Continuing my tradition of yearly reviews of well, years, here’s a reflection my life in 2019.
Let us please pretend that this post is not late by almost half a year, okay? Clearly, I was so busy that a lock-down caused by a global pandemic was the only thing that could free me enough to publish this.
😉
Work
I continued to grow as a developer and learned where my interests lie in the vast world of software engineering.
Around the middle of the year though, I grew frustrated with my employer, as did my teammates, for a myriad of reasons. Before I knew it, I burned out. And so, I quit my job.
A couple of days later, I accepted an offer from Melvault, where I currently work at. It’s been 7 months to this date and it’s been amazing! Some things I learned so far:
- Navigating through a large, mature codebase for an enterprise product.
- My debugging skills have vastly improved. By improved I mean I’ve gone from littering my code with
print('here')s to actually using all the amazing debugging tools available in modern IDEs. - Asking for help. It might seem strange but I’ve only now learned to ask for help after exhausting all other options to solve a problem.
- How much you can enjoy your work when you have a supportive manager.
- I’ve realized that working from home, with dedicated focus blocks, is the best way for me to be productive. I’m now much better at finishing tasks within deadlines and due dates.
- I’ve given up on my fight against JIRA and I now realise that it is a necessary evil to get the job done.
Personal
Some things were good this year:
- 🛹 I bought a skateboard on a whim and learned to ride it in a couple of days!
- 🏃♂️ I took part in a marathon something I’ve wanted to do since school.
- ⌨ After learning to type last year, I got into the wonderful mechanical keyboard community and bought my first “clicky keeb” and I love it!
- 🥰 My personal life and relationships have never been better, the pieces are falling in place for a future I’ve only dreamt of.
- 💸 I’ve gotten serious about long-term investing and the magical power of compounding.
- 😴 On average, I’m sleeping better and more consistently and its effects are quite evident on my physical and mental health.1
- 🚶♂️ Walked more this year than I ever did before, for an average of ~7000 steps a day.
- 👯♀️ Spent more time with friends.
- 💗 Started tracking my heart rate and sleep quality 24/7. It’s insightful to see trends over a period of time to reflect on specific situations etc.
Some were not so good:
- 🚫✈ Did not travel at all this year.
- 🚫📚 Read fewer books this year.
- 🚫⚛ Wrote less javascript that I would’ve liked to.
- 🚫🚀 Did not ship a single project.
Things I hope to do in 2020:
- 💪 Exercise regularly to build core strength and stamina.
- 🚀 Ship something, anything!
- 🌱 Be mindful about what I eat. After all:
there is no such thing as a ‘bad’ or ‘unhealthy’ food, just an unhealthy diet. 2
- 🦉 Get serious about learning at least one new language.
- 📚 Read more books.
- 🎮 Play more games. I’ve been missing out on the fun and thrill of video games.
- ✈ Travel, for my own sanity.
All thanks to this book, Why We Sleep: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34466963