Reflections on 2025 and Aspirations for the Coming Year

As this year comes to a close, I reflect on the past year and set aspirations for the next. This marks the eighth time I've written a reflection blog.

Personal

I spent most of my time catching up on design-related topics. I devoured books on architecture and coding.

My interest in DDD and organizational/team management also grew, so I caught up on those areas as well.

This year saw significant advancements in AI utilization, prompting me to consider career development in light of these changes. I concluded that continuing my existing interests (system design and soft skills) would suffice, so I invested my disposable time in these areas.

I managed to read about 30 books this year. I've been able to increase the number of books I read each year, so I aim to reach around 50 books annually. As I feel the lack of knowledge more acutely each year and with the inflation of knowledge utility due to AI advancements, I want to continue thinking about efficient ways to input knowledge. There are many ways to improve my reading habits. I tend to read every page due to my personality, so there's room for improvement in my reading methods. There's also potential for efficiency in how I gather information, such as using AI.

Regarding output, I continued to do things like giving presentations and creating OSS, similar to previous years. However, my mindset has changed. I've become more interested in increasing recognition. Previously, I engaged in activities like blogging and presenting for personal growth, but I've come to realize that recognition has a significant positive impact on my career and growth. I believe it will be an important element in my career aspirations, so I want to continue these activities actively.

Work

I might not feel my growth.

I wrote something similar last year, and I feel the same this year. While I feel I'm gaining experience and adding to my career, the expectations for abstraction and outcomes in my work change each year, which might be why I don't feel growth as much. My main interest lies in the impact of outcomes rather than processes, which might also influence this feeling. Additionally, the work I'm involved in takes time to yield significant results, which remains a factor.

This year, I was promoted, which was the most significant event.

Reflection on Aspirations

"Choosing weapons" was my aspiration.

I feel that the auxiliary weapon of generative AI might change how I choose my weapons.

I wrote this in last year's blog, and it seems to have been largely true. The concept of choice and focus regarding how I spend my time as a software engineer has advanced significantly. I seem to spend most of my time gaining insights into architecture design from various perspectives. Additionally, I spend time on soft skills, such as improving communication and thinking skills, which are quite common.

Aspirations for Next Year

I plan to make "Detaching from AI" my aspiration.

This doesn't mean not using AI, but rather not relying on it too much.

The biggest reflection point this year is that I relied on AI and delegated my thinking to it. While I believe the efficiency and volume of input increased, and output followed suit, I'm concerned about whether the quality improved or if it truly benefited me. I feel like my thinking skills have declined, which is a very poor use of AI, so I plan to improve how I use AI next year. I have various specific ideas, but as a simple constraint for improvement, I plan to be mindful of not using AI casually.