Hallelujah 2020 is wrapped up! I must say that 2020 was one of the most trying years I have experienced. I never thought I would live through a pandemic that brought so much fear and uncertainty. I’ve learned to be thankful for family get togethers and hugs when they went away this year and hugs diminished with social distancing, to appreciate my job and my income when I was furloughed, to be thankful for small things like going to dinner or the gym instead of staying locked inside & having to wear masks, In person meetings or gatherings instead of being trapped behind a screen on zoom, the list goes on. The whole world was turned upside down and I learned so much about myself and others around me.

We all know when the clock strikes midnight on New Years Eve the whole world isn’t going to go back to normal, but I am hopeful that life as we knew it will return in only a few short months with the vaccine being widely available. I wanted to capture my goals through a word this year like I have seen many others do in past years. I thought the word THRIVE was the perfect word to encompass how I want this year to look. I want to grow and achieve a lot and thrive while doing it in the face of a lot of change.

I am going to share 5 of my goals across the 3 buckets I write goals for, personal, career & blog.

1. Go to bed earlier + wake up earlier: Its a known fact that I stay up wayyy to late on the weekend and during the work week. I really want to go to bed earlier for my health and also to help me to wake up earlier. This is going to be very hard for me and I feel like this is on my goals each year, but as I get older it becomes even more important to me to conquer.
2. Learn at least 2 new recipes: It is also no secret that I hate cooking. I just hate the effort, the time it takes, the list goes on. I just want the food when I am hungry lol. I want to learn two quick and easy recipes this year to expand my knowledge and learn to not hate cooking so much.
3. Take online marketing courses to sharpen my skills: This is for my 9-5 job. Starting a new job this year right before the pandemic and then being furloughed, I want to sharpen my Marketing skills since I have transitioned over from my past Merchandising job. I feel it is important to always continue to learn and make yourself more valuable to a team as well as help propel your career path.
4. Hit 5k followers: I had this on my goals last year. Unfortunately I did not hit this goal and I really want to accomplish this milestone this year (stretch goal is 10k!) It can be really hard to want to get on my phone and engage with people after a long work day and disheartening when I cannot grow my numbers quickly. I know the day will come soon hopefully to hit this goal!
5. Write at least 2 weeks worth of blog posts and Instagram captions ahead of time to reduce stress: Something that has been really hard for me the past few months is balancing my 9-5 job and my blogging side hustle. After a long day of work the last thing I want to do is get on my computer and write a blog post I put off or think of a caption when I feel drained. If I plan these farther out then this stress and feeling of failure will hopefully be eliminated!

I had a lot of plans for 2020 that obviously did not come to fruition like several trips, and traveling out of the country for the first time, but I wouldn’t trade this years lessons for anything. Here’s to the new year and thriving no matter what comes my way!