2020 Retrospective

The general world-view of 2020 is that it was shit. In many ways, I agree. However, living in Perth, Western Australia in 2020 had to have been one to the best outcomes. We have been largely unaffected by COVID-19 in terms of community transmission. We had a period of lockdown as a precautionary measure. However, thanks to a combination of geographic isolation, good government and civil obedience we have been able to continue a relatively good standard of life.

The year still seems to have passed by strangely though, without the typical beats that I might expect to see in a year. My mind was foggy about what actually happened in 2020.

I’ve taken the time to reflect on my diary notes and calendar to see what did happen in 2020. I’ve excluded the every-day work stuff, and the typical parenting, kid management things that are a standard part of my existence.

For me, the narrative that 2020 was a complete write-off is not fair. A lot happened in 2020 and much of it has been positive and transformational. The biggest personal change has been the development of me as a ‘podcaster’. I’ve listened to podcasts since around 2005 when Adam Curry hosted his Daily Source Code. To now be producing my own podcast content — a mere 15 years later — has been a blast.

I’m also proud to have established a weekly video call with my friends. I’m proud that I started it, but more proud of my mates for sticking with it. Every week, from March until now, we’ve caught up for a chat. It has strengthened our bonds and been a real highlight of a year that in many other ways has been highlighted with themes of isolation.

So, the following list represents my year in summary.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December