2021 Year in Review
Right, so 2021 was an improvement on 2020, but still not quite the year things take off again. 😅
2021 Year in Review
Every year I usually give myself more goals than what I’m capable of achieving. I do this on purpose as I know sometimes I need to shift focus, or won’t have to work on xyz. The idea is to avoid giving myself, say, 5 goals and not hitting them all, so I give myself 20 and maybe I’ll hit 7. I’m going to change that for 2022 and be a bit SMARTer about my goals.
🏋️♂️ Health & Fitness
The return to the gym hasn’t been as straightforward as in prior years. My new job, while somewhat flexible isn’t as laid back as my previous one, so I can’t use the allotted time at the gym to do the skill work I need. Somehow, I still managed to hit new lifting PRs and tick off some other gymnastic achievements, but many goals were left unchecked. However, I also got a nifty new road bike, so now not only do I get a bit more cardio work in, but I can also add cycling to the list of sports I enjoy!
While unplanned, I ended up going to three crossfit competitions. Two of them I went in to fill an empty team spot, and the third one was postponed from 2020. Didn’t win (or get anywhere near close to winning) anything, but they were all pretty fun (and exhausting).
Healthwise, working from home does lend itself to a much nicer work-life balance, and that usually results in sleeping and eating better. I can’t say I’ve kept it at the level I wanted to, but I have some ideas on what to focus on for 2022.
💼 Career & Dev stuff
Big contrast here from last year. After a bit of a tumble towards the second half of 2020, I found a new role that managed to hit all my requirements. I’m finally working with the tech I want, and with a really cool team. Still need to work on getting some more L&D time, and I now need to start looking at some career progression.
💸 Finance
Once again, I hit my targets here, which probably tells me that my targets weren’t as aggressive as I thought. Also managed to increase my pension contribution somewhat.
Things might be a bit different next year as, with the new job (and slightly higher salary), I did allow for some lifestyle creep. So, I moved to a nicer flat and spent a bit more money in some other nicer things (like a standing desk, replaced my laptop, etc). Of course, now that look at my balance sheet, I’m trying to find ways to save money again. We’ll see how that goes in 2022.
🎈 Life
Looking back, it seems despite the world reopening I ended up not being as busy as in previous years. That might also be because things like gigs and theatre involve large gatherings and we’re all still a bit iffy on that lately.
I managed to catch Rock of Ages as it toured the UK and went to see Mary Poppins in the west end with my flatmate. Social events haven’t quite picked up at the same level as before, but I have managed to catch up with my friends after being locked up last year. Also had a few social events with work and the gym.
Unfortunately, I did cap of the year by catching COVID as I came home for Christmas. Not exactly the best end to the year. I was fine, parents and brother had a mild (bit annoying) fever and cough. Thankfully it wasn’t worse, but it could’ve been avoided.
On a brighter end note, I ended up being invited to a cosy NYE party, and it was the nicest one in many many years. Literally ended 2021 in the happiest state.
📑 Conclusion
All in all, still recovering from 2020. I’ve got my goals for 2022 written down already, and my review next year will also be a bit more detailed (I know these have been a bit vague). I’m still quite happy with some of the things I achieved, but I got a bit complacent in this post-pandemic world.
