What 2020 looked like for me (and my best-of list for what I read, watched, and listened to in the year of the pandemic).
I just re-read my best of 2019 post and I have to say, end-of-2019 Andrea was pretty damn reflective and centered. She had figured out what she wanted, she had a great year, and she had her priorities right. So how does end-of-2020 Andrea compare? Let’s talk about it.
In this post, I chose the word LESS for 2020. I wrote:
“Less pressure. Less stuff. Less striving. Less comparison. Less busy. Less of everything which might also mean less money. And I’m okay with that.”
In reality, like the rest of the world, 2020 has looked like nothing I would have ever imagined. It has looked like fear about the Coronavirus. It has looked like heartache as we were forced to “keep our distance” and give up time with friends and family. It has looked like overwhelm as Scott and I tried to keep our kids mentally healthy. It has looked like despair on days where every news story was about the number of people dying and the people who refused to think about others more than they thought about themselves. It has looked like laughter on the days of summer we spent outside with my dad, grasping for normalcy. It has looked like exhaustion as I tried to run a business and help my boys “do school” at home for what turned out to be seven months. It looked like disbelief on the days when the election coverage had me questioning how people I loved could feel so differently than me. It looked like clarity as I left my evangelical faith and religious beliefs behind. It looked like profound sadness as the Black Lives Matter movement put so many faces to the pain and realness of racism. It looked like hard conversations with my kids about white privilege, about politics, about believing that we can do better as a nation and as humans. It has looked like escape as I turned to books and television and exercise (not always in that order) to try and turn off 2020 in my mind. It looked like relief and a giant exhale as I watched Joe Biden win the election (over and over) and tears of joy as I watched the first female become Vice President of the United States. And honestly, this is probably the tip of the iceberg.
So, less for 2020? There was less joy. There was less busy because our options were pretty much gone. There was less pressure because it seemed that everyone was simply trying to survive the year. (Except for that weird month of May/June where everyone started baking and pushing through and talking about “using this time to get better” and my head almost exploded from trying to figure out if I was still shooting for less or if I was going to fall into the crowd. I think I did a little of both).
So this post is a 2020 wrap-up for me but it’s important for me to acknowledge right up front that my privilege became abundantly clear this year. I was privileged to already have a job where I worked from home. I had money to order groceries online and to buy cleaning supplies. I had money to eat healthily and focus on self-care. I had the flexibility to stop working during the day and help my kids. I had a husband who has a great job and had the flexibility to work from home when he needed to. (I also had access to marriage therapy online, haha). I had money in a savings account to fall back on if my work revenue slipped. We have great internet. We have iPads and computers and phones. The list of privileges is long and I recognize it.
So this list of all my favorites? Read it with all this in mind. Because it’s one thing to see someone’s favorite list and think, gosh, must be nice to have read books and watched tv all year. It’s another to read it and think, that’s what it looks like to find the best in a crappy year.
Self-care
Temple Challenge was my go-to fitness fix from May through right now. I had taken some time off from this 2019 but it was like going home to start again in May. Most of the workouts from May until November were outside. Those mornings I laid on my workout mat before class started, letting the sun shine on my face were some of the quietest moments my soul experienced this year.
My regular visits to One Skin Care Studio were an amazing escape. Taking care of my skin has been an odd comfort this year - a tiny piece of life I could control. If you are local to the Mid-Ohio Valley or greater Marietta, you need this place (and their amazing staff) in your life.
In the early pandemic days, I walked the dog. A lot. Like I started wondering if he was going to hide when I got the leash. He didn’t because he loves them as much as me. I also made a neighborhood friend. His name is Bob and he has two little dogs. Some days, we’d just stand and talk about whatever. I looked forward to seeing him on the walks each day. The little things!
Reading
I set a goal to read 50 books again this year (you can see my favorites from last year here or see everything I read on Goodreads). It was clear that by mid-summer, I would far surpass that goal. As of today, I’ve read 73 1/2 books and I expect to finish at 75 for the year. It was for sure my best reading year ever. I’ve learned to pick better books for me (mostly thanks to Ann Bogel over at What Should I Read Next) and I stopped trying to push through books that weren’t for me. I read almost exclusively on my Kindle. Picking a favorite is simply impossible so here’s a list of my top 10 books for 2020 (not in order because, too hard)
Watching
I’ve never been a huge tv watcher but 2020 kind of forced my hand. When I realized all of our outside entertainment would be gone for most of the year, I decided to watch a little more and I’m so glad I did. Here are some of my favorite shows/movies I watched this year.
Last man on earth (via Hulu). I binged this baby and loved every single second. I laughed out loud on almost every episode. I found the irony of it being about a pandemic in 2020 hilarious. It was so good and probably my favorite of this list.
Ted Lasso (via Apple TV). Oh my. Ted Lasso was just what we needed for 2020. My husband and I watched this together and we both really loved it. I can’t wait for season two.
The Morning Show (via Apple TV). This was just perfect. I loved the characters, the story was so well done, and I was really sad to finish it.
