slan's blog

Yes, you read that correctly. Today is Tuesday, but I'm writing last week's report.

Last week was full of mess:

1. Service
   1. Wrote RSS subscribe feature, but failed to finish it. Just couldn't focus on it, wrote for a while, and got distracted by other things.
   2. Started weekly communication with users.
2. Finished reading the book "Revolution of Glucose".
3. Didn't finish the listening goals.
4. Slept better than last week, but still not good.

The main reason for this mess is that I didn't have clear priorities, just did what I remembered. When things started going bad, I didn't have a buffer to handle it. I have reorganized my priorities:

• 1. Push service to public. Build a service that can earn 6k$/month
• 2. English improvement
• 3. Health, exercise, eat healthy food, sleep early, take care of my family.

When time switches to these priority zones, I should focus on them, not keep other things in mind.

this week:

1. Kickd out by Xuan's English learning program. cause I didn't commit enough time to learn english.
2. develop Valid English App to v29, improve highlights, and fix bugs, and add a feature of dictation.
3. Finish half marthon in 2:04 at Hangzhou.
4. not finish book reading goal. 50%
5. carefully listen podcast 2/3
6. casually listen podcast group 1/4
7. sleep goal runs bad.

Next week:

• perform better in Daily Maintenance program, schedule at morning, review at night, write down logs.
• build a App development pipeline. publish every 2 weeks.
• write english leanring guide experience. find resouces.

Yesterday, I was anxious about what I was doing. When I remember the past year of my study and work, it was just so-so. Sometimes I could find something to pursue, but most of the time I was driven by events. I didn't do something that I was really satisfied with. I have wanted to learn English for almost 10 years, and have been running intermittently for 7-8 years. I didn't do it really well, things just happened to me, and that's it. No more, no surprises. This year my running and English skills are better, not because I have changed my performance or mindset, but simply because I have had more time to do it.

When I started to learn English with Xuan, I found that my problem is my attitude towards life. I'm a "just ok" man, and usually fool myself into thinking that I'm doing well. My English learning process is the best example. I know English is my most important skill, but I didn't really take it as the most important thing to do. Sometimes I watched movies, sometimes I listened to podcasts, and sometimes there were many other things that interrupted my learning progress.

Upon deep thinking, I know that what I lack is the courage and ability to face difficulties.

• Learning IPA is boring, so I just skipped it. // Hence, my pronunciation is bad.
• Marking is hard, so I'll just do it in the future. // Hence, I didn't get much feedback and help.
• Reading the book is hard, can I just listen and watch for fun? // Hence, I didn't solidify my English skills.
• Algorithms are hard, Machine Learning is hard, it's not about my job, maybe I'll learn it in the future.
• Weekly reports are boring, summaries are boring, socializing is boring.

I know I don't need to do all of these things good, and I can't do all of them well. But what about my dream? How can I achieve my dream? If I'm sloppy in all things, I will never get it. It's time to admit it.

This week

• I published my English APP, and received much feedbacks.
• Mainly learned English with Xuan, practiced pronunciation, and read the book.

Next week

• English improvement, practice pronunciation use RAZ, read books and listen to podcasts 3hours+ per day.
• APP improvement, fix bugs, improve highlight.
• Build service for beginner, find listen materials, and write guide for beginner.

I should try to write summaries periodically. When I'm not working in a company, I don't need to write a weekly report finnaly, but I also miss the chance to think, review the past, and plan regularly.

So I decide to write a summary weekly, monthly.

Work finished:

• ValidEnglish APP now has concise vocabulary explanations and vocabulary encounters. This helps with better recognition of vocabulary.
• New blog features: 'Moments' and UI improvements. These help me write more.
• New blog feature: 301 redirects using git rename history. This allows me to restructure the blog freely without worrying about historical links.

Work not finished (expected to finish over the weekend)

• Generate concise vocabulary explanations using Azure API.
• Daily card, helps review activities of the day, brings recent memories back.
• Publish public beta version of ValidEnglish APP. (guide, announcement)

Next week's plan:

• Use best practices to connect with more users.
• Explore the best ways for office workers to use the ValidEnglish APP.
  • Short videos that they might be interested in.
• Continue to build my learning, promise, and mantainance system. Next week, restructure my blog about it.