I’ve been following the Sharp Tools Community Program for a long time. I’ve learned a lot from everyone’s sharing. As stated in the beginning: “Both tools and inspiration are sharp tools. When tools and inspiration from different fields and creators collide, more possibilities arise.“ Below are my simple answers to the six questions of the Sharp Tools Community Program. I hope some parts will be helpful to you.
Historical tool list (reviewed October 2026): This records my devices, software, and work experience in 2019. Those personal choices remain historical, rather than current buying recommendations. Significant service and technical changes are noted below.
Introduce yourself and the work you do.
I am an Android System Development Engineer working in the system R&D department of a smartphone manufacturer. My work mainly involves Android system-related tasks, such as performance, power consumption, stability, and framework maintenance. It’s a bit of everything—basically, I’m the odd-jobs person.
As for hobbies, I enjoy basketball, running, and gaming—essential skills for any programmer. I also appreciate more “artistic” pursuits like reading, raising cats, and drinking tea. In my spare time, I like browsing Bilibili and YouTube. When I have time, I try to finish pending articles for my blog. Currently, I’m obsessed with losing weight and fighting a life-and-death struggle against my belly.
What hardware are you using?
Computers: I primarily use three. A MacBook Pro for writing, developing my own small apps, and photo processing. A desktop provided by my company running Ubuntu, mainly for work and essential for compiling Android source code. A self-built desktop mainly for gaming and compiling AOSP code.
Phones: I also have three. My main device is an iPhone X—I’m satisfied with everything except the battery life. My backup is a OnePlus 6, an Android flagship; as an Android engineer, I must have a solid Android device. The third one is a Pixel, used mainly for running my own compiled AOSP code—a must-have for studying the framework.
Other Hardware: Apple ecosystem products like the Watch, iPad Pro, and AirPods. Sony wireless headphones—yes, I’m a fan (listed as MX-1000 in the original; the exact model is unconfirmed). A Kindle Voyage specifically for e-books.
AOSP version note: Writing apps on the Mac is separate from building the full OS. Current AOSP requirements use 64-bit x86 Linux; building the Android OS on macOS is unsupported from Android 11. My old Pixel used a matching historical branch. Check the exact device, build target, and vendor binaries before assuming a newer branch works.
What about software?
- Things 3: Primarily for scheduling daily work and recording tasks.
- MWeb: Dedicated to writing—this article was written using MWeb.
- Keep: A great fitness helper. I just follow the courses; it’s great for tracking progress and setting goals, especially during HIIT sessions on the treadmill.
- 海豚记账本 (Dolphin Ledger): A bookkeeping app for basic needs.
- Kindle && WeChat Read: Reading apps; the two libraries complement each other. E-books are very convenient, especially on the iPad Pro.
- YouTube && Bilibili: My main sources for learning and entertainment.
- ShadowSocks && Wingy: At the time I used ShadowSocks on Android and Mac, and Wingy on my phone and iPad. The widget was handy for switching it back on if the app got killed.
- Geek Time && Dedao: Knowledge-sharing platforms. I find that hearing what others are doing and how they do it is very helpful for self-improvement and avoiding pitfalls.
- Google Photos: Almost all my photos are stored here. I’d be devastated if I ever lost access…
- Reeder: I maintained a developer feed list and used Reeder 3 in 2019. October 2026: New Reeder syncs a timeline position; Reeder Classic keeps a traditional RSS approach. These are different models, not features to assume in Reeder 3.
- Android Studio && VS Code: Productivity software; one for Framework Java code and the other for C/C++ code.
- RescueTime: I used it to review computer time; seeing ten-plus hours could be discouraging. Usage time is not work output. October 2026: Official support no longer lists Linux. iOS 17+ tracking requires a paid plan and Screen Time permission; that activity stays on-device, separate from desktop statistics. The old view-only iOS description is outdated.
- Shimo Docs: For daily/weekly reports and research notes. It synced conveniently between my devices and was useful for collaboration; I preferred the web version.
- Nutstore (Jianguoyun): The sync drive I used at the time. Having an Ubuntu client felt like someone had remembered us programmers. Choose the Linux client for your distribution, architecture, and desktop environment. Uploading is not a guarantee against loss: deletions can propagate. Keep independent copies of important files.
- Yinxiang Biji (印象笔记): Used to be for notes, but now it’s more of a collection center for interesting articles I find. I use Shimo Docs for daily work records.
Reading and photo services (October 2026): Amazon’s closure notice, reproduced in full by The Paper set June 30, 2023 for the Chinese Kindle store’s sales closure and June 30, 2024 for purchased-content downloads. Downloaded books remained readable; this was not a worldwide Kindle closure.
Keep independent photo copies: Google Photos deletions can propagate to devices with backup enabled. Google Takeout can export existing data for a separate, checked copy; it cannot recover permanently deleted photos.
What is your ideal working environment?
My ideal working environment is Work-Life Balance. As mentioned in the popular 996.ICU project, my current workload is similar to that. Therefore, I prefer the environment described in the 955.WLB project.
The biggest pressure of a 996 schedule is the lack of personal time for self-improvement. Working until 10 or 11 PM every day leaves no time for fitness, reading, or learning. As an article once said, “The most hidden way to ruin a person is to make them too busy to grow.”
If a person only learns from their work, this single way of learning will inevitably lead to a decreasing marginal contribution to growth. You must give yourself time to grow every day through diverse learning methods outside of work. Continuous growth is essential for a rising career path.
In summary, my ideal working environment includes like-minded colleagues, work I love, and the time/space for personal growth.
How do you usually get inspiration for your work?
One way is through reading—extracting the essence of others’ thoughts to see if I can apply, improve, or expand upon them. Another is thinking and recording—drawing flowcharts while thinking and capturing sparks of ideas.
Neither approach has worked all that well for me, though. When things get busy, I barely have time to read or think. If you’ve figured this out, I’d love some advice.
Recommend one “Sharp Tool” to everyone?
Instead of hardware or software, I want to recommend a learning method: Record - Summarize - Output. These three steps are closely linked:
Record: As the saying goes, “The palest ink is better than the best memory.” In today’s information explosion, having your own recording method is crucial. To-do lists, random ideas, problems encountered, solutions found, great articles, blog ideas, or YouTube tutorials—recording keeps you organized.
Summarize: Summarizing helps organize scattered thoughts or knowledge. A clear structure helps you see the big picture. Project summaries help avoid repeating mistakes, and knowledge summaries deepen your understanding of a specific topic.
Output: Output can be private notes, blogs, or videos. Output reinforces your own knowledge by explaining it to others. To explain something clearly, you must know it thoroughly. Discussions following your output further strengthen your understanding. It also helps others while building your reputation—if you’re good, you should let others know it too.
Conclusion
I recently visited Japan during the cherry blossom season. Let’s end with a photo of the blossoms.
This article participated in the Liqi (Sharp Tools) Community Program. Its historical page showed a title and navigation, but no full program text, when checked in October 2026.
About Me && Blog
Below is my personal intro and related links. I look forward to exchanging ideas with fellow professionals. “When three walk together, one can always be my teacher!”
- Blogger Intro
- Blog Content Navigation: A guide for my blog content.
- Curated Excellent Blog Articles - Android Performance Optimization Must-Knows
- Android Performance Optimization Knowledge Planet: Historical project; paid operations ended in 2026 and new paid members are no longer accepted.
One walks faster alone, but a group walks further together.