Little Fires Everywhere (via Hulu). After reading this book and learning that Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington would be the stars, this was a no-brainer to watch. It was so well done and even my “the book is always better” self enjoyed the tv adaptation.
Fleabag (via Amazon Prime). I think I watched this series in one week. So so funny and witty and not at all what I normally watch!
Ozark (via Netflix). I’ve been working my way through three seasons of Ozark and I love it. I’m currently finishing season three like it’s my job.
Queens Gambit (via Netflix). I liked this show but it wasn’t my favorite of 2020. Just felt like I should mention it!
Listening
My love of podcasts continued in 2020. I kept listening to all my standard favorites like Armchair Expert with Dax and Monica, The Daily from NY Times, How I Built This from NPR, and Conan O’Brien needs a friend. But a few other podcasts really stood out this year.
Dying for Sex was hands-down my favorite listen this year. Raw, emotional, hilarious, and heartbreaking in just six episodes. Molly’s book is next on my TBR list.
Dr. Death was fascinating (from Wondery) and downright scary. I also loved Blood Ties though listening to Olaf be a bad guy was super confusing!
S-Town from Serial and This American Life was really good.
Smartless launched, featuring Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett and these guys crack me up for the entire episode.
I listened to every episode of the Michelle Obama podcast on Spotify. I really want her to do more! Her episode on marriage with Conan O’Brien was the best.
What Should I Read Next is a must-listen for me and the sole reason I keep choosing great books.
Business Highlights & Tech
So remember when I said that my word for 2020 was less and that might mean making less money? Well, that didn’t happen. I did less but I did it with the right clients and I exceeded every revenue goal (plus some) that I set for myself.
I built and launched 20 websites for 20 amazing clients - some of the best clients I’ve had in the last four years.
I launched the Nonprofit Template Shop which has exceeded all of my expectations and makes me so happy! I love adding new tools and hearing how these templates are helping nonprofit leaders save time and money.
I launched and sold a course: The Board Course: How to engage, recruit and equip your way to a better board. The feedback on this one has been so great.
I partnered with Nonprofits LEAD several times and led a number of online workshops this year which introduced me to some really great nonprofits!
I started co-leading a Facebook group for website designers and that has brought me a lot of joy.
I made new online friends thanks to Zoom and embraced the growth that comes through real partnerships and the idea that selling your services is easy when you consistently show up with valuable content that people need.
I started using Dubsado to manage my client projects and it made such a great impact on my business. I highly, highly recommend it.
My email list exploded! My biggest accomplishment this year was getting laser focused on growing my list of engaged subscribers who need what I have to offer. I sent them valuable content consistently, all year long, and those email have showed up in a big way for my business. More of this for 2021, for sure! Feeling FOMO? Join here!
Personal Growth
With 15 days left in 2020, I’m likely to spend 75% of those thinking on this last category. It still feels premature to say much about it here but I will offer these small insights.
I continued to get really clear on my priorities and worked daily on my mental health. I have made great strides in knowing what triggers me and why. I have the ability to name my fears, to name what matters to me and that is a powerful gift.
On the hardest days of 2020, I found a way to acknowledge what I needed and to accept what I had no control over. I didn’t handle it all with perfection or confidence or love in my heart. I lost my temper. I lost my way on many days and cried myself to sleep. But I consistently showed up the next day with the resolve to start over and do the best I could with the next 24 hours.
I got my first tattoo. It was a step to recognize how far I’d come in understanding myself and a physical mark of time to help me remember the year I finally started to let my most authentic self be revealed, even when the cost of such transparency felt high.
I learned to hold two emotions (sometimes more) at the same time. I was grateful and pissed off. I was overwhelmed yet thankful. Lots of two+ emotion moments this year!
I said out loud for the first time in my life that I no longer identified myself as a Christian. I left behind a faith that no longer made sense to me. I left behind the expectations of others and embraced my own experiences. I stopped trying to label what I believed or didn’t believed and accepted that where I am is a label all its own. I don’t need a set of old, inconsistent, mistranslated, morally-questionable religious texts to tell me how to find meaning in my life. I certainly have found that I don’t need religion to have purpose and fulfillment in this life. If 2020 has taught me anything, it’s that the only thing that will change the heartache all over our world is when each of us decide to do what we can to make the world a little better, a little brighter, a little more kind and value humanity more than ideology.
In the words of Monica Mikai: She danced between questioning everything and no longer needing to know anything at all. That sums up 2020 me pretty well.
I plan to spend the rest of 2020 moving at a slow pace, savoring time in my home with the people I love, thinking about what I want for myself and my business in 2021, and trying to smile as I think about 2020. Yes it was full of hard, difficult moments. But as I have written this post, I realize it was also full of surprises and “making the best ofs” and finding ways to embrace this one life we’re given. If you’re a friend of mine, a client, or just someone who stumbled onto this blog to read the 367th version of a 2020 best of list, thanks for letting me share my heart here today with you.
Wishing you all the best in this holiday season and cheers to 2021!
Until next time,
Andrea
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