Phew! Man, 2020 was something. At the beginning of this year, I was super pumped. 2020 had a nice ring to it, didn’t it? But I don’t think anyone was prepared for what was about to come 😛
I love this time of the year. It acts as a trigger, an opportunity for all of us to reflect & think about what went by. Also, it forces us to pin point areas where we can improve. Before I start blabbering about how my 2020 was & what my key takeaways are; remember that if you’re reading this and you’re safe and healthy, you’ve already won. The fact that you’re alive, don’t take this shit for granted. Also, before ending this post, I’ll leave you guys with a few questions you could answer for your own year end review.
My Key Takeaways
1. Maximise your time
Thanks to my dog Ninja, I’ve been waking up everyday around 6:30am to take him for a walk. Waking up early has now become a habit and it gives me SOO MUCH more time to get shit done. Throughout this year, I don’t think there has been a single day where I’ve slept past 7 & I am super pumped to carry this momentum forward. PS : All credit goes to Ninja.
Also, Ninja turned one this year! ?
2. Communicate more
Communication is key. This year, I consciously pushed myself to communicate more. Both in my work & personal relationships. I know it’s cliche, but effective communication makes a lot of stuff easier in our day to day life and I’ve learnt it the hard way.
3. Your phone sucks (for the most part)
Well, you’re probably reading this on your phone. So it’s not that bad, eh? (for the most part) I can’t tell you how many times my hands have reached out to check my phone, for nothing. For no freaking reason. Although I’ve limited my phone usage considerably, I just hate to see that this has become a habit for almost all of us. I won’t blame social media solely, the problem is beyond that. Through over a decade of media consumption online, we’ve been wired to seek this dopamine hit through our phone. For 2021, one of my goals is to limit the un-intentional usage even more.
Shot this in Nepal – 2019.
4. Stop Waiting
Whatever that came to your mind after reading that point, go do that. If it’s too big of a task, take the tiniest step you can. “Idleness is only the refuge of weak minds, and the holiday of fools.”
5. Physical = Mental = Physical = Mental
Why so many equal to signs? Because year after year, I’ve realised how our mental & physical health are tied together. The more I exercise, the better I feel. It keeps you in motion, it keeps the engine revving. Thanks to Shadowboxing, I found myself randomly doing that throughout the day. And I know for a fact, even that slight bit of movement helped me a lot. It doesn’t matter if you take a long walk everyday, life weights, dance, whatever. Just find something that you like doing & move.
6. Be thankful
Having a roof over my head, home cooked meals, family & friends to speak to, people who look out for you & the list goes on. Gratitude, the word that pops up in my head when I think about the flip side of 2020. We all want more, we have our lofty goals & checklists. But a year like this forces you to look around and appreciate the fact that we already have so much.
7. Work from home
I am not gonna sit here and pretend that this was new for me. I’ve always worked from home, so this was right up my alley. I love the fact that my work is location independent & I can make my own schedule. And when the whole world was WFM, it helped me formalise my structure & make this WFM lifestyle even better.
Some random snippets from work I did in 2020. Created some websites & also shot some photos/videos whenever I got the chance.
8. Pushing the limits
There were a lot of times this year, when I was presented with an opportunity to come out of my comfort zone. And thankfully, most of the times, I did. Although there is so much more that I could have done, but as I’ve written above; baby steps are better than waiting. This is something I’ll keep in mind as I hop into 2021.
“You have passed through life without an opponent—no one can ever know what you are capable of, not even you.” Seneca
All in all, I know I could have done so much more this year and there are still some unanswered questions. What’s done is done, only one way – forward. Gotta keep learning!
There is so much more I could write, but I don’t want to make this awfully long. This year hit some different spots for sure. On to the next one. Does 2021 have a nice ring to it? I am scared to answer now 😛
Few questions you could answer to analyse your 2020:
- When did you feel the most happy this year? What were you doing?
- Was there a lightbulb moment for you this year? If yes, what was it?
- Carefully analyse and pin point what habits you’ve built throughout the year. Which ones are good & which ones aren’t worth keeping?
- What was that one thing you spent a lot of time overthinking? How can you fix that?
- What’s the status of your 2020 Goals? If you haven’t achieved them, what can you do better next year? Do the goals remain same or are there any changes?
- Lastly. If you had to close your eyes and imagine a “perfect” 2021, how does that look like? What do you see yourself doing? What goals do you see yourself smashing?
