A realistic review of my 2020 goals

I’m not one for New Years Resolutions, yet 1st January 2020 I wrote a list of goals for the year. I aimed to have a more focused and intentional year where I aimed to find a work-life balance.

Little did I know, a global pandemic was just around the corner. It has been a truly devastating year for various reasons, lives lost and milestones missed. I even thought about about scrapping this blog idea all together. How could I talk about such trivial things after the year it’s been? This year has been unlike any other, so here’s my attempt at documenting it.

My 2020 goals

1. write 20 blog posts
2. read 10 books
3. keep track of gratitude and reflect
4. travel to 2 new places
5. learn to use a screen-reader
6. one chill-out day a month
7. finish blog website

Write 20 blog posts

Initially, I thought I hadn’t managed this goal. I tend to aim for two pieces a month, but flexibly fit it around other aspects of my life. Towards the end of the year, I did write less. However, it totalled to 20 posts during 2020! Here are my most popular posts this year:

1. The pressure to be positive as a disabled person
2. As a disabled person, I’m not ready for lockdown to end
3. Being in a relationship and having Cerebral Palsy
4. OrCam Read, is it worth the investment?
5. “Trainers never matched my aesthetic”: The emotional impact of wearing AFO splints

It’s always odd to look back at things you’ve written. Despite a strange year, I’m really proud at the range and quality of my posts this year. I’ve focused on making my content more user-friendly and more informative, so I hope you’ve learnt something along the way.

Read 10 books

I love reading books. Yet during my degree I didn’t get the chance to pick up a non-fiction book. Reading was reserved for journal articles and textbooks.

At the beginning of 2020 I set myself the challenge of reading 10 books. Then we were hit by a global pandemic. With all the cancelled plans and nowhere to go, reading became my escape from the chaos. I’ve read so many amazing books and documented my reading progress on Twitter. With a grand total of 30 books, I hope to continue reading this year.

Thread: A little list of books I’ve read in 2020 📖

✨ Don’t mind me, just taking up a small corner of the internet to try and encourage myself to read more this year. ✨

— Chloe Tear (@chloeltear) January 28, 2020

Here are my favourite reads from 2020:

• The family upstairs by Lisa Jewell
• The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows
• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
• Becoming by Michelle Obama

The vast majority of the books were from the library. I use the app, BorrowBox, to access e-books and audiobooks from my local library. All you need is a library card. It’s so easy to use and they regularly add new books.

Keep track of gratitude and reflect

The aim was to be more mindful, take things slowly and acknowledge the small joys in life.

I love the idea of daily gratitude lists and regular journaling to clear my mind. Yet putting it into practice was harder than I’d anticipated. Previously I’ve kept track of these things mentally, it was setting aside time to write them down that I struggled with.

This became even more important when surrounded by the constant news stories that we had throughout the year. By the time it got to the evening, I was often too mentally tired to write. Even if I knew it’d be beneficial.

On the other hand, at the end of each month I did manage to sit down and reflect. I actually found this really useful and will continue to do it in 2021. It was a chance to reassess priorities, set mini goals for the next month and look at my work-life-health balance.

Travel

Does going around the block count? Going to the supermarket is the 2020 version of an exciting day out! Travelling is something that I really enjoy doing. In 2019 I went to Venice and had an incredible time exploring a new city, not to mention the incredible food.

Read more: A city break as a disabled young adult

This year I had a holiday to Sardinia booked and had thought about having some city breaks around the UK. As this can probably guess, the holiday was cancelled due to the pandemic.

Despite this, it did allow me to explore places closer to home. I live in a town that is full of nature, something we often taken for granted. It’s safe to say that 2020 was the year of staying at home, but that didn’t mean it was all bad.

Learn to use a screen-reader

As my sight has deteriorated I’ve adapted the way I use technology. I rely on technology to do my job, write this blog and keep in touch with friends and family. This will be similar for the vast majority of people.

Previously, I’d used magnification and enlarged text to get through university. Yet by the time I started employment, this method was less effective and in-efficient. It was during my Access to Work assessment where a screen-reader called JAWS was first mentioned.

Due to still having some useful vision left, I was unsure how a screen-reader could help. Oh how wrong I was! My eyes are easily fatigued, yet a screen-reader allows me to work quicker and take in the same amount of information as my colleagues. I’ve learnt a lot this year, but there are still certain things I need to figure out.

Chill-out day

I love to be busy! Whether that’s working, writing or volunteering, being on the go is what I enjoy. However, it’s not always the healthiest or most effective use of my energy. For this reason, I wanted to slow down during 2020. Little did I know, we’d all be having a slower paced year. The pandemic might have taken slowing down to the extreme, but maybe that’s what we needed. Here are some of the things I’ve done instead:

• reading
• binge watching a Netflix series
• crocheting
• playing Animal Crossing
• felting

Another aspect of chilling out that I wanted to work on was building a good morning routine. I can’t say this was as successful, but I gave it a good go. That being said, my version of breakfast used to be coffee and a cereal bar, we’ve now progressed to something more substantial. I also like to start the day with a bit of reading.

Disclaimer: Gifted item. I’ve not been paid to promote the product, but said I’d give an honest review.

During lockdown I was kindly gifted some Purition to try. They describe Purition as wholefood nutrition and I’d have to agree with that.

They are a quick and easy shake that you blend with milk, ensuring you get all the nutrients you need. To be transparent, they can be used as a meal replacement if you’re on a diet. Yet this wasn’t how I intended to use them at all. If you struggle with pain and fatigue, these will be great during flare-ups or when you need a bit of a boost. Also, I love that it can be used to make pancakes, porridge or smoothie bowls. A great way to start the day!

There are so many different flavours to choose from, this includes dairy-free and vegan shakes.

Finish my blog website

Ta da! You could argue that you’d be unable to read this post if it wasn’t complete. In 2019 I finished my degree and relaunched my blog under a new name, to reflect that I was no longer a student.

I managed to get the website live 6th May 2019, but there was still a lot to do! I knew I wanted to add things like a portfolio and landing page, as well as rewriting the existing pages that were migrated.

Read more: The start of something new!

Nevertheless, I then started working full-time and kept putting it off. I know there are still some things that I’d like to change, but I’m really happy with how my website has changed this year. Here are some of the pages I have created or changed:

• Portfolio
• About
• Landing page

The aim is to get a website that can evolve with me. I certainly don’t plan on rebranding again, but appreciate that it’s okay to not have the perfect site. I’m really glad that I have built my website over time as it’s meant I had a clearer idea what I wanted. Here’s to many more years of writing.

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Thank you for supporting my work throughout 2020. It’s been a challenging year for everyone and hope 2021 will bring you hope and happiness.

Stay safe.

~Chloe x