What I Learned in 2024

I don’t usually write year-end reviews, but I opened this blog and saw that I haven’t posted since February. The drop in time I spend writing is concerning, but it’s something I plan to change in 2025.

I’m rereading that post, and back in February, I mentioned having a good work-life balance and even getting back to my hobbies. Well, all of that went out the window in April for a good reason: I was promoted to Senior Director of Technology! I am really proud of leading the technical decisions at one of Spain’s most promising companies: Playtomic. But it came with a cost: it has taken all my energy, and all my free time has gone toward staying sane. Sun, exercise, enough sleep, and friends. Many would envy that, but I usually dedicate a lot of time to personal projects (don’t worry, they’re not coding-related).

The point is, I want to make a list of things I’ve learned or applied this year:

1. Work is probably the most important thing you’ll do daily, but your health is more important.
2. Outside of work, disconnect. Eight hours are more than enough, and you need to be at your best the next day. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
3. You’ll be a better leader if you can show vulnerability: sometimes you won’t have the answer, and the best thing is to say it openly.
4. Share your doubts with your team.
5. I don’t buy into the “loneliness of leadership” idea. I’ve never felt more supported.
6. Everyone communicates worse than they think (especially managers).
7. Everyone understands what they want to some extent (especially employees).
8. Everyone is more sensitive than they would like to admit (especially… everyone).
9. Everyone should learn to put misunderstandings into perspective.
10. Want to be a role model? It’s not enough to be right, you have to convince others.
11. You don’t have to fight every battle.
12. Some battles are for others to learn (even if you think they will lose).
13. Quit Twitter/X. This should have been first.
14. Attend more tech events and get out of your cave, I mean, office.
15. Your email, phone, and LinkedIn will get bombarded. You own your time, and you don’t have to reply to everyone.
16. That said, respond to contacts you want to maintain, even if it is to say now isn’t the right time.
17. There are projects necessary for the company, and there are projects necessary for your team.
18. Learn to find time for the latter and learn to sell them to your company.
19. Photography made me a better engineer.
20. We don’t want to read texts written by AI. We want to hear the writer’s voice.
21. Learn to write in your own voice. In the coming years, everyone will sound the same. Like ChatGPT. This will be to your advantage.

I am sure I am forgetting some things, but 2025 looks promising, with exciting professional and personal projects that I hope I will finally have time to write about here. I definitely have to write about how having another passion has made me a better professional.

Happy 2025!

Kelly Sikkema https://unsplash.com/photos/white-spiral-notebook-on-brown-wooden-table-2q_frVRXWfQ