With 2021 officially here, many of us are reflecting on the rollercoaster that 2020 has been and the lessons we have learned in the process. While I’ll be doing an official recap of 2020 with all its ups and downs on the podcast on January 6th, 2021, I was inspired to come up with a different type of wrap-up list after reading this awesome article by my good friend Gil Kazimirov (he’s an awesome writer and if you like his style, I strongly suggest to sign up to his long-form writing newsletter That Damn Optimist). So, to wave one last goodbye at 2020 with a touch of humour, here are the things I definitely didn’t learn this year.
1. How to make a sourdough starter
Now, I tried. Multiple times! But becoming a sourdough master was just not in the books as it kept dying on me, no matter which recipe or “century-old” trick I’d try.
I also didn’t jump on the Banana Bread or Dalogna Coffee trends – still not sure if I’m experiencing FOMO about that or not!
2. How to be more extraverted
One thing I really hoped for in 2020 was to be push myself out of my introverted comfort zone by attending more live networking events and connecting with people in real life. HA! Jokes on me, I guess.
To be honest, it started off pretty well actually. In December 2019, I attended a “Freelancer Xmas Party” for a whole 24 minutes, and in January 2020, I attended Lucy Werner’s book signing event for a whole evening (!!!) where I connected with some amazing women I’m still in touch today! That’s how far my networking went in 2020 😂
3. How to delegate work
Delegating has always been something I struggled with and this year was no different. I worked with 3 different VAs in 2020 and the reason it didn’t work out is because I couldn’t organise myself to delegate work properly.
That’s definitely something I wish I did better at, especially now that we’re expecting our baby girl in March 2021 and I’m not planning on shutting down my business for maternity leave.
4. How to find my zen in Bali
In September 2020 I was supposed to go on a 6-weeks long, soul-searching, energy-rejuvenating trip to Bali – but that obviously didn’t happen. Without sounding too dramatic, it’s probably the thing I regret most not happening this year. Headspace app meditations with a puppy jumping all over you and 24/7 London rain just don’t compare in terms of zen-ness.
While the retreat has been rescheduled, now that we have a baby on the way, I don’t think zen, calm and quiet are on the agenda for me for quite some time 😅
5. How to stay connected in a digital world
As an introvert in the first place, I’m not a huge social butterfly so I actually embraced the social distancing and the lockdown at first.
But with time, I realised that staying connected in a digital world was even harder than socialising in real life. Virtual Zoom hangouts are just awkward as heck, replying to messages suddenly started taking me longer than it should, and my conversation skills have been seriously impacted (although I also blame #pregnancybrain for that).
I can’t wait to be able to just meet up for a drink/bite with friends, visit my mom and brother in Geneva, or go to Ukraine for the summer to see my granma and dad without any restrictions. Those are the things I miss the most right now.
6. How to get used to having my husband at home 24/7
I feel like having my husband working from home is both a blessing and a curse in a way. On one hand, getting used to having him with me 24/7, in our 2-bed London apartment, was a little tough at the beginning as we adjusted to a new routine and way of living. However now, I can’t imagine him going back to working from an office 5 days a week, especially when our baby girl is here. I feel like we got so much closer and stronger as a family during this tough period.
This definitely made me think how fast we adapt to change. We often complain when something disrupts our usual routine, but then we can’t even remember how we lived without it a couple of weeks later. Just think of every single iOS release – you always hate it at first, until you don’t.
7. How to save money
You’d think that living in lockdown with shops and restaurants closed would help you save some money but I feel like I spent way more than I should have in 2020.
From wayyy too many takeaways, to sponsoring the Bezos family with 162 Amazon orders this year (compared to 79 in 2019… you’re welcome, Jeff), let’s just say that this was an expensive year (mostly, in an unnecessary way).
8. How to go viral on TikTok or Instagram Reels
I tried. I tried the TikTok thing. I tried posting “kewl” videos and even have 258 followers there. But I just did not have the patience and creativity to create so much video content. I definitely feel a bit of FOMO there, especially because I witnessed many experts in my industry absolutely killin’ it through TikTok videos and IG reels, but I’m just not that type of content creator, I guess.
This doesn’t stop me from spending hours watching all the funny dog, #smallbusinesscheck, Amazon must-haves (doesn’t help with point #5), cleaning and house flip videos though.
9. How to care for my indoor plants
I lost 3 cactuses this year. I think this says plenty…
10. How to get “in the best shape of my life”
Although I certainly didn’t lose any weight this year (but rather packed a bunch), I can argue that a circle is the perfect shape and I’m damn close to it! #noregrets
