By Pritika Matkar
2020 was a bittersweet year for all. Sure, the year had its ups and downs; we could even resort to calling it the worst year of our lives!
With the global pandemic and a worldwide lockdown, it was a year of chaos and disruption. As the daily routine came to a halt, thick clouds of uncertainty gathered everywhere.
But as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. Let’s reflect on that silver lining, the positives that came out of this year.
2020 impacted everyone differently; some of us learned a new skill, some of us took a much-needed break. With this year coming to an end, let us shed some light on the learnings that this year brought for us-
1. Trying out new things
During this lockdown in 2020, everyone gave a shot to cooking amazing recipes. Most of us realized that we have a wonderful chef in us who was just waiting to be discovered! From baking banana bread to Dalgona coffee and posting it on social media, we all went along with this new and super hyped trend of trying out fancy recipes and showing off our Masterchef skills on social media!
2. Work-life balance is possible!
“Hopefully, as companies give more attention to the importance of work-life balance, more and more people will be in a better position to decide and act more holistically on what’s important to them.”- Mohamed El-Erian
(Source Google)
Finding and maintaining a work-life balance is not a far fetched thing anymore! Working from home sure did teach us to find this balance and maintain it just right to enjoy the work and make time for household chores.
3. Planning is everything!
Planning gives everyone more control over their lives. Even if we did not have to go out and run errands, keeping a planner and listing things-to-do on a daily basis during the lockdown made people live a little more organized life. Planning goes beyond work. Whether it was keeping a list of what we need to get from the grocery store, or what hobby should we invest in next, planning was a part of everyone’s agenda this year.
4. We rediscovered our likes and dislikes
It was the year of rediscovering! be it a hidden talent, some unspoken skill, or mere likes and dislikes, 2020 helped us rediscover ourselves. Some of us went back to doing things we loved to do in high school, some of us really discovered a passion for something new, and everyone learnt about what they really like to do in their spare time.
5. More family time
One of the most positive outcomes of the lockdown was that it brought people closer to their families. Schools, workplaces, hostels, everything was shut and everybody was home. People could finally sit together and have quality time with their parents, grandparents and children, and bicker about who’s cheating in a card game at the supper table.
6. Fitness finally got a priority
Whether it was extensive work out sessions, yoga, or meditation. Everyone picked up one habit to keep their health in check. For most people, this year was not about managing physical fitness, they focused on staying happy and doing whatever they love to balance their mental health.
7. This was a year of bringing back old trends
Photo by Folu Eludire on Unsplash
Remember as a child, we used to fight over the game of ludo with our friends? This year refreshed our memories about these childhood games as we all indulged in playing ludo, snakes and ladders, rummy and monopoly online with our friends.
8. 2020 – A year of decluttering
This year gave us an opportunity to declutter our homes and a list of ideas. This was the year to pick up the job you have been putting off. Whether it was something as simple as cleaning a drawer or arranging wardrobes, or learning something new, being at home and having spare time at hand enabled us to declutter our lives and make space for fresh stuff.
9. 2020 – A year of creating
Photo by Yannis Papanastasopoulos on Unsplash
2020 was a year of creating. Most of us tried our hands at cooking! Some discovered a passion to create and jumped on to social media to make exciting content. And others got a knack of writing about what they feel on blogs and call it their journal! Everyone was indulged in proudly showing off their creative sides and keeping themselves busy this year.
10. 2020 – A year of learnings
The biggest lesson we all learned this year was to not take anything for granted. As humans, we have a tendency of neglecting and taking things or people who are easily available to us, for granted. This year, with ever-impending uncertainty, we all realized the importance of appreciating things we have and not taking them for granted.
Well, sure! Many of us still have our complaints about 2020. Our trips got cancelled, birthday plans were ruined, and countless other things. But when we sit back and reflect on the past few months, definitely, everyone will realize that perhaps, 2020 wasn’t so bad after all!
