2020 Wins/Losses
Burnout
I intended my 2020 to be more purposeful. I thought about focusing more on taking action and focusing less on acquiring information. But after doing an annual review from my journal, it turns out that I burned out a lot.
I set unrealistic goals hoping I can pressure myself to work extra harder. I was almost always overwhelmed with things to do. And when I fail to meet those goals, I give myself a hard time for not trying hard enough.
This is going to change next year.
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Improved Writing Skills
I started a publication called “Quick 1” on Medium to kickoff my intent to write articles for other people’s consumption. This meant less focus on my weekly updates.
My articles were accepted by other publications on Medium.
CTTAM accepted my article for their magazine’s winter edition.
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Grandma’s Passing
I thought I was able to process a good chunk of this sad event but when I found myself crying out of nowhere I realized that there’s a lot more I have to go through. This is probably the biggest loss I’ve had not only this year but all the years prior.
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Getting our Finances in Order
We became strict with our budget and more intentional with our purchases.
Other 2020 Things
What Drained Me
Meetings. Waiting. Failing to help. Failure to complete my to-do-list.
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What Energized Me
Conversations with my fiancee. Afternoon walk with the family. Completing my to-do-list. Doing things I don’t really feel like doing.
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Things I Started/Tried
- track time to be more efficient using Toggl
- Quarter Review/Goal Setting
- caffeine Reduction
- workout in my morning routine
- complete networking course and expand my network
- write resume for others
- podcast with Balindong
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Realizations/Discoveries
- The Futur
- if I had the money, I’d spend it on getting coached
- sleep deprivation is overrated
- recognize the person who influenced my thoughts and feelings due to an external event
- pay close attention to biases
- when overwhelmed, step away temporarily to regain composure
- delete/unsubscribe to e-mails
- learned more about design
- reading with peripherals aka “speed reading“
Summary of 2020
Week 1 – i have what’s known as imposter syndrome.
Week 2 – familiarized myself with video editing.
Week 3 – i was given the opportunity lead but i don’t feel like i’m suited for it. drew a personalized design for someone at work.
Week 4 – decided to stop imposing strict rules on myself.
Week 5 – i was conflicted with how i provide support to my colleagues. another tenant took over our apartment lease.
Week 6 – my rigid rules didn’t allow to me address surprise problems efficiently. i’ve gotten better at using Elementor.
Week 7 – i misunderstood Jocko Willink’s “discipline equals freedom”. in the process of moving out of the apartment.
Week 8 – my head is not in the right space to think about anything other than work and moving out.
Week 9 – i’m not assertive as per my supervisor. my uncle passed away.
Week 10 – lexi and reyvi were sick. we stopped caring about buying new stuff. i also decided to stop buying online courses.
Week 11 – the pandemic got me all worried.
Week 12 – been reading the daily stoic to help me calm myself from what seems like a zombie apocalypse movie.
Week 13 – i had a flu…wait is it flu? or did i just catch the rona? ohhhh..sht!
Week 14 – we’re approved to work from home.
Week 15 – adjusting to work-from-home set-up.
Week 16 – im learning how to speed-read.
Week 17 – im finding it hard to focus at work.
Week 18 – i thought about giving up coffee.
Week 19 – i was fired at work…no not in real life but in my dream
Week 20 – i didn’t realize that you are violating the law for keeping junk in your own backyard.
Week 21 – my career goals needed to shift.
Week 22 – started tracking how i’m spending my time (again).
Week 23 – inspired by friend’s story of how he managed to find success despite being considered as a “failure”.
Week 24 – i was burned out. my fiancee can manage my finance a helluvalot better than i can.
Week 25 – i’ve been thinking about giving up my desire to make money online.
Week 26 – i sent a survey to close friends to figure out what my personal brand is lol.
Week 27 – i thought about relationship-maintenance.
Week 28 – i was shocked to find out that i no longer have access to the online course i purchased 2 years ago.
Week 29 – i realized i needed to work on my side projects before working on actual work.
Week 30 – i spent a month writing an article–only to get it rejected.
Week 31 – i started looking into getting paid for my articles.
Week 32 – i wanna be more emphatic to others. signed-up for an online program to improve my writing.
Week 33 – im on parental leave for a month.
Week 34 – started a podcast with a friend.
Week 35 – i do some cleaning/re-organizing activity whenever i feel stuck or overwhelmed.
Week 36 – my request for financial assistance for my parental leave was denied.
Week 37 – i realized how rejection creates self-awareness. my leave turned out to be a lot busier than i thought.
Week 38 – parental leave is over. i’m exhausted as f* . no i didn’t meet any of the goals i set up while im on leave.
Week 39 – it takes me forever to edit an article. i decided to put less work on my weekly blogs to create more time on other blogs.
Week 40 – i made $0.21 from my articles.
Week 41 – i started tracking how i spend my time again in an attempt to create more time to work on my projects.
Week 42 – i was inspired by my friend’s success. Such is the value of friendship.
Week 43 – i had the flu shot. i saved about $650 to get my car fixed. my phone wouldn’t let me charge it!
Week 44 – i finally had a chance to take a break…from everything.
Week 45 – i’m learning how to write copy by copying other sales copy. the goal is to help me create a copy for booking an appointment for insurance.
Week 46 – my grandma passed away…
Week 47 – i didn’t feel like working on any of my side projects.
Week 48 – CTTAM published the article i wrote for them. i wanna add kettle bell swings in my workout.
Week 49 – i finished reading Cheri Huber’s book on how to be more mindful about the voices in my head.
Week 50 – i decided to stop “polishing turds”. i always complain about lack of time but perhaps im doing too many things that don’t really matter.
Week 51 – last week of work in 2020. i want to improve on my planning skills.
Week 52 – i wanne be more intentional next year.