Last day of 2024 / 2024 年的最後一天

Running
I restarted running after signing up for the SC 10K race. It wasn’t something I’d planned, but running practices with colleagues gave me a reason to join as part of the team. There was a sense of togetherness that made this early-morning race feel like the right thing to do. Looking back, I’m glad I wasn’t overly ambitious and didn’t jump straight into a half marathon—I chose to take one step at a time, and 10K turned out to be the proper choice. I’ve been training consistently and slowly improved my pace to about 5:30/km. At first I couldn’t even hold a 6-minute pace, which felt terrible to me.
Another memorable moment was the 1500m race I ran for the company. Funny thing—since high school I hadn’t run that distance competitively. I knew it required both speed and stamina, and I remembered not being competitive at that distance back in the day. Somehow the admin team nominated me to represent the company, so I had no choice but to do it. Since I was representing the company, I didn’t want to be awful—letting go isn’t my style—so I trained as hard as I could. With only two weeks to prepare, I gradually built up my pace. Before the race I felt intimidated—so many young, serious-looking runners—but in the end I hit a personal best and finished in the mid-front group. It felt good.
跑步
我在報名 SC 10K 後重新開始跑步。這並不是原本計畫好的事，但跟同事一起練習給了我加入團隊的理由。有種一起出發的感覺，讓這場一大早的比賽看起來很值得。回頭想想，很慶幸當時沒有太衝動地直接報半馬，我選擇一步步來，10K 最終證明是更合適的選擇。我持續訓練，慢慢把配速提升到大約 5:30/km。剛開始連 6 分配速都撐不住，對我來說那很糟。
另一個值得記的事是我替公司跑的 1500 公尺比賽。有趣的是，自高中以來我就沒參賽過這個距離。我知道這需要速度與耐力，也記得以前並不擅長。行政組居然提名我代表公司，我也沒得拒絕。既然代表公司，我也不想太丟臉——放棄不是我的風格——於是盡力訓練。只有兩週準備時間，但我逐步提升速度。比賽前看到那麼多年輕且認真的選手，我還是有點怯，但最後創了個人最佳，名次在前中段，心情很好。

Content Creation
Content creation became a big part of my year—not that I produced a massive volume, but I built a path and a platform to do it. Since last December, when things felt like the darkest part of my career, I’ve been trying lots of different formats. I created several videos: a Nagoya vlog was my first, and 鄭中基’s concert video pulled the most viewers on YouTube and showed me how powerful topical content can be. I also tried tutorial-style videos, which took a huge amount of time but had limited success. Still, it’s a process of trial and error. Like running, the important thing is to actually do it instead of overthinking.
I also wrote book reviews and blog posts on Notion—different kinds of content. None of this gave immediate returns, but it’s part of the journey, and I’m proud of making the effort. Becoming consciously interested in creating content also made me appreciate the time and work behind the social posts and videos I consume. Rather than just being a consumer, I want to be a creator and add value. Creating forces you to think deeply: planning clips, camera angles, lighting, scripts—so many details. With AI and tools around now, it’s our job to create the ideas and use tools to express them.
內容創作
內容創作成為我今年的重要一部分——不是說產量很多，但我開始搭出一條路和平台去做這件事。自去年十二月以來，那段時間或許是我職涯最陰暗的時候，我嘗試了很多不同的方式。我做了幾支影片：名古屋的 vlog 是第一支，鄭中基的演唱會影片幫我在 YouTube 吸引最多觀眾，讓我見識到熱門話題在社群上的威力。我也嘗試做教學型影片，花了很多時間但收效有限。不過這本來就是試錯的過程，就像跑步，重要的是去做，而不是一直想。
我也在 Notion 上寫書評和部落格文章，是不同型態的內容。這些都沒有帶來立刻的回報，但它們是旅程的一部分，我為自己努力感到驕傲。開始有意識地創作，也讓我更欣賞每天看到的那些影片和貼文背後的努力。別只是消費者，我也想成為創作者、為世界帶來價值。創作會逼你去真正思考：規劃片段、鏡頭、色彩與燈光、腳本⋯⋯細節很多。現在有 AI 等工具，更是我們用想法去驅動工具的時代。

