Review of my 20 for 2020 List
Wow. When I wrote (and planned) my 20 for 2020 list, I had no idea what was in store this year. We all have dealt with so much good and bad and ugly and beautiful and struggle and joy this year.
Although the outside world didn’t behave how I expected (or how I would’ve preferred), I was still able to make intentional progress on the things that mattered most to me. I was able to check off almost everything on my 20 for 2020 list, as well as another major goal I added during the year.
Long before 2020 started, I wanted my theme for the year to be sustainability. I wanted to focus on making my life sustainable in every way and every sense of the word. I wanted to create sustainable eating habits, exercise habits, work habits, relational habits, cleaning habits, and so on. And I wanted to make sure that the things that I purchased were sustainable for the planet. With the ultimate goal of a more sustainable life in mind, I made sure that some of the items on my 20 for 2020 list would help me get there.
If you’re curious to read my perspective on these goals from the beginning of the year, you can check out the post from January where I shared my 20 for 2020 list here.
And if you just want to know how my goals went and what I actually managed to get accomplished in 2020 you’re in the right place. Here is what I set out to do, and how I did:
Physical Goals:
Try barre class - DONE. This was a goal that I managed to check off right away in January. The barre class I took was super intense, but I really loved it. For several months I was able to attend at least one class a week. However, once COVID hit, the studio closed (temporarily) and I moved. Attending classes was impossible for several months due to COVID and also super inconvenient because of the move. And so, I decided to continue my workout regimen in other ways. I sometimes will do a barre workout from YouTube at home, and what I learned in those classes certainly helps me in that. However, most of the time I walk or run near my new house, something that I couldn’t do where I lived before. On the whole, I’m able to work out much more now, which helps me to achieve the same ultimate goal of a healthier life.
Find a green tea I like - DONE. This was another goal that didn’t go quite as planned. I do have some green teas that I like, but they’re not my default. When I set this goal, I thought I would wander through Target and pick up boxes of yummy looking green tea every few weeks as part of my regular shopping trips - not so. Luckily, a sweet friend gave me a selection of green tea that she had and I was able to try quite a variety. I discovered a few new blends to add to my arsenal and found that liked some of the green tea I already had in my tea drawer. The real issue is that I always imagine that the ideal version of me would drink green tea regularly instead of black tea. This is primarily because with green tea I have the idea that I wouldn’t need to add any creamer or sweetener to it, but that isn’t even always true. And I think after setting goals to try and make that a reality several times, I just need to admit that I love black tea. I can drink green tea and sometimes I will. I now have some new kinds that I like - which was the goal. But I can also admit that I just like black tea better, and probably always will.
Do intermittent fasting - DONE. This wasn’t technically on my 20 for 2020 list at the beginning of the year. Originally, I planned to do Whole30, but I only try to tweak one health/body related thing at a time and a few months into the year I started intermittent fasting and fell in love with it. I’ve been doing it for months and I feel much better than I have in a long time. I will probably do Whole30 at some point in the future, but I made the intentional decision to try intermittent fasting instead, and I am so glad that I did.
Create a skincare routine - IN PROCESS. This technically could be considered “done” since I have a more elaborate skincare routine than I did at the start of the year and it does have several “steps” (although certainly not 12 or anything like that). When I imagined this goal, I thought I would find and purchase skincare products to stick with for the foreseeable future. However, when I started to ramp up my skincare routine I realized how many different oils and creams and cleansers I already had - so I decided to use those up instead. And I still am, many months later. In the future, once I’ve used all the things that I have purchased over the years or that have been given to me, I will be able to start planning a new routine from a clean slate. But for now, I am doing the sustainable thing and using what I have - for the benefit of both my face and the planet.
Stretch in the morning - DONE. I’ve set this as a goal before, but since it is kind of vague, I never really could say it was “done”. Now I can though. Although I have gotten into the habit of stretching when I wake up, and I’ve added some pushups and planks to the routine too. It’s amazing how luxurious it feels to stretch before I get up. Even just for a few seconds! That helps to wake me up and then I slide down out of bed and do the pushups and plank to get my body awake too! In order to make sure I remembered to do this, I set a reminder on my phone to correspond with my morning alarm and now I never miss a day! Although, I do drop the pushups and plank on the weekends…
Recreational Goals:
Go on the Coast Starlight trip to LA - DONE. In January, before 2020 devolved into all that it turned out to be, a friend and I took the Coast Starlight train from Seattle to LA. It was a really fun trip and a great start to the year. I definitely would take the trip again - at least probably, depending on what travel looks like in the future. I’d wanted to do this trip for a while, so it was nice to be able to check it off of my bucket list and my 20 for 2020 list early on!.
