[Retrospective](EN) The first half retrospective

The first half retrospective

Background

• I am writing this to plan for the rest of 2024 and I have completed tasks of the first half of the year. Also a bit of duty?
• When I write a post, I always have too many thoughts in my head which makes my writing so long. However I decided to write short for this one. Work in company, my work and self-development.

Work in Company

January to June

January

I got a new work but it changed one in middle of month. Technically it was focus on learning than doing practical work which makes me busy. I carried on with my existing tasks while also taking on new ones. It was a hectic time as I was learning new things.

Feburary to March

I did my work while communicate with other services. About that I realized communication take huge part in work and learned small things. I did previous mentioned work, resolved issues and developed small functions. By communicating with many people, I realized that communication is truly an important skill for an engineer. While I can’t say that I’ve significantly improved any specific communication skills, I feel that my fear has diminished somewhat, and I’ve developed more resilience.

April to June

Since project due was June, I worked on tasks to meet the deadline. I solved many small issues and communicated hard. We thought “Can we do this?” but we did it. Since it was a project I had been working on for quite a long time, I felt proud to have completed it. As before, I only handled small issues and minor feature development.

So how was Janurary to June?

I wrote in above… I didn’t create anything that could be considered as an achievement. I worked hard towards completing the project due in June and managed to resolve some difficult situations along the way. Found issue in terraform, add code for new database, open case for incident, make network connection by communicating with service I solved each issue step by step. I focused solely on completing the project, setting aside development related tasks. It feels satisfying to have finished it. Now I hope to tidy up the backlog and work on developing new features. (Of course, taking a break would be even better!)

Here are some things that I felt until June.

• To engineer communication skill is as important as development skill. It involves ensuring mutual understanding, conveying tasks effectively, and comprehending requirements. If these aspects are not well executed, they ultimately affect the software product. For example miscommunication could lead to request tasks again or revisit discussions due to differing understandings.
• Make doubt to many things. People can make mistakes and it’s necessary to examine each step of the processes are done carefully. In this context doubt doesn’t imply blaming someone, but rather recognizing that issues can arise from human inputs or similar factors, and thus it’s important to communicate to clarify. It’s necessary to have doubt not only of people but also of open-source software. Since it’s human verified, mistakes can occur and it’s important to look into issues when they arise. In fact, I’ve encountered issues in the past by always pulling the latest code. Initially, I didn’t suspect anything and could have gone down the wrong path, but I found relevant information through a search and was able to resolve it.
• It’s not all about technical skills. Something that could be resolved in 10 minutes technically might take 10 days due to emotional issues. There was a case that work time becomes longer due to newly created process in service part even though development were done. There was a case that owner told us that they cannot corporate but we asked to high level manager to corporate it. After that issue was solved. It seems that sometimes problems can be resolved not only through development but also by communication with people.

It could be disappointed that there were no technical achievement or impressive cases. However, I feel I’ve learned a lot beyond development.

There are some things of management and administration that I could not understand. There are few things that makes me question mark on my head. Those are distribution of tasks or team members, collaboration with other departments, and assignments coming from above. I often asked to myself, “What would I have done if I were them?” while watching various high level decision makers in both the company and politics. There were more times when I felt angry, frustrated, or confused inside.

It was particularly difficult to concentrate. There were frequent interruptions while working. There were some factors such as issues arising, other work requests coming in, or changes in priorities. I wanted to focus on the tickets in the sprint but various requests and issues made it difficult to concentrate which leads to decreased productivity. Although it could be an issue of my ability, the entire team member felt the same way. I thought it would be good if this could be improved and I would like to improve it.

I’ve been feeling a bit exhausted both physically and mentally lately. There have been moments of laziness and procrastination. Also I’ve even avoided things I should have done. There were times when I focused only on my own tasks and couldn’t help others due to lack of time. I think fatigue was a factor which coupled with various things to care about. Rushing can only lead to burnout. So from now on, I plan to take breaks when I feel tired or overwhelmed.

Although I have so many stories and thoughts I want to write, I’ll stop here for now. I usually have a lot of thoughts but when I try to write them down they end up all over the place. From now on I will write them in a journal whenever they come to mind.

My Work and Self-Development

Blog

One of my favorites is my blog. I tried to make a post when I have a time. Previously I mainly wrote about what I learned and what I experienced. However nowadays I tried to write about case. Still writing a post takes so much time… At least it takes 3 hours. Since other people can read my blog, this make me to spend much time on writing a post. However spending too much time should be amended. I also write post in english which also takes much time. Nowadays I strongly depend on translator.

In the future, I plan to write about various topics. I intend to write more diverse views, including what I’ve studied, records, case studies, and more, without being constrained by format.

Game

As I wrote before, I’d like to make game and give message to users. So after work or on weekends, I tried to make time to study. Since I have already studied Unity, I am currently learning Illustrator to draw my own design resources.

These days my physical energy can’t keep up with my enthusiasm so I can hardly get anything done… (It breaks my heart. Oh, my body!) Still, I try to study for at least 10 minutes.

In last of this year, my goal is to publish my game. I’d like to create a game quickly to send messages and make people feeling moved and touched.

English Studying

I wish to speak many foreign languages but its not easy. I listen to english conversation when I walk or work out. Since I don’t have much time, I plan to study consistently in this way.

Major and Development Study

I have many curiosity which make me to search and study in usual day. There are many courses in company which also makes me to study. I just hope keep this habit for long.

Company DX Creator

One of my goals is to present on a big stage. So I applied to DX Creator in company and working on it now. DX Creators are employees in the DX (Device eXperience) Divison who plan, appear in, film, and edit videos of work life. It’s a step towards my goal. It feels refreshing and helpful.

I’m also actively participating here to prepare for presenting in front of the camera.

Rest 2024 Goals

It seems like this writing become long again. Whatever I briefly write my goals of rest 2024.

• I’m working hard enough, but this year, I want to achieve something significant and also give a presentation.
• I wrote mainly about work but health is the most important thing. Nothing is more important than health.
• Keep work hard and live diligently.
• Time is one of the best precious things. Focus and concentrate what I do.
• In life there are priorities. Live according to those priorities and values. Family is important!

Reflecting on myself while writing this post. It was a quite good 6 months. I hope to spend the rest of 2024 well.

Keep live humbly and diligently always doing my best despite my shortcomings!