Happy New Year 2024! Welcome back to my once-a-year write‑up. This time it’s the 2023 Retrospective — a little late, I know 😁
How was your 2023? Fun? Lots of progress? I hope so!
2023 Throwback
Before the main recap, here are the resolutions I wrote in The 2022 Retrospective for 2023:
- Fill out the content on my personal website.
- Build a few new projects.
- Share more about web development.
- Set up a comfortable hybrid workspace for work and content creation.
- Build a PC 👀
The biggest goals: work full‑time remotely and have my own SaaS.
How did it go? I’m excited to write this because several of those goals were achieved. Let’s dive in!
Remote Work
This was the biggest achievement of the year — I finally worked fully remote! 🤩
In January 2023 I received a surprising number of offers from overseas companies.
It started because I was active and consistently sharing this website’s development on X/Twitter. Messages kept coming via Twitter DMs, LinkedIn, and email.
It was nerve‑racking — most offers were from abroad, it was my first time, my English was rusty, and I worried about scams and many other things.
In the first month alone there were 20+ offers. Grateful! Doors started opening one by one.
Even so, I stayed selective and thorough, choosing roles aligned with what I study and practice so I could keep a high professional bar.
CKCollab
I first accepted a landing‑page project for an American web agency, CKCollab.
They requested a Google Meet call. I explained my English wasn’t fluent yet.
Took a leap of faith — thankfully they were understanding. My first international GMeet went smoothly and left a strong impression.
We agreed to start, and that’s where I earned my first USD 🥲
The project ran for about two months. While working on it, more offers came in:
Xyvo Technologies
This was the most interesting. The offer actually arrived in January, but I replied a month later. “If it’s meant to be, it will be” proved true here.
Unlike the previous client, they sent three questions by text — basic things like whether I’d used technology A/B/C and for how long, plus expected salary.
I answered honestly. Soon after, they sent an NDA. I signed, and we were set. “Is this a scam?” crossed my mind — then they requested an invoice and paid upfront. Ping! Payment received. So grateful 🥲
I worked on several projects aligned with my interests: web apps with lots of detailed UI components — super enjoyable.
As of writing, I’m still with Xyvo Technologies — February 2024 marks one full year 😁
What’s nice about remote work?
Working remotely has been awesome so far — enjoyable and rewarding.
From my year with Xyvo Technologies: the team is kind and welcoming to newcomers. They guide, appreciate, and give feedback respectfully.
On my side, remote work helps daily life a lot: five steps to the “office,” no commute costs, no traffic stress, more family time, flexible lunch/coffee, and the ability to pause when urgent matters come up.
Most importantly, compensation is better — significantly better. I even received a gear bonus to improve my setup.
What should you watch out for?
Working hours and communication!
Align working hours (especially across time zones). If your client offers flexibility, even better.
Distance doesn’t mean slacking; professionalism and responsibility still matter.
Also ensure adequate hardware and internet — not necessarily high‑end, but reliable enough for smooth work and communication.
New Skill Unlocked
Another milestone was gaining new skills and knowledge.
After a year at Xyvo Technologies, I became comfortable with a new stack: Vue.
I’ve been a “React person” since 2016, but work needs pushed me to try its rival — and the DX is actually great! 😅
Build a PC
After wishing since 2022, I finally built a PC in 2023!
I started collecting parts back in April 2022 (case, fans, PSU, CPU). Savings ran thin and I used a backup office PC for a while 🥲
After my first remote‑work paycheck, I continued in February 2023 — bought GPU, RAM, motherboard, and the rest. By March 2023 everything was ready.
Assembly time! My first PC build was super fun. It took a full night, carefully following manuals and tutorials.
The best part: it booted on the first try — everything detected correctly. A proud moment 😅
Workspace
Since the house was being renovated, I refreshed the workspace too.
New PC, new workspace — why not ✌️
See more on the Studio page.
SaaS Idea
I didn’t achieve the “launch my own SaaS” goal in 2023 🥲
But I do have several ideas. Hopefully I can ship one this year — wish me luck!
Others
Things beyond the main goals but worth noting 😁
Dream Motorcycle
After my previous bike was totaled in an accident, I decided to get a replacement — yay!
Can you guess which motorcycle this is? 👀
No idea? It’s in the image alt text.
Engagement Day
07 June 2023 — the most beautiful day of 2023.
Renovate my Parents' House
I learned a lot about houses — I handled coordination directly with the contractor (my uncle).
Budgeting, scheduling, layout, and material choices all mattered.
Alhamdulillah, in about six months the renovation was completed 🙂
Aqiqah
19 November 2023. Aqiqah for myself in my twenties 🙏 Alhamdulillah — very memorable.
New Devices
I bought quite a few devices in 2023. First, gear to support work (mostly Apple): MacBook, AirPods, iPad, Apple Pencil, Apple Watch, and a 34" curved Xiaomi monitor.
It was my first time going all‑in on Apple’s ecosystem — extremely comfortable to use.
My favorites, though, were gaming gear: PS5, a 65" 4K Samsung TV, Logitech G29, and my favorite game: Forza Horizon 5 (PC). Perfect for quick drives to unwind 😅
Not sure how much I spent 🥲 — but aside from gaming gear (purely for fun and a self‑reward), everything else boosted productivity.
What's Next for 2024
That was my 2023. There were many other small but meaningful wins I didn’t list here ✌
My big goals remain the same: launch a SaaS and keep working remotely.
One more: get fitter and reach an ideal weight.
Smaller plans: refresh this personal website’s design and try a web‑toon style project to practice drawing and storytelling 😅
Thanks for reading this far. Wishing us health and time to meet again in next year’s post!
Cheers to 2024!