2022 In Review

It’s that time of the year again.

And my “new normal” mentioned on last year’s review blog post is here to stay!

My presence in the office

In 2022, I’ve been to the office twice.

This is not a typo and, yes, I did count 😊

Fatherhood

This year, I finally managed to put my son to bed, by myself!

It was definitely not easy at first and I have to say it took a lot of stress and mental energy for both of us.

Fast forward to today, the night shift is 100% mine 💪🏼.

Fatherhood - part two

In 2022, I became a father, AGAIN! 🎉

We’ve got the confirmation in early January and with a blink of an eye, baby number #2 was born.

I’m a proud father of 2 boys now and can confirm that this is the last time I’m writing that I’m became a father in my blog.

COVID-19

This July, I tested positive for COVID-19 for the first time.

The first few days were really tough, especially because both me and my wife got sick, not to mention she was still pregnant at the time and we both got really scared.

🙏🏽 we’ve got a speedy recovery!

My second brain

I also took the opportunity to get some things right in my life in 2022.

I track important milestones, life events, travel details, gifts, work notes, life notes, books, projects, I built my own personal CRM and even a full Home Operating Manual.

My TODOs are in perfect shape and I briefly wrote about my new method in my blog.

I fully trust my system and I’m no longer afraid of missing important things in my life ➡️ it doesn’t mean I don’t miss, but I’m more confident now than not having any system.

Promotion

I wrote in my 2020 Year in Review that I knew what’s coming because I asked and wanted to be ready.

It turned out that I was so ready that I’ve got promoted again 🎉

I’m now a Staff Technical Lead and I had to move mountains to make it happen.

If you are in the tech world, you know that once you’re in, it’s usually hard to move to the next level, specially in Staff+ positions. Not something impossible, but super challenging.

Big kudos to my team for all the support too! My promotion was part of a huge collaboration with my peers and even other teams throughout.

Family time

My mom came all the way from Brazil to visit us and spoil the two grandchildren and the blink in the eye of my older son when playing with my mom is priceless 🥹.

We’ve had a nice and fun Halloween too: “trick or treat” is not something usual in South America and I’ve never had in my childhood but I’m happy to be able to provide this fun experience to my sons (not to mention I got to eat a lot of chocolate too).

Audiobooks

Audiobooks keep playing an important part of who I am.

And thanks to My Second Brain, I no longer seed Goodreads with the books I read.

My main highlights of 2022 are (affiliate links):

• The Steal Like an Artist Audio Trilogy: How to Be Creative, Show Your Work, and Keep Going
• Klara and The Sun
• Turn the Ship Around!
• No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention
• Building a Second Brain

Smart Home

Smart home keeps playing an important role in my house.

I’ve grown the device list to:

• 31 Zigbee devices: light bulbs, smart sockets, temperature sensors, door & window sensors and more…
• Several automations
• Wife approval: ✅

Looking ahead for 2023

Same as in my 2022 post, I want to keep being good a leader/mentor, sharing knowledge with my peers (and in this blog) and keep providing for my family in 2023.

My quote from last year:

“being a dad is a huge challenge and nobody can teach us how to be a dad, except yourself.”

resonates a lot to me and I wouldn’t change a word. There’s so much to learn and to explore that I feel ready for the challenge.

Wish you all a happy new year! I see you on the other side 👋🏼