Watch Seinfeld - DONE. This goal had an additional twist, since I decided to watch the show with my mom. I was able to watch the whole show with her, and we really enjoyed discussing it and laughing together. Plus, we have a ton of new inside jokes now. I also really enjoyed the relational aspect of this goal. It would have been fun to watch the show on my own, but it was extra fun to watch it with her (and my dad when he would occasionally join us too!). I also got my mom to watch all 10 seasons of Friends - it was a very big TV year for her.
Watch Big Bang theory - DONE. This actually took me longer than I thought it would, but I eventually got through all 12 seasons. It really reinforced for me the type of humor and TV shows that I like (of which, Big Bang Theory is a perfect example). And now I can add this show to the roster of “shows I can half-watch while working on my laptop” - a very important category to have.
Academic Goals:
Get my life coach certification - DONE. I planned this goal to be my big endeavor for the year. And although I was hesitant to sign up for certification originally, I’m so glad I did! My class started the same week that we went into quarantine, and it provided a much-appreciated outlet and distraction from everything that happened this year. And, of course, I learned a ton. I’m super excited to apply this knowledge to help my clients, build my business, and create the life that I want.
Read a book from each category each month - DONE. I read a memoir, business, mystery, personal development, novel/fiction, and sustainability book every month, and I really hated it. It took a lot of effort and often led to some cramming at the end of the month to make I read something from all 6 categories. Since I get and read a lot of books from the library, that often shifts what I’m reading based on holds and due dates. So having to plan the books I think wanted to check based on the different categories, time the holds correctly, and plan all the other books I was reading around those felt like a lot of work. Since I wasn’t pushing to hit a certain number of books this year (although I did end up setting one) I was able to slow down a little, but I still didnt’t enjoy this alternate kind of reading goal. Although I may be a more well-rounded person as a result of the 6 categories, I was also a more frazzled and annoyed person. I may experiment with categories again in a slightly different way in 2021, but for the most part, I think I will return to reading whatever I want or whatever is checked out, no matter the category. But at least I know!
Learn about recycling numbers, etc. - DONE. This took a bit more than a quick Google search and I ended up doing a lot of research and reading on recycling in 2020. I also had to double-check multiple times throughout the year, to make sure I was recycling things correctly. But ultimately, that was the point. And now I get asked pretty frequently by friends, family, and clients if something can be recycled - and most of the time, I know the answer.
Spiritual Goal:
Round up - DONE. I didn’t feel like I got asked to "round up” on many purchases this year, but that’s probably because I ended up going out to buy things much less often in 2020 than I anticipated! Early in the year, I read some negative reports on the idea of donating to charities through companies, but I decided to persist with this goal anyway. And I made a point to “round up” whenever the chance presented itself. This is something that I plan to carry forward into the future. Not only will I never have to think about it again (because the answer will always be “yes!”), I will be getting to donate to a variety of groups and causes (albeit in a very small way) that I might not support otherwise.
Material Goals:
Buy a sustainable product each month - DONE. Although I shared about my progress towards a more sustainable life here on the blog every month, I didn’t always share about the product that I purchased for that month. Most of the time, they corresponded with the monthly theme that I focused on, but occasionally they didn’t. Regardless, I am happy to say that I am ending the year with (more than) 12 new products to benefit the planet and my life.
Replace products with sustainable, non-toxic alternatives as I run out - DONE. This is kind of related to the last goal. And like I shared about in creating my skincare routine, this goal helped me to realize that I have a lot of products. I intentionally planned to not buy anything new (unless it was sustainable and nontoxic) and first focused on using all of the things that I already had. So when I did need to purchase something, I did my research to make sure that I was purchasing things in line with my values. I will admit that there were a few times during the year that life was a little too overwhelming for me to think about one more thing and I purchased something according to my default habits, instead of doing my research - but most of the time, I put in the necessary effort to complete this goal and make sure that the things that I buy support sustainability.
Get LastPass or another password protection program - DONE. I managed to get this accomplished pretty early on in the year. Although I use LastPass, it isn’t my favorite thing. It’s a bit cumbersome and inconvenient. However, my passwords are safe. That was the goal, and it is accomplished.
