Annual Reviews & iPhone 16: My Quick Review

Hi friends,

This week, I want to share a bit about what’s been happening both at work and in life.

Work-Related

In my last post, I mentioned a project I was deep into – well, now I’m onto a new one! I somehow thought Q4 might slow down, but nope, it’s packed. Between project planning for 2025, more meetings, and annual review and career path discussions, there’s a lot going on.

Two years ago, when I’d just joined, I was working on only one or two projects. My first annual review was a scramble, I reflected on everything, tried to condense it into a few words, and submitted it just in time. Then last year, ChatGPT was trending, and everyone was discussing how to use it to streamline reviews. As a non-native English speaker, I found it super helpful. I listed each project, what I did, the challenges, and how I tackled them, organized everything in Google Docs, and then used ChatGPT to help me pull it together. After that, I went back and forth editing to make sure it covered everything I wanted to say.

This year, with our new organizational focus on metrics and impact, it’s even easier to summarize what I’ve done. I pulled data from our Slack channels and documented my contributions, challenges, and results. ChatGPT helped summarize it again, and I refined the language to talk equally about each project. With ChatGPT’s help and practice from writing more, I’m feeling more comfortable with writing blog posts and reviews. For next year, I plan to keep a monthly work journal – plus a small reminder that each annual review question has a 300-word limit!

Design & Interface Inspirations

Dynamic Wallpaper & Memories

Switching to an iPhone 16 Pro recently, I discovered the shuffle wallpaper feature – a pleasant surprise. I’ve kept my dad’s photo as my lock screen since he passed five years ago, so seeing that photo daily is meaningful. But with a new baby this year and over 5,000 photos in my album, I want to see those memories too. Thanks to this shuffle feature, I can have both – all the photos I love appear when I pick up my phone. My Apple Watch now has a rotating photo of my cats as well, so I feel surrounded by all the people and pets I love.

From a product designer’s perspective, though, I think the user experience could be improved. It took some trial and error to get the shuffle set up – I spent a lot of time selecting photos from my album and then struggled to add them to the wallpaper. There were times when the images didn’t display as intended and couldn’t be deleted easily. On the customization screen, there are six rectangles stacked together, which show the selected shuffle photos when tapped. But this stacked layout isn’t very intuitive. There’s also a white circle with three dots for menu options like ‘Show in Library’ and ‘Shuffle Frequency,’ but this could be more user-friendly and clear for anyone not familiar with the feature.

Event Planning with Partiful

I also want to share an app I tried out recently called “Partiful” for organizing my daughter’s first birthday party. Usually, I just send out texts, but it’s hard to keep track of RSVPs and details. A friend recommended Partiful, and it made everything so easy. It’s simple to create an event: enter a title, choose a GIF as the main photo (a fun touch!), set a date, and enter more details. I loved being able to choose a theme and effects, giving it a fancy microsite feel that I kept tapping into just to look at! It also made it easy to invite friends by sharing the link, keeping everything in one place. Partiful streamlined the whole invitation process, making hosting less stressful and more fun.

These are some updates from me this week. Thanks for following along! I hope you found some helpful tips here. Till next time.

Long

嗨 讀者朋友：

這週想分享一些工作與生活上的近況。

工作相關

上篇提到的專案告一段落了，這週又投入新的專案！原以為 Q4 會比較緩和，結果完全相反：2025 的專案規劃、更多的會議，以及年度評估與職涯討論全都擠在一起。

兩年前剛加入公司時，我同時只負責一兩個專案。第一次年度評估做得很匆忙，把一年的內容拼命濃縮後才準時交出去。去年大家都在討論用 ChatGPT 幫忙，我也受益很多。把每個專案的工作內容、遇到的挑戰與解法整理在 Google Docs，再用 ChatGPT 協助統整、潤稿，來回修改到能完整表達想說的內容。

今年組織更重視指標與影響，因此總結起來更清楚。我從 Slack 拉出資料，整理自己的貢獻、挑戰與成果，再用 ChatGPT 先行摘要，之後自己潤飾，讓每個專案的篇幅更平均。隨著寫作的練習，我對寫部落格與評估也更有信心。明年打算改成每月工作紀錄，也提醒自己：每題 300 字上限！

設計與介面靈感

動態桌布與回憶

換了 iPhone 16 Pro 之後，發現桌布「隨機播放」功能很驚喜。鎖定螢幕一直放著已故父親的照片，對我很有意義。今年有了寶寶，相簿超過 5,000 張照片，也想一併看到這些回憶。這個功能讓我兩者兼得；Apple Watch 也輪播貓咪照片，覺得被所愛的人與動物包圍。

但從產品設計角度來看，體驗還可以更好。我花了一段時間挑選相片、加入桌布；有時候顯示不如預期，刪除也不直覺。編輯畫面上堆疊的六個小矩形用來顯示已選照片，視覺暗示不夠清楚；右上的三點選單（例如「在資料庫顯示」、「隨機頻率」）對不熟悉的使用者也不夠友善。

用 Partiful 規劃活動

最近幫女兒辦一歲生日，第一次使用「Partiful」來發邀請。以往用訊息很難統計回覆與細節；這次建活動只要輸入標題、選一張 GIF 當主圖、設定日期與說明就好，還能套主題與特效，像是做了一個小型網站，自己都忍不住一直點進去看！分享連結即可邀請好友，資訊集中，整個規劃流程變得更輕鬆。

以上是這週的分享，希望對你有幫助。我也會持續記錄與調整，之後再和大家更新。下次見！

Long