2021 is over. Looking back at the past twelve months, it’s time for my annual summary.
Career Transition
In May of this year, I changed jobs after 1.5 years at my previous company. While I’m not someone who enjoys frequent job-hopping for salary bumps, I stand by the explanation I gave HR: “The wasted years early in my career taught me a hard lesson—if you’re unhappy and feel your time is being squandered, move on without overthinking it.”
Looking back at those 1.5 years, I did grow technically, but the environment provided too few external challenges. Overall, my rate of growth was lower than I desired.
The New Role
Since joining my new company in May, I’ve observed several key differences in the environment:
- Maturity: The IT infrastructure is incredibly mature, the organizational structure is clear, and IT carries significant weight within the company. There are always resources to draw from and experts to consult.
- Talent Density: The caliber of my teammates has noticeably improved. One of the best ways to measure your own growth is by the quality of the people and environment surrounding you.
- Opportunities: Working at a major firm brings more resources and, consequently, more challenges. In just six months, I’ve worked on Mini Programs, Chrome extensions, CLI tools, scaffolding templates, and component documentation. The variety of roles—from UX designers to blockchain experts—makes cross-disciplinary learning easy.
Growth & Contributions
Open Source
Since 2020, open source has been a major pillar of my personal output, and the returns have been steadily increasing.
- Alfred Workflows: Developed 10+ new workflows, bringing the total to 32 with 147 stars. This growth proves they solve real needs. As a daily user myself, value drives my continued development.
- Alfred SDK/CLI: Created a scaffolding tool to streamline the development of new workflows.
- webpack-replace-plugin: Developed an AST-based string replacement plugin to solve specific bundling issues at work.
- chrome-extension-react-typescript-boilerplate: Frustrated by the lack of a good starter kit, I refined a template for building Chrome extensions with React and TypeScript.
- codetracker-wxapp: Built a WeChat Mini Program client for WakaTime to track my coding stats on the go and share them with friends.
- repo-star-count-action: A GitHub Action to track repository star statistics for use in CI workflows.
Beyond personal satisfaction and community contribution, open source has a practical perk: it saves money. My active projects earned me free licenses for JetBrains and 1Password, saving me hundreds of yuan annually.
Blogging
- I wrote 108 articles this year, bringing my lifetime total to 445. I’m proud of this consistency and plan to keep it up.
- I experimented with Medium. While the response was good, withdrawing earnings to a Chinese account is cumbersome. Now that I have a Hong Kong bank card, I may re-explore this as a viable monetization path.
- In terms of direct blog monetization, referral links brought in about $80. While small compared to server costs, it confirmed the value of traffic. Google AdSense only yields a few dollars a year, but it’s a positive feedback loop that encourages higher quality and quantity.
WeChat Official Account
I operate “Alfred Road to Refinement.” Alfred is a niche topic, and my updates are infrequent, resulting in 45 followers. While I get positive feedback, “knowledge tipping” is rare in the current domestic climate. Once the audience grows, I’ll consider advertising.
Personal & Lifestyle
Learning
- WeChat Reading: I’ve become a fan of this platform and read several books this year (e.g., How the Network Connects, Simple and Usable, Half-Hour Manga, Docker). My strategy going forward is WeChat Reading for Chinese content, O’Reilly for English technical material, and MarginNote for offline PDF study.
- Geek Time: I used this heavily during my job transition. Courses on frontend fundamentals provided great value during my commute.
Tools
- iPhone 12: Upgraded from an 8 Plus. I love Face ID, though I’ve realized I prefer a larger screen. My next upgrade will definitely be a Max model.
- Numbers: I moved my financial tracking to Apple Numbers. Dedicated budgeting apps are often either intrusive or insecure. Numbers is simple, private, and effective.
- Apple TV: A fantastic addition for home entertainment via AirPlay.
- Typora: Even though it’s now a paid app, it’s so good that I didn’t hesitate to purchase a license. It’s my primary tool for blog drafting.
Travel
Despite the pandemic, I managed two trips with my girlfriend: Inner Mongolia in May and Qingdao in September. Traveling is a great way to recharge and gain perspective on how others live. I hope to increase this to 3+ trips per year in the future.
Major Milestones: Marriage & Housing
Given our ages and long-term plans, we’ve started planning for marriage and buying a home in 2022. This will be the primary focus of the coming year, requiring a continued commitment to frugal living and saving.
Other Achievements
- Health Insurance: I finally started using the supplemental health insurance provided by my company. After five hospital visits this year for minor issues, I realized how much I had been overpaying by not utilizing these benefits earlier. In one case, a 50 CNY bill was reduced to just 1 CNY after insurance.
- Hong Kong Bank Card: One of the benefits of working for a large firm is access to better resources. After several months of processing, I finally secured a HK bank card. This makes managing a HK Apple ID and trading international stocks much simpler.
2022 Goals
- Get married and purchase a home.
- Reach the next level in my professional career.
- Double the quality and quantity of my open-source output.
- Begin monetizing my personal products (Mini Programs/Official Account).
- Establish a functional earnings workflow for Medium.
Final Thoughts
As I get older, I find myself becoming more pragmatic. I worry about becoming the “jaded veteran” or the “utilitarian” I once disliked. Regular self-reflection and a commitment to continuous self-improvement are my best defenses. Here’s to a productive 2022!
