Reflections on 2023: Health, Career, and the Future

Android Year in Review Knowledge Planet

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 2024/01/01

I’m taking the easy way out this year and using a template to look back at the past year through several lenses: Health/Fitness, Work/Career, Friendship/Social, Personal Life/Family, Learning/Knowledge Management, Travel/Culture, Interests/Creativity, Emotions/Mental State, and Finances.

This post is more of a personal record for 2023 than a formal summary, and my writing isn’t anything special. But as I’ve realized, if you don’t record things, they slowly fade away. I hope that whenever I look back at this post, I’ll remember 2023 as a vibrant year—filled with unforgettable moments, low points, visits from distant friends, and journeys through mountains and rivers. I also want to remember the things I did poorly so I can do better next time, and to remind myself to fight the laziness that often prevents me from following through on what I know is right.

For those reading, just enjoy the ride!

Health / Fitness

This year was dominated by cycling, thanks to a company-wide competition and the completion of the Chengdu Green Belt last year. I bought a used Merida Reacto 4000 on Xianyu at the start of the year and committed to riding. My goal was to complete one loop (97km) in under 3 hours, with a stretch goal of 2 hours 50 minutes. I’m proud to say I met both (35 loops total, with a personal best of 2h 47min), and even took first place in the company competition. I even managed to get my wife into the sport!

My chronic issues—asthma and rhinitis—didn’t see much improvement. However, the best news came at the end of the year: after being hospitalized for 4 days due to pneumonia and the flu, the IV treatment actually cured the loss of taste caused by my rhinitis! My blood oxygen also returned to 96% (it was consistently below 94%, which was causing me significant anxiety). Chengdu’s air quality is… challenging, to say the least; even doctors at Huaxi Hospital shook their heads at it. Something to consider if you’re thinking of moving here.

For the new year, I’m targeting both cycling and running. I’ve signed up for a half-marathon in Dujiangyan and hope to finish. Weight loss remains a priority—watching what I eat and getting moving. Stay hungry before bed!

2023 Cycling Stats

Work / Career

Work was a bit rocky this year. I was involved in many disparate things, and several projects didn’t reach a final landing. Looking back, I think it was a lack of planning and execution on my part. Still, I gained a lot of knowledge, researched many technical solutions, and collaborated with customers on several projects. The company is full of “hidden dragons and crouching tigers,” and I need to stay humble and learn from everyone.

AI was obviously the big story this year. AI has integrated into both company and personal workflows—boosting productivity and creating new tools. While it hasn’t completely disrupted our industry yet, we all know that day is coming fast.

“Once a new technology rolls over you, if you’re not part of the steamroller, you’re part of the road.” —— Stewart Brand

The most significant social event was traveling from Chengdu to Shenzhen for the GDG DevFest. I caught up with old friends, met people from my online groups, and indulged in my favorite claypot porridge and beef hotpot. Hearing the keynote speeches from various GDEs was incredibly rewarding.

The rest of my social life was mostly cycling with colleagues. Nothing gets you pushing through the Green Belt at midnight on a Friday like the promise of hotpot or spicy skewers afterward. Big shoutout to the cycling crew—let’s keep pushing each other in the new year!

Congratulations to the new parents in the group, and to those who finally got their new homes (even if they’re still single!).

Most of my daily communication happens in my WeChat groups, mostly with Android App and System developers. We have about 2,000 members across 5 groups (though 90% are dedicated lurkers). I’ve met many industry experts through these groups. The mobile world is small—every friend is a connection. It’s a reminder that there’s always someone better out there, so I just need to keep learning.

My biggest takeaway: communicating with people on the same “frequency” saves a lot of effort.

Personal Life / Family

Little Orange is almost three now, and her mom has moved to a new team doing the same work as me: system performance optimization. My biggest wish is for my family to stay happy, healthy, and safe. Due to various reasons, I didn’t spend as much time with my family as I wanted this year, and several travel plans were shelved. In the new year, I need to be more efficient so I can dedicate more time to them.

I read a blog post recently that really resonated with me regarding the ultimate goal of life:

I want to enrich my experiences, do things I’ve never done, and see sights I’ve never seen. I hope one day I can spend my time on myself, not on work, and not on unimportant people or things. More specifically, I hope my family is healthy and safe, with love and companionship. I hope to travel all of China and the world, eat food I’ve never tasted, and see scenes I’ve never envisioned.

Thinking about this brings me clarity. I know what I’m pursuing in this life; the rest isn’t that important. So, how do I get there? I need time, and I need money.

From now on, everything I do revolves around this goal. As long as something moves me toward my ultimate life goal, no matter how hard it is, I must do it. Yes, must. No room for negotiation.

Learning / Knowledge Management

Learning was a bit of a failure this year. My English studies stalled until I picked them up again this month. Technical learning was mostly passive reading without enough writing or deep reflection. I have many unread books on my shelf. I only posted a few blog articles. I know the Feynman technique—using output to drive input—but I haven’t overcome my procrastination yet.

