2024: Annual Review

2024 was a challenging year for me. But challenges and struggles pave the way to growth. That’s how I choose to see it when I review this post in the future. And that’s how I prepare for what 2025 will bring.

As I have done for many years, I start my annual review process by reviewing the previous year’s review. So, I look at my 2023 review to better understand my trajectory. As usual, I also look at quotes and books I’ve read and how they may have affected my thinking and actions. Last but not least, I looked through summaries of sprint work, quarterly goals, and updates to my Now Page.

So here’s a summary for public consumption.

Most Useful Things I Learned

Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro

I relied on my old PC for several years for video and music productions. When I bought my last MacBook, I included Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro licenses. After almost two years, I finally started using both programs. I had been putting it off because I didn’t make time to learn them. I finally did, leveraged Improving‘s business Udemy offering to take courses, and knew enough to start doing something productive. Learning those tools was a personal goal, but I found opportunities to put the learnings to use for both Improving and my client.

Voice Journaling and AI Transcribers

I have tried dictating notes on my phone when walking or commuting, but nothing has worked properly, likely due to my accent or mispronunciation. I have also engaged in arguments with Siri many times. However, tools are better now, and my transcribed ramblings have become helpful content I can work with on my computer.

Time Perspective

The mention of time perspective on a YouTube video and a book recommendation from someone whose recommendations I trust got me reading The Time Paradox. I’ve pondered how I perceive past, present, and future over the years, and this book gave me more tools to explore the topic further.

Leveraging AI for My Productivity

I’m leveraging AI to increase my productivity on many fronts, including creatively (songwriting and content creation for videos and blog posts) and for consulting/development.

Visual Thinking

I wanted to develop my ability to convey my thoughts and ideas through drawings, so I read four books on the subject, learned and applied many of their lessons, and enjoyed it. More importantly, teammates and stakeholders told me my silly drawings helped improve our collaboration and communication, so I’ll keep honing that skill.

As a bonus, I also discovered something I did not know before: not everybody thinks in images. That helped me understand why some books are hard for me to follow: some authors are text thinkers and describe their ideas as such, as they can’t visualize their ideas and explain them in a way that creates visuals in the readers’ minds.

Book Reading and Learning

I have kept the cadence I wanted all year long (in terms of average daily reading time) and read many great books. Stay tuned for my 2024 favorite books post soon.

I have been refining my book-reading process and system and posting videos describing it, as it may be helpful to other book readers.

Check it out!

Riding

I haven’t gotten to ride as much as I’ve done since 2017. My two main bikes were out of commission for a few months as I waited for parts and my patience to fix what I messed up (thanks again to my good friend Michal J. for helping me untangle my mess.) I also didn’t do the endurance races as our team’s bike had issues.

Having other hobbies and interests saved me from going crazy.

Music

In 2020, I recorded most of the instrumental parts of a song—I finally finished it! I’m glad migrating the project from Mixcraft on the PC to Logic Pro on the Mac was painless. I still need to learn more, but I know enough to finish some of my music ideas. I’m now shooting and editing the videos (which takes a lot of work), and I should be on track to release that song soon.

Here’s a little teaser:

I also finished lyrics and vocals for another song I had been working on more recently and recorded a one-take version, acoustic guitar and vocals only. The video is ready, and I’ll release it in a few weeks.

Beyond that, I took Duolingo music sight-reading classes daily and am making gradual progress. That’s not a skill I need, but it will make me a better musician and songwriter.

Improving

Talking

Most of my talks last year were given to Improvers, who always gave me great feedback, which I used to improve the talks and offer them publicly. Some of these talks included topics such as:

Goal Setting and Accountability Partners
Focus, Time, and Energy Management
Be Patient and Trust the Process
How to Offer Even More Value at Sprint Reviews
Story Mapping Workshop
AI Tools and the Developer’s Productivity

Many of those talks come from experiences with my clients, and I’m always grateful for the venues I have at Improving so I can share them with my co-workers.

Writing

Conversations we have at the office help me refine content as posts published on the Improving blog, such as these two:

A conversation in our internal Application Modernization community inspired me to create many posts sharing my experiences with “Given-When-Then” (aka, Gherkin). Some of my favorite posts to this personal blog include:

Learning

I also grew my skills by getting a few Azure and Scrum certifications. It had been 20 years since my previous certifications. I enjoyed reviewing certifications, beliefs, and underachievements. Besides access to Udemy courses, which helped me prepare for the Azure tests, I also leveraged our excellent Scrum classes, which I can’t recommend enough.

Return to Office

I returned to the office part-time in November 2020 and full-time in 2022 (if memory serves me right). I now have both (standing) desks at my home office and Improving’s desk set up very similarly, which gives me the same level of productivity doing my consulting and development work.

I thoroughly enjoy the immense whiteboards at the office and the dynamics of collaborating in person.

Not Just About Work…

I was happy to share two virtual talks with Improvers as part of our Come Together initiative:

For the “Personal Development” month, I shared my “Hobbies: You Want Them. You NEED Them!” talk
For the “Music” month, I created a new talk: “Living Life Through Music”

As part of music month, I teamed up with another Improver to write a satirical song called “More Than Code.” That was fun!

We enhanced our Ping-Pong setup with a ball machine and ran an ImprovingU class for all skill levels. That was a lot of fun, and I feel my playing has greatly improved.

I’m also hitting better shots at pool. During breaks, I usually play a game or two by myself or play “collaborative pool” with others. We don’t play to win; we play to learn: “Hey, that shot looks too easy. What if you try this other one instead?”

Weekly tennis continues to be strong. We play through winter and summer. We have gotten help from a local coach a few times, and our game is gradually improving (fewer double faults, more interesting rallies, and more points).

2025

I have ideas. I have some plans. We’ll see.

Claudio Lassala's Blog