2020 In Review

2020 has been a year to forget for many people around the world. There have been many ups and downs in everyone's lives. I will be reflecting on the year and what I achieved.

At the start of the year, up until June/July, I worked on many personal projects and upskilled myself on various topics. I then started to feel quite a bit of burnout.

I hadn't taken a real break in over a year.

The burnout had pretty much destroyed a lot of the passion I had for coding outside of working hours. I decided to take a break and not work on coding after hours or on weekends. I hoped that I would naturally rekindle the fire that I once had.

Many months passed where I felt stuck and wasn't sure where to go and what to do. At this point, I realised that I needed to take my mental health seriously.

I went to therapy and spoke about my stresses and anxiety, which were compounded by various situations.

I cannot recommend this enough.

It allowed me to think clearly and cope with the various stresses I was experiencing. I went through a variety of different changes in my working life as well as my personal life. I needed to take a step back and process these changes.

The feeling of burnout and stress/anxiety started to disappear. My passion for coding also began to return.

I took a further step back and thought, what did I achieve in 2020? What positive changes happened in my life?

My 2020 goals:

1. Redesign my website.
2. Start blogging.
3. Move into a bigger home.
4. Secure a job overseas.

Let's go through each of them, keeping in mind these are in no particular order.

Redesign my website

At the start of 2020, I wanted to redesign my website. I wanted to add a blog to my website as well as add a refreshed design. Seeing as I had already started tinkering with Go, I decided to give Hugo a try. I tweaked the design throughout 2020, adding small improvements to the overall design and functionality.

I achieved this goal, and I will most likely redesign the website at some point this year. I may even switch to a different language or framework entirely.

Start blogging

I didn't write nearly enough articles in 2020 but I achieved this goal and wrote five articles:

1. 2020 Website Refresh
2. Migrating My Website To Hugo
3. Get Down With Markdown
4. 8 HTML Elements You Might Not Know About
5. Getting Started With Version Control

I have begun plotting out a few ideas for 2021's articles, which I will likely be starting once I return from my much-needed break.

Move into a bigger home

My fiance and I, (now wife) wanted to move into a bigger home. While we were comfortable in our previous home, we wanted more space and a little more privacy. We achieved that goal towards the end of 2020, moving into our current home.

Secure a job overseas

A major highlight for 2020 was getting a job overseas. I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity at a company based in London, which I accepted towards the end of 2020. The plan is to move over to the UK in 2021 when the pandemic allows us to.

Other accomplishments in 2020:

2020 also saw a couple of other accomplishments.

I got engaged and married in 2020

I got engaged and married to my soul mate. It was without a doubt challenging, getting married during a pandemic but we kept it small and low-key.

It was the biggest highlight of 2020 and the best day of our lives so far!

I worked on my health

Not only did I work on my physical health, but I also decided to take my mental health seriously. The tech industry can be very stressful and overwhelming at times. As an individual in the tech industry, it is paramount to look after your physical and mental wellbeing. Stress and burnout can be a killer that not only affects your working life but your personal life too.

Closing thoughts on 2020

Overall, 2020 was a good year for me, full of many personal and work-related accomplishments. Some times were challenging and generally unpleasant, but, I only wish to focus on the positive. I firmly believe 2021 will be a great year not only for myself but for many other people.

My goals for 2021:

1. Move to the UK.
2. Learn more Go.
3. Improve my fitness.
4. Write more.
5. Release a product and gain at least ten paying customers.

What are your goals for 2021 and beyond?