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Annual retrospectives are a great way to look back and analyze all the milestones you’ve overcome, what went wrong, and what areas could use some improvement. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been doing end-of-year recaps where I’d sit down and track the previous 12 month-long journeys on paper for my own eyes only. However that all changed for the first time in 2019 when I shared my 2019 recap article. Then when the tail end of 2020 rolled around, my plans to layout another EOY recap were unfortunately pushed aside due to an overloaded amount of work. However this year, I’m definitely not skipping out on reviewing my 2021 end-of-year expedition.
My #AndroidDev 2021 Recaphttps://t.co/HDxI0IKG1o
— Aida Issayeva 🌻 (@Aida_Isay) January 1, 2022
If I were to describe 2021 with one word, it would be “maturity”. I have very mixed feelings about 2021: When my professional life was on fire, my personal life was perfect. And just like a seesaw, when my personal life was on fire, my professional life was quiet and enjoyable. But one thing is for sure: never-ending stress throughout 2021 caused me to mature way too fast.
Highlights of 2021
So, what are some professional highlights of 2021?
- I revamped my personal blog website and used a new Hugo theme [you’re reading this article on a newly redesigned website 😉, it took me only 3 months 😆 with still a lot to do]
- At the beginning of the year, I quit my job with no prospective offer on the horizon. Boy, did it feel good doing nothing 😁!
- Graduated from Women Developer Academy 🎉! I had an amazing experience and improved(or so I like to think 🙂) my public speaking skills.
- I found a great mentor, Alice Keeler through WDA, with whom I’ve been in touch this year 🤗
Professional Timeline
- In Q1 I quit job, because of burnout with low salary hike.
- For the first time in 10 years of my professional career, I took 3 months off with no direction.
- In Q2 - interview process: things got easier than they were 4 years ago. Not sure if it’s because I’ve gotten more experienced, demand in my industry is high, or maybe a mixture of both… But regardless, I’m glad at least something was in my favor this year 😅. New Job gave me 100% salary increase 🥳.
- In Q3 and Q4 my focus shifted toward giving back to #AndroidDev community which consisted of writing blog posts; sharing #AndroidStudio shortcuts for 100 days on Twitter; and giving talks to high school and university students, as well as professional developers.
Goals Stats:
| Name | Start | End | Goal | Completion Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Increase tiktok to 100 followers | 12 | 362 | 100 | 362% |
| Increase instagram to 500 followers | 337 | 283 | 500 | -54 |
| Increase twitter to 500 followers | 277 | 425 | 500 | 85% |
| Write 10 blog posts | 0 | 6 | 10 | 60% |
It is clear I suck at this social media management & growth stuff and don’t know much about it 🤷♀️.
And when it comes to blog post writing, this is so true for me ⬇️
— Jason 🐱🍞 (@JasonEtco) December 26, 2021
Top 3 blog posts:
| Number | Name | PageViews | Avg. Minutes on Page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The 5-Step Guide to Become an Android Developer | 1,775 | 03:17 |
| 2 | When and How to Use RxJava Disposable | 1,041 | 04:26 |
| 3 | How to Create Your Custom Link in Bio Landing Page in Hugo Under 10 Mins | 191 | 01:32 |
All 2021 blog posts are listed here .
Top 3 talks:
| Number | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | How to become an Android Developer |
| 2 | Intro to Jetpack Compose |
| 3 | Most Valuable (Architecture) Idea |
All 2021 talks are listed here .
Top 3 Tiktok Videos:
| Number | Name | Views |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Senior Dev talking to Recruiter | 32.8K |
| 2 | Git push –force | 3,374 |
| 3 | TODO comments in the code | 2,025 |
Everything Else:
a) Being a landlord is a full-time job. It exhausted me a lot.
b) Well, it’s official, my health took a big hit this year. From severe eczema(thanks to burnout & stress) to 2 month-long dental pain caused by a bad visit to a new dentist, to getting COVID right on Christmas break. I’ve also noticed the change in how the body handles stress and the increasing toll it takes on our physical health as we age; which becomes especially true for anyone over 30 (no duh surprise!)
Thank you, 2021 🙏! You’ve been plentiful! Looking forward to 2022! Hope the upcoming year will bring us joy, health, and happiness!