2020 So Far
Intro
Hello friends and new readers! Before I get started, I just want to say I am in the process of updating my site to separate my blogs. I’ll have a few more pages added, so check back often to see what’s there! I’m going to be more active with updating and tweaking the site until I’m happy with it.
So 2020... it has been a year hasn’t it? It really has been a wild ride. I want to take a little time to reflect on all of it. Everything has been moving at such a weird pace that I find myself getting caught up with other things, and neglecting my desire to reflect on just exactly has been happening. I want to talk about what the heck has happened so far in my life, what’s currently happening, and what I think will happen.
What’s the lead up?
While January and February were quite the routine months, once the Coronavirus hit New York City in March, things really took a turn. I was anticipating it hitting Manhattan, so I canceled my trip to Japan. The airlines and website vendor for the tickets could not have been shadier, and it all resulted in me losing about $500 (even though the country eventually closed off for traveling.
Covid-19 also took away my ability to see my family and friends regularly from March - June. I’ll talk more about when I started taking back control of my life in the next section, but for a very long time, I had to communicate with family exclusively by telecommunication. Around this time things were getting weird as well. Naturally most people would not take kind to being told to lock themselves inside for weeks or months. I had some experience with this due to the nature of my craft, but to expect other people to handle it the same wouldn’t be right. I will tell you that the first few months of Covid was a real challenge for my family. There were a lot of strained relationships and arguing early on, which just exacerbated everyone’s problems.
The last major thing that Covid changed was my job. I am very fortunate to work a job where I can work from home, so the office was allowed to do so. Now, most of my experience with animation is working from home. I prefer it to going into a studio and commuting, because I save more time which allows me to do other things. My life has never revolved around work, and work from home is the ultimate expression of this freedom. This has been the best thing for me personally.
I feel I work much better from home, and the quality of my output for my job has gotten better in my opinion. I’m also happier having not commuting, and saving that money. Which on the topic of that, due to the financial strain that student loans have had on me, it was a massive blessing having the government postpone payments until November. The money I’m saving will allow me a nice financial cushion in the case of things falling apart somewhere in my life.
I will tell you that the first few months of Covid was a real challenge for my family. There were a lot of strained relationships and arguing early on, which just exacerbated everyone’s problems.
As things were beginning to change, I took all of the extra time I would have from no commuting and began taking steps to build a better me. This came in the shape of:
Detaching myself from news and politics
Being more active and taking better care of my health
Taking on more hobbies
Working on more meaningful projects
Becoming more purpose driven
Becoming more fiscally responsible
I won’t go into detail on these, but each of these bullet points have led to a much better quality of life for myself. In addition, as stated in a previous blog, I began to live in a schedule free lifestyle for this year, and working on whatever I felt necessary at the moment. That was a magnificent choice, and I’m happy I made it. My schedule allowed me to create some great art, but it ultimately became a cage and restricted my growth in every other area in my life. I have been free for about 8 months, and I have grown enormously because of it.
You Are Here
That’s more or less how this year started. So how have been the last couple weeks? To be honest, it has been very...ok. Not too many highs, but not too many lows either. Some of the things that upset me earlier this year I’ve gotten over, like my trip cancellation. Other things I’m just now starting to get the swing of. I’ve made efforts to see my family (mostly by walking several miles), or my family has made efforts to visit me. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than nothing.
I’ve definitely grown accustomed to working from home. As stated earlier, I prefer it, but now I’m at the point where I don’t know if I could go back. I’m so much happier (when it comes to work), more productive, healthier, and I’ve saved a ton of money. Working at home has allowed me to better break up my days to maximize each and every hour I’m awake, and has allowed me to move my body more frequently than I did prior. It’s a rare case of a complete net gain with no downsides.
As far as self improvement. Things have been somewhat consistent, but there has been some faltering. Even if I don’t personally want to follow politics, it is seemingly more omnipresent than it was before the coronavirus. It’s hard to walk away when it’s in almost everything you click. Just by osmosis you’ll get something political thrown in your face a few times a day.
Even if I don’t personally want to follow politics, it is seemingly more omnipresent than it was before the coronavirus. It’s hard to walk away when it’s in almost everything you click. Just by osmosis you’ll get something political thrown in your face a few times a day.
