2020 Scorecard

I think most of us can agree that this year was long and tough, yet it flew by. The “story” of 2020 was that it was miserable for everyone, which in a lot of ways it was. Personally, I lost my job, got covid, lost touch with friends, and had a close death in the family. However, I am also thankful for some of the great things that happened - I got married, got healthy, enjoyed being creative again, and am starting a new job. In putting this year behind me I’d like to give myself a scorecard as I look ahead to 2021… It’s been over 10 years since I’ve received a grade so why not?

Job 2020: D
Job 2021 outlook: A

In March I lost my job and spent 9 months fighting to get a new one in a field that I had been out of for the past few years. Prior to the pandemic I was gaining ground in comedy, doing longer/better sets, putting on higher quality shows, and making more money. Because of the pandemic I shifted gears and tried to get hired using my technical/business skills during one of the worst times to get hired. I spent my days reading job application rejections, with a handful of prospects looking great to just fall through at the last minute. You can hear more about these struggles in my most recent podcast episode Letting Go of 2020 and Career Changes. HOWEVER, amazingly I did land a job before the end of the year that ticks a lot of my boxes. I’m excited to be making money, learning, solving problems, and spending less time with the angst of unemployment hanging over me. I’m a little bit worried that having a traditional 9-5 will affect my comedy/creative projects as I’ll have significantly less time, but I’ve always been more efficient and focused with less time on my hands. I believe that as long as this job isn’t overwhelming or toxic, it will prove to be a huge net positive in 2021!

Health 2020: A+
Health 2021 outlook: A

A nice side benefit of losing my comedy job was I was no longer spending nights at bars/clubs/restaurants indulging in alcohol and bar food. This, along with diet and exercise, my wife and I achieved our weight loss goal by our wedding date (and kept it off!). Pre-Corona I was somewhere around 225-230 pounds. Today I am 190. Definitely slacking a bit in terms of healthy eating this holiday month, but I plan to get back on the horse after the new year. 

In terms of setting this kind of physical goal, in the past I’d typically race to the finish, overworking myself doing some kind of crazy regime, and potentially get injured. My approach this time was way more steady, my exercise breakdown was roughly 80% walking, 10% yoga, 10% tennis. I also counted calories. I still ate some guilty pleasures, drank some beers, but a majority of the time kept myself to my calorie limit and it worked!


Marriage: A*

In a year of isolation we did a small wedding with a few friends and family. It was a beautiful day of celebrating the commitment and love my wife and I have for each other. The asterisk is there because my wife and I (as well as her parents eventually got Covid). Not sure if it was from the wedding itself but the timeline overlapped. I also recognize that this was a bit risky but we really wanted to do it and still don’t regret it.

Covid: D

A false negative test made it seem like an okay idea to fly for our pseudo honeymoon. A couple days later I had a fever for 102.5. I would battle this fever for 12 consecutive days before it went away. Body aches. Chills. Sweating through the bed multiple times a night. No energy. Plenty of bathroom trips. No enjoyment of life really. I fell into a depression that took weeks to come out of even when “healthy.” Only reason I didn’t give it an F was I’m still here talking about it!

Comedy 2020: B-
Comedy 2021 outlook: B+

I stopped doing stand-up, had the desire to do video sketches but lacked the execution. It’s definitely harder to do by myself. Kind of beat myself up over this, but ultimately I put a few out before the end of 2020 year and look forward to creating more. 

A big positive is I’m 95% done with a joke book I’ve been writing. I’m really excited to release it in early 2021! I also look forward to doing stand-up again once it’s safe. 

Relationships 2020: B-
Relationships 2021 outlook: B+

I’ve definitely lost touch with folks and I’ve found some people to be distant/bad at responding/making digital plans. Doing my digital board games and video games has helped me stay in contact with people. Hoping this improves as well as seeing some more folks socially distanced in the near future, and post vaccine.

Overall score: NA
I think I’ve grown a lot in the past year and I look forward to meeting the challenges ahead. 

Thanks for reading!

Best,
Allan