondered whether we made a mistake of getting a puppy!
Fortunately, things have gotten better. Hana is now 9 months old and her temperament has mellowed.
Travels
These are the new destinations I visited in 2023:
- Hawaii: My partner and I spent a week exploring Maui in April. Here, we discovered our love for snorkeling. We also saw the sunrise at Haleakala which was a highlight of the trip. I was sad to learn that many of the places we visited burned down in August due to wildfires.
- Oregon: This was our first travel adventure with our puppy! We took a road trip to the Oregon coast. I was surprised to find out that Oregon has sand dunes!
- Thailand: This was our big international trip of the year. We visited Bangkok, Krabi, and Chiang Mai. I enjoyed exploring the beautiful islands around Krabi, loved the down-to-earth feel of Chiang Mai, and had fun exploring the enormous shopping malls in Bangkok.
Switching From Data Science to Software Engineering
Last year, I noted my interest in improving my software development skills. This eventually blossomed into a desire to transition into a software engineering career.
Why? I didn’t enjoy doing data science work as much as I thought I would. The roles and responsibilities of the data science profession don’t align with my long-term interests.
Lately, I’ve been exploring full-stack web development, reading various software engineering blogs, and experimenting with new AI technologies. Hence, moving into software engineering was an obvious choice. I’m enjoying my new role and I feel confident that I’m moving in the right direction regarding my career trajectory.
Goals
Previous Goals
These were my goals for 2023:
- Reach B2 level in Spanish: Unfortunately, I’m still at an elementary level because I didn’t consistently practice. I’ll work towards improving my Spanish fluency in the coming year.
- Complete Chelsea London’s 52-week photography challenge: I never got started on this goal as I realized I don’t enjoy structured photography prompts.
- Write 12 blog posts: I wrote 10 blog posts in 2023. Interestingly enough, I published 4 of these in December alone. The impetus for this came after I read Lean Startup, which gave me a new perspective regarding my creative work. I realized that it’s better to ship more often rather than endlessly trying to reach perfection.
- Read 12 books: I’m happy to say that I achieved this goal!
- Finish an algorithms course: I started learning algorithms last year but fell off track. I may resume learning algorithms later this year now that I’m a software developer.
- Learn more about systems design: I wanted to learn how to create scalable systems, which is one reason I started learning Elixir. I’ve explored the basics of systems design. But, it’s not yet clear to me right now how deep I’ll explore this topic in the coming year.
- Read books on software development: I put together a list of software engineering books to read. However, I never got around to reading them, as my priorities had shifted.
Goals for Next Year
Learn about AI & computing. I’ve long desired to understand how computers work. In addition, this observation by Andrej Karpathy piqued my interest in the subject again. I feel more compelled to understand the mechanics of computing and explore emerging AI technologies.
Develop UI Design Expertise. In 2023, I got exposure to UI design after reading Practical UI by Adham Dannaway. I have knowledge gaps on creating a design system that I’d like to resolve. I plan to apply what I’ve learned here to my projects.
Read 12+ books. Each year, I set this goal to maintain a habit of reading books somewhat regularly.
Ship 3 Projects. This year, I want to focus on shipping my projects more often. I’ll achieve this sooner if I prioritize smaller projects to start before moving on to more complex projects.
Publish 12+ blog posts. I gained momentum with my writing last month as I published 4 blog posts. Hence, I’m confident that I’ll surpass this goal.
Gain Conversational Fluency in Spanish. I want to resume learning Spanish. This year, I’ll aim to reach A2 proficiency.
Closing Thoughts
All in all, I’m happy with the progress I made in 2023. I uncovered important life lessons, read a variety of books, adopted a puppy, and enjoyed amazing travel adventures. Additionally, I took an important step in my career by transitioning from data science to software engineering.
My new goals for 2024 focus on further self-improvement. I intend to dive deeper into AI and computing, improve my UI design skills, ship my projects more often, and embrace the challenge of becoming fluent in Spanish. As 2024 begins, I look forward to exploring new possibilities and seeing my goals unfold.