Journaling
Writing things down became another important habit. The iPhone journal app made it easy to capture thoughts and photos in one place. There was a time when my daily walk to the office felt monotonous and boring, and I told myself there must be little bright things every day. So I started a “photo of the day” challenge: each day find something meaningful and photograph it. It turned out not to be hard—there’s almost always something worth noticing. Sometimes there are too many moments worth mentioning, but the challenge is to pick one and not be greedy.
As I wrote more, journaling helped me understand myself and release emotions. I’m not an emotional person, but my wife has said I might be suppressing feelings without realizing it. Writing lets me note how I feel and learn about myself; it relaxes me.
I also use journaling and note apps for productivity—“building a second brain” by Tiago Forte and “Getting Things Done” by David Allen influenced me. Writing down thoughts and tasks helps me organize knowledge and action items. When someone asks something or I need to recall an idea, I can find it. Tasks get captured in reminders, and each day I follow them to plan what to do.
寫日記
把東西寫下來成為另一個重要習慣。iPhone 的日記 App 讓我可以把想法與照片放在同一處。有段時間我每天走去公司都覺得單調無聊，我告訴自己每天總有一些亮點。於是我開始做「今日一張照」挑戰：每天找一件有意義的事並拍下來。結果發現並不難——幾乎每天都有值得注意的事。有時值得寫的事太多，但挑戰在於專注於一件，不要貪心。
寫得越多，日記越幫我理解自己、釋放情緒。我不是那種很外顯情緒的人，但我老婆常說我可能一直在壓抑情緒而沒發現。寫下來可以標記當下的感受，學會更了解自己，寫完也會放鬆。
我也把日記和筆記用於生產力管理——受 Tiago Forte 的「打造第二大腦」和 David Allen 的「Getting Things Done」啟發。把想到的事和任務記下來，能幫助整理知識與行動。別人問事情或我想找以前的想法，很容易就能檢索。待辦事項記在提醒事項裡，每天照著提醒去安排要做的事。

Work
This year brought dramatic changes at work. For a while it felt like the worst moment of my career—I had no team, no authority, and no support. I often felt I was fighting alone and losing, and I kept asking myself, “why bother?” But I realized lying flat (躺平) isn’t in my DNA. It was tough, but things began to change mid-year: our team and business started getting more attention, and with attention came resources. New heads were appointed, more resources arrived, and I began to have some autonomy and authority again.
With more control over our destiny, I could do the things I thought would help the business. I moved into business development and secured a few big projects. I’m proud to have transitioned into more of a sales role. It felt intimidating at first since I’m not very outgoing—I can’t just go make a bunch of friends—but the hardest part is the first step. At a large exhibition, I forced myself to reach out to booths and talk about business opportunities. If I hadn’t pushed myself, the trip would’ve been wasted. Once I started, conversations flowed; people there were also looking for business, so they were willing to talk. I met companies that became useful partners and some turned into customers.
The main takeaways: don’t fear change, and be brave with the first step. I had done some preparation even during the tough times, so when the mandate came I could move quickly. I also learned not to be afraid of hard, customer-facing work. Previously I enjoyed being a product manager because it was more controlled and let sales handle the messy customer stuff. But I realized customer relationships are the real resource in a company—product development depends on company resources; without customers or the company, I couldn’t build much on my own. Suppliers weren’t true resources—they helped because of the company’s customer base. This transition taught me that by going out and trying, nothing is impossible. I’m not claiming to be a great salesperson, and it’s not glamorous, but I’m glad I built business and relationships.
工作
今年工作上變化很大，頗為戲劇化。有一段時間我覺得是職涯最糟的時刻——沒有團隊、沒有權限、沒有支持。常常覺得自己在孤軍奮鬥、快要輸了，心裡也會問自己：「幹嘛還要努力？」但我發現躺平不是我的風格，這點不是我的 DNA。雖然很難熬，但到了年中情況開始轉變：團隊和業務得到更多關注，關注帶來資源。新領導上任、資源進來，我也開始有些自治權和決策權。
有了更多掌控權，我終於能做我認為對業務有幫助的事。我進行商務開發，拿下幾個大型案子，為自己能往更偏業務的角色轉型感到驕傲。起初很害怕，因為我不是那種外向的人——不能輕易交很多朋友——但最難的是跨出第一步。在一次大型展覽上，我逼自己走到各個攤位主動談合作，想著如果不做就白跑一趟。開始之後反而順利，參展的人本來就是來做生意，願意聊。後來我談到幾家對業務有用的公司，其中一些成了客戶。
主要收穫是：不要害怕改變，也要勇敢踏出第一步。我在艱難時期也做了一些準備，等到機會來時就能快速行動。另一個領悟是不怕做難事、面對客戶。過去我當產品經理比較自在，讓業務去面對客戶那些耗時又可能被罵的事。但我終於理解到，客戶關係才是公司裡真正的資源——產品開發靠的是公司資源，沒有公司單打獨鬥很難做成。過去的供應商並非我的資源，他們是因為公司的客戶群才仰賴我。這次轉變讓我相信，只要走出去試，沒什麼不可能。我不會說自己是個頂尖業務，也不覺得這工作多光鮮，但我為自己能建立業務與關係感到開心。