Before we can put 2020 behind us, I feel it’s important to look back and take stock of the year that was. I’ve done this kind of “retrospective” or “year in review” before. It’s worthwhile, because it gives me a chance to reflect on multiple aspects of my personal and professional life. Let’s take a look back at some goals, some blogging and vlogging stuff, and what kept me entertained and engaged through the year 2020.

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2020 Twenty Goals Achieved: 4.5 (of 7)

Inspired be a fellow dad blogger, I set a number of goals at the beginning of this year. And by “number,” I mean seven. He set 20. I’m not that ambitious. Let’s see how I did.

2020Twenty goals on my desk
  1. Read 25 books: Success. I’ll go into further detail below. Long story short (pun intended), I listen to a lot of audiobooks.
  2. Hit my daily step goal 250 times: Success. Not including today and tomorrow, I hit my daily step goal a total of 260 times in 2020. That’s for just over 2.8 million steps total. For the most part, I stuck to the two-day rule (and it worked).
  3. Cut myself some slack: Success… I think. This is much more qualitative than quantitative. Whenever I felt overwhelmed by the pressure, I reminded myself that I’m only human. And it’s okay to take a break now and then. I’m learning to forgive myself.
  4. Apply for the BCTESG: Failure. Here I was thinking this would be the easiest one to achieve and then the pandemic threw everything for a tail spin. And then we welcomed Max into the world too. The plan now is to add Max to the family RESP and apply for the BCTESG for Addie at the same time.
  5. Take a kid-free vacation: Failure. To be fair, circumstances have been quite different than I had anticipated back in January. For starters, there’s that whole pandemic thing and restrictions on travel. And Susanne was pregnant for most of 2020 too. Travelling while pregnant is hard at the best of times. I’m okay with letting this one slide for now.
  6. Stop working one hour before bed: Success. I didn’t track this goal like I tracked the others, but tying into goal #3 above, I made a conscious effort to avoid working in the evenings. For the most part, I think I managed to do that. Changes in my professional life made this easier.
  7. Play a “real” video game one hour a week: Partial success. For the first three months, I was failing this goal hard. Then, the pandemic hit, I bought Animal Crossing New Horizons on the Switch, and somehow I “found” time to play. After paying off my in-game mortgage, I felt less motivated and started playing less. To the best of my record-keeping, I accomplished this goal 28 weeks out of 52.

Blog Posts Published: 113

Remember how I’ve been trying to cut myself some slack? This has translated to fewer blog posts on Beyond the Rhetoric in 2020. Whereas I published 167 posts last year, I only wrote 113 this year (including this one). But, here’s a weird thing. Even though I wrote less, page views on the blog are up about 33 percent year over year. Here are some highlights:

Feeding the baby on parental leave

Books Read: 33

The books that I read come in a combination of formats. I listen to a lot of audiobooks (particularly while going on my walks to hit those step goals). I also borrow physical books from the public library and read ebooks on my Kindle. The net result is a pretty good variety, which functions both as entertainment and inspiration. This figure — 33 books in 2020 — is a smidge more than the 30 I read last year, but about 2,000 more pages. A few of my favorites this year include:

  • Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow: A fascinating and gripping insight into the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
  • Run Program by Scott Meyer: A fun story about a rogue AI from the same author as the Magic 2.0 series.
  • Dear Martin by Nic Stone: In a year where the BLM movement got a lot of attention, this is a must read.
  • Chop Suey Nation by Ann Hui: A tour across (mostly small town) Canada and the culture of Chinese-Canadian restaurants.
  • The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: A poignant reminder why grown-ups never understand anything.

YouTube Videos Posted: 12

Let’s just say I didn’t have a lot to go on for videos seeing how we spent most of 2020 at home. Excuses, excuses, I know. Again, this ties into cutting myself some slack. Planning, filming, editing and posting YouTube videos takes a lot of time. I do enjoy it, but I’ve got to feel inspired. Curiously, just as with the blog, my YouTube channel did surprisingly well despite having fewer new videos compared to 2019. Go figure.

  • Logitech C270: Before the pandemic really hit us hard, I put up this video testing a budget webcam. And then, all of a sudden, everyone needed a cheap webcam.
  • Best Budget Microphone: Similar to the webcam video, this one compares the audio quality on a few microphones. Discerning consumers want to know.
  • #5DadsGoWild 2020: For a while there, we didn’t think our annual coping trip would even happen. It did, but it was very different.
  • Showing You My Underwear: Yeah, a bit of a weird one. Take a peek “bn3th” the channel?
  • PNE WnterLights 2020: With so many Christmas events cancelled, this drive-thru event was the biggest option for Vancouverites.

Movies Watched: 50

You would think with spending so much time at home, I would’ve watched more movies. I didn’t. Whereas I watched 67 movies in 2019, I only watched 50 in 2020. To be honest, I’m not completely sure why this was. Maybe I watched more TV series? Or played more Animal Crossing? Some of the top films I watched in 2020 include:

  • The Farewell: Who would’ve thought Awkwafina could be so compelling in a dramatic role? Another keen look into the Asian American experience.
  • BlacKkKlansman: An enthralling return to form for Spike Lee, telling the (based on a true) story of Colorado Springs’ first African American cop infiltrating the Ku Klux Klan.
  • The Platform: A twisted and disturbing concept that reveals the darkest corners of humanity and the inequalities in the social classes.
  • Jojo Rabbit: I heard so many good things about this movie and, having watched it, I can understand why.
  • The Trial of the Chicago 7: If you like courtroom dramas and Aaron Sorkin’s signature style, this Netflix original film is for you.

Setting Goals for 2021…

I don’t think anyone could have anticipated how this year turned out. You could say that nobody had 2020 vision. (Dad jokes, I know.) And while this may make us hesitate in setting goals for next year, I don’t think it should. Even if things don’t turn out the way you hope they do, it’s valuable to have a plan. To have a direction, something to work toward. I’ll give it some thought and share my 2021 goals with all of you soon.

What do you hope to accomplish in 2021? Twelve months from now, as you complete your own year in review, what would fill you up with pride?

Exploring brave new lands