I did develop a good habit at work: using Typora to record daily work, technical projects, research, and bugs. As I switch to Microsoft Loop, I plan to be even more detailed in my logs and reflections and share more with my team to foster a better technical atmosphere.

From my own experience, there are three obstacles to learning:

Finding High-Quality Input: In the age of information overload, finding good sources is key. You need to curate a list of great blogs, GitHub repos, newsletters, and tech teams. (My article Android Performance Optimization Must-Knows is my attempt at this; feel free to recommend others!)
Focusing and Diving Deep: Short-form content is destroying our attention spans. Sitting down to read and think through a deep article or book is becoming harder. We have to train ourselves to step away from social media and regain our focus.
Overcoming Procrastination: We often say we know the “how” but aren’t doing it. Procrastination is a major factor. I recently saw a tip on fighting procrastination: The key is that we procrastinate because something is unfamiliar and we want to avoid it, which creates fear and anxiety. The way to defeat it is to mentally walk through the task first—visualize the steps and details—to get your neurons firing, then act immediately.

I also want to share a few points from a video I saw early in the year called “Life is a Journey, and I too am a Traveler”:

Don’t limit yourself; move quickly into industries with more potential.
Learn aggressively from the best in the field.
Expand your horizons and perspective.
Embrace change, or even seek it out.
Keep doing the work to build a long-term reputation.
Improve your “fault tolerance.”

Travel / Culture

I visited four places this year: Siguniang Mountain, Xiamen, Yantai+Weihai, and Leshan.

Xiamen: A team trip. We saw the sea, ate satay noodles, and ginger duck. The weather there is enviable.
Yantai + Weihai: Attended a wedding, visited my alma mater, and met with former teachers and classmates. The coastal road is still beautiful, and the sunset at the school beach was stunning.
Siguniang Mountain: Drove all day to Western Sichuan. We crossed a pass at 4,800m. My wife and baby had altitude sickness, so we didn’t stay long. But the snow-covered scenery the next morning was breathtaking. I have a video of it here: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1H84y1Q7oM. It’s definitely worth another visit.
Leshan: Visited the Giant Buddha and enjoyed the local snacks (sweet-skinned duck and fried skewers are amazing).

Traveling with a baby is a lot of work but so worth it. They see new things, make new friends, and try new foods. We’ll keep doing it in 2024.

Interests / Creativity

Finally, something lighthearted! My main interest this year was cycling. I bought a DJI Action 4 to record my rides. I’m no pro—it’s mostly just continuous shots. Creativity is definitely a talent!

Emotions / Mental State

I’m doing well, though I have some minor anxiety. Much of my well-being comes from my family’s support—having my parents help with the baby and having a spouse who also works in IT and supports my decisions. Chengdu is a great place to live—lots of food, culture, and nature within reach (except for the smog, which is a big negative).

I’ll keep this mindset in 2024: stay positive and get enough sleep.

Finances

We still have a significant mortgage, and most of our salary goes to the bank. We don’t have much income beyond our day jobs, which is a source of anxiety for me—any job loss would create immediate financial pressure. My goal is to manage our money better and control spending. I recently read a breakdown of the financial habits of the poor, the middle class, and the wealthy:

The poor struggle to make ends meet, with income consumed by basic needs.
The middle class are stuck in the “rat race,” working for decades to pay off bills and loans.
The wealthy acquire and hold onto quality assets, creating a “money → asset → money” cycle.

Ultimately, you need to hold quality assets—whether that’s real estate or knowledge. Given my situation, I’ve decided to restart my Knowledge Planet (intro here: The Performance Knowledge Planet Intro). I’m not advertising it; it’s just on the blog. I believe the Feynman and Public Learning techniques are the best ways to learn, and the Knowledge Planet lets me share my daily thoughts, cases, progress, and tools. If that knowledge helps someone else, it’s worth it.

The Final Three

Proudest Achievement

Teaching for three days at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC). It was part of a company partnership, but the process was a huge challenge: from getting the assignment to preparing the slides and finally delivering the lectures. It was my first time, and I’m glad it went well.

I’ll be doing it again this year, and I won’t be as nervous! I need to update the content and optimize the delivery. Explaining Android from top to bottom is never easy.

Greatest Challenge

Beyond work, my biggest challenge is English speaking. There were several times this year where I struggled, which has motivated me to double down on learning. This is a top priority for 2024.

Goals and Wishes for Next Year

Spend more time with family, do new things, and visit new places.
Do a public presentation at a Google DevFest-level event.
Travel abroad once.
Grow the Knowledge Planet community.
Keep fit and complete a marathon.
Read more books.
Update the blog every 2 weeks and finish the Perfetto series.
Record more videos.

My writing is limited, but I’ll close with a quote:

I hope you can figure out “what kind of life you want to live.” Once you have that standard, every decision you make will become incredibly easy.

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!”