When this all started, I would work out several times a week. In recent times I have not really worked out. I still go for walks (10k steps a day), but I miss doing body training. It is mostly because work has been erratic and the weather has been too hot. As it cools and things slow down, I should be able to get back into it.
The time I saved with not working out as much has been distributed back to more reading. While reading hasn’t been a new hobby, I have been reading more aggressively than in the past. Music books, branding and design books and other stuff have been keeping my mind active, while my body takes a break. The rest of the hobbies like 3d, calligraphy and so on have taken a back seat. I will pick them back up soon, but I needed the extra time to get ahead on my other work and plans.
Speaking of other work and plans, I’ve still been pushing on that front. I’m almost at the point where all the major planning is done and I can get back to being focused on producing things. The great part about the free time I have is that it gave me pause to think about how to best tackle these projects without hurting myself. Thankfully with some proper planning and a “it’ll be done when it’s done”, I’ve been able to take up more projects that I can progress on little by little each day. I don’t anticipate most of what I’m working on to be out anytime soon, but for me, it has been a massive help to be able to schedule projects on a more long term basis.
This has lead me to stay consistent, impassioned and to act with purpose. The problem with rushing work is that as you’re working quickly to get things done, you take for granted the steps you need to take to make sure what you’re working on is quality. Now that I’ve been able to step back and give myself more reasonable tasks that are easier to achieve on a shorter timeline, I can spread production on something over for weeks, months and even years.
Lastly, financially, this has probably been where I’ve made the biggest strides. I have been able to do a lot of saving, and because of that I have started more actively investing. I’m not quite where I want to be at the moment, but it’s not bad for a start. I finished up some plans for more active investing a few weeks ago, and as I reach my milestones, I’ll continue to increase aggression and diversification on that front. My biggest fear is about making sure I have enough money to survive in case of an emergency or I lose work. Thankfully I can say that within a few months, I should have enough to provide a safety cushion and increase aggressive investing.
Thankfully with some proper planning and a “it’ll be done when it’s done”, I’ve been able to take up more projects that I can progress on little by little each day.
A Look Forward
So that is where I am at currently. I have been very fortunate enough to continue to work, save, and progress on my current projects; however, at least in New York we’re about to head into the school season and the fall. There’s a lot of talk about this because of the Coronavirus. It’s a lot to think about so I just want to leave some space on where I think things will land by the end of the year.
To start, I very much think the Coronavirus will still be with us by the end of the year. My original speculation was that things will end around August, but the reality is that nothing has really slowed down too much in that regard. Because of this, I do think most places will continue to work remotely.
With that in mind, I am more prepared now than I was in march to endure Covid-19. I have savings and investment goals now, and this fall I’ll be looking to complete a list of healthcare providers that has been way over due. If things get even better, I may actually be able to get my permit and start working on my license (I know, I’m 30 without a license, but having a car in NYC is completely useless and I don’t travel much).
For self improvement, I think I am on a good trajectory. I want to have consistent free time and space for life to happen. No plans or anything of that nature. I’ve gotten really good at mapping out my day so I know when those times usually hit. I definitely want to continue with that, but as my planning phase for my future projects close and I move into production, I’ll have extra time during the week to dedicate a bit more time to the hobbies I’ve slowed down on recently. That’s definitely something I’m looking forward to, especially as more things start opening back up.
Also, I will continue to remove myself from most things politics. It might be hard to completely divorce oneself from that beast due to it being an election year, but I will try. I just find myself less happy when I’m in that world, and it effects my work, mood and energy for each day. I want to focus on things I can control and make better in the purview of my life, and if that reach expands, than maybe my interest will too, but until than it’s definitely in my best interest to back away.
Lastly the last several months have been a massive boost for me when it comes to building the life I want to live. I do believe I am on the right track now, and I will continue to push this aspect of my life forward. I have no announcements to make now and for the foreseeable future, but just know I am chipping away at my dreams day in and day out.
Outro
This year has been very difficult, but it has made me a stronger person mentally and physically. Out of all of the challenges that happen, opportunity does reveal itself. This year has been a showcase on how to pursue those opportunities and boldly embrace the challenge of building a better life for myself. I will continue to build and build and work through all of the mess that is happening in the world so I can get to where I want in life. 30 has been very eye opening for me in that regard. I figured I had time to slack off or whatever, but now I feel like a bat out of hell, and I’m ready to do what it takes to get the life that I want.
Thanks for reading