Get my enhanced driver’s license - NO. I know, I know. I didn’t get this goal accomplished! But it is one that I’m okay didn’t get checked off. If COVID hadn’t been a major player in 2020, I have no doubt that I could've gotten this done. But since this isn’t something you can do online, and appointments at our local DMV were pretty much impossible to get, I decided to let this goal simmer on the backburner. And since the deadline to get your enhanced license has been extended even more, I’m not in a huge rush to get it. Since this was on my list though it did prompt me to look at my license and realize that it was going to be expiring in a few weeks! I thought I had another year before I needed to renew, but apparently not! So I’m glad I set this goal since that led me to check! And luckily, I was able to do a simple renewal online. Even though I have my new license, getting my enhanced is something that I still plan to get done in 2021, vaccines and viruses permitting.
Get my stuff out of my parent’s house - DONE. I actually made much more progress on this than I thought - probably because they ended up doing a whole home remodel that took most of the year, although that wasn’t planned when I set this goal. I have gone through and gotten rid of so many things that had been stashed away over the years - both mine and theirs. And I have saved and integrated the things that matter to me into my home (or my sentimental storage). There are still some things in certain areas of the home that we can’t get to (long story), but I knew that when I made this goal and didn’t expect to get to those items this year. Overall, I’m super happy with the progress I made in this area - and the progress I was able to help my parents with too!
Go through family photos - IN PROCESS. I knew this was a huge undertaking, and it certainly has been. I was able to start going through photos when I was helping my parents organize their house, and we went through tons of photos and memorabilia. And I also started organizing all the digital photos that we have - which I am still working on. I’m uploading photos, creating a system, and ensuring they’re all in a format that my family will all be able to access one day. It is far from “done” but it is certainly in progress, and I’m so glad that I have been able to get started.
Get some nice dark wash jeans - DONE. While this seems like a seemingly easy task, it still took me several months to find and buy the perfect pair. As weird as it seems, I seriously haven’t had a pair of dark wash jeans for probably the last three years, and I knew it was time to find some. I’m pretty picky about how my clothes feel and fit, and I was even more apprehensive since I wouldn’t be able to go try on a bunch of pairs, as I had originally planned - probably the most insignificant COVID problem ever, but still annoying. However, I did manage to find a pair (online) that I loved - both in the pictures and when they arrived. They’ve definitely become a staple and I’m not really sure how I lived without them.
Overall Goal:
Better not more - DONE. I have to admit, I forgot about this mantra for a good portion of the year. But whenever I would see it or be reminded of it, it always resonated really strongly with me. Although I feel like this year could be thought of as “more” in a lot of ways - more than I expected/wanted/thought I could handle/etc., it was also “better” in a lot of ways too. I grew a lot more than I could have imagined, and 2020 also helped me to prioritize better habits, better interactions, and better experiences - even if they didn’t happen “more” than they might have in other years. The things that I purchased in 2020 were certainly “better” too, and I stopped myself from buying many, many things that ultimately would have just contributed to “more”. I think that I did my best to live out “better” in 2020, and I also hope for an even “better” 2021.
I think I did pretty well on reaching my goals and knocking out stuff on my 20 for 2020 list. But the thing that I am most proud of is something that I didn’t even set as a goal at the start of 2020. In fact, it is something that intentionally didn’t set as a goal.
I wrote a book!
Or most of a book anyway.
I’ve wanted to write a book for years, but I never seemed to be able to find the right topic. I decided that writing a book would be something I would worry about in 2021. I had enough to worry about in 2020, I figured (little did I know, right?), and I would start to think and plan for a book in 2021.
A few weeks into the year though, the perfect idea came to me and I started brainstorming and planning right away. Since the idea kind of fell into my lap, I decided that I would work on it just a little this year. I planned to just write whatever I felt like over the course of this year, and then I would really focus on writing in 2021.
Then COVID happened, and I found myself with more time at home than I expected, so I figured I would write a bit more.
And then a bit more.
I did some research and found that the average non-fiction book is about 50,000 words. Once I knew that I thought it would be so cool if I could hit that word count by the end of the year - even if the book wasn’t technically finished.
I started writing seriously in early April and hit 50,000 words in the last week of May. Once life started to pick up steam again, and I had a crazy season at work, I decided to put the book on the back-burner. But I had already hit my dream goal!
Now, I have a manuscript that is about 85,000 words and still not done! I plan to finish the draft next year, but I’ll share more about that and my other goals for 2021 in the coming weeks.
Writing (most of) a book is the accomplishment that I am celebrating most as 2020 comes to a close. And I will be sharing more about how to know what goals to pursue, what to do when you have new ideas mid-year, and other topics around goal-setting soon.
But for now, I’m just going to celebrate the things that I managed to accomplish in 2020 and the person I’ve become - both in spite of and because of many of the things that happened. Celebrating what you’ve achieved is so important, and something else that we will be talking about soon.
In the meantime, make sure that you are celebrating yourself too and whatever you have accomplished.
Until next time,