In the blink of an eye, it is already February 2025. Although 2024 has long been said goodbye, I initially intended to reflect on the past year during the Lunar New Year, but due to the complexities of the Spring Festival, I had to keep postponing it. Today, I take a moment to record all the bittersweet experiences of this year.
In 2024, I calculated that I have spent 10,000 days of my life. Overall, this year has seen more effective reflection and social interaction compared to the past, and I have come to better understand the meaning of "living in the moment."
This year, the world has undergone significant changes. The Russia-Ukraine war has entered its third year, the battlefield remains stalemated, and the landscape is facing reshaping, with Trump winning the election;
This year, our generation has welcomed delayed retirement, and stock investors have once again witnessed the "baby bottom" of the A-shares, along with a "miracle" of thousands of stocks hitting the daily limit;
This year, new energy vehicles have sprung up like mushrooms after rain, Lei Jun released the Xiaomi SU7, OpenAI launched GPT-4o, Sora, o1, and o3, and there has been global discussion about Deepseek. This AI frenzy is still ongoing...
Looking back at the goals I set for 2024 a year ago:
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Maintain a simplified life and say goodbye to the traps of consumerism
- This year, I started "decluttering" in various aspects, striving to reduce both work and life commitments, including rethinking and organizing past projects.
- I have reduced many unnecessary expenses and basically did not purchase any high-priced digital products.
- I have cut costs by selling most of the unused phones, smartwatches, laptops, and game consoles on recycling and idle platforms.
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Read some books related to business management and products
- I read "Small but Beautiful: The Rules of Sustainable Profitability in Entrepreneurship," learning the way of minimalist entrepreneurship.
- I am currently reading "Product Manager Methodology (2nd Edition)," but I haven't finished it yet.
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Develop two to three products or iOS apps
- While learning to use Bun, I created a personal open-source Memo program.
- The app is still in the product design phase, and there are several ideas waiting to be validated.
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Learn to use some AI tools
- Using existing hardware and "picking up trash" on Xianyu, I assembled a low-cost host with 16G of video memory, which is sufficient to meet small needs for building local SD and large text model applications.
However, in 2025, I no longer want to set specific goals. At least at this stage, I will remain focused and dedicate my time and energy to the most valuable areas.
Work#
This year, there have been changes at work. In the first half of the year, my position shifted from pure R&D to head of product research and development, responsible for the company's AI application products. The competition is fierce, and the overall environment is not good, leading to the department being cut in the second half of the year, and I moved to another department to work on SaaS products from 0 to 1. The team has shrunk, but the workload has increased.
The increased workload is not a problem for me.
The good thing is that I can encounter new things and not remain in my comfort zone, which also broadens my horizons.
The downside is that my time is basically consumed by work; I am busy all day, and during my free time, I still have to think about how to grow the product.
A slight consolation is that my salary has increased a bit.
However, in the second half of the year, after adjustments, my salary was cut back down again.
Travel#
2024 is the first year of marriage. After being busy for half a year, I took a trip to Lijiang, Yunnan, before the summer vacation arrived. It was the most comfortable trip I have ever had. During the four-day journey, I stayed in Lijiang, walking and stopping. The meaning of travel is to relax and experience local customs and culture; without the arrangement of rushing through tourist spots, the travel experience is much more comfortable.
On the way to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
Best buy#
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Xiaomi Smart Camera C700
I selected the best camera available online, and currently, this is the only model that meets my needs for use in the bedroom. Its built-in local AI can recognize faces I have added and work with the Mi Home settings, such as physically covering the camera. This way, as long as I am at home, it can automatically cover the camera, reducing the possibility of privacy leakage. -
Kunpeng CC Portable WiFi 5G Version
The advantage of this portable router is that it is small and has long battery life. Although 5G Redcap coverage is still limited in current base stations and the speed is only slightly faster than 4G, it can downgrade to 4G when there is no 5G signal, which is sufficient to meet my outdoor needs. -
Eagle Eye 4K Thumb Camera II
A cost-effective alternative to the Insta360 GO, priced just over 300. Aside from needing some extra steps to export files and stabilize the footage, it is still a great value as a mini VLOG camera worn on the chest. -
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
I bought it but haven't played it yet; it's gathering dust. -
Realme GT Neo5 Snapdragon 8+ 1T
The best value of the year, a phone I bought for my mom, which cost less than 2000 during the Double Eleven sales. It has good performance and 1T of storage, enough for her to use for several years without needing to clear memory.
Finally, I want to thank my family, friends, classmates, and mentors in real life, as well as the friends who have visited my blog this year and the blogs I have browsed. Independent blogs remain an important way for me to gain experience and exchange ideas about life, work, and technology with strangers on the internet.