Surprisingly not a disaster.

It’s time to look back at how I did with my 2020 themes. In general, with the pandemic, the election craziness and everything else that’s happened this year, I feel like I need to give myself a pass. But honestly, I’ve done okay with my themes. And looking to 2021, I see some specific things I need to work on.

My four identity statements/themes for 2020 were:

I am a graduate student.
I am a healthy person.
I am a typeface designer.
I am a reader.

I had planned to finish my Master’s degree in 2020, but because of the pandemic, I decided to extend my program by a semester. My classwork is done and all I have to do is finish my thesis.

The pandemic completely sidetracked my efforts to be healthier. I was making good progress in March when everything shut down. And then the combination of stress and an inconsistent schedule pretty much obliterated any hope of being healthier in 2020.

I did actually make a significant progress with typeface designs. I massively overhauled one of my older typefaces to release SbB Powertrain. And I’ve completed three other typefaces that I will be releasing at some point soon. One unanticipated side effect of focusing on type design is that it caused me to also rework my website and rethink some marketing and distribution strategies.

I read a bunch this year for grad school, but not as much for fun. The library closed due to the pandemic, which limited my supply of books. But honestly, I found it really hard to settle into a book this year. I’m not sure if it was the pandemic or just stress, but at the end of the day, I just didn’t have the energy to read. And the stuff I did try and read, I just didn’t stick with.

I’m actually proud of my 2020. I made progress towards my degree and I released some typefaces. I read some, but not as much as I wanted to. But I failed completely at being healthier.

Looking forward at 2021, I recognize a couple of things I have to work on. I felt like the year started strong — even during the early days of the pandemic — but when September hit, the wheels fell off. I was working, taking a class and teaching a class all from the same desk in our bedroom. My wife was trying to figure out how to be a virtual kindergarten teacher and my kids were adapting to the new school year with a hybrid schedule. Any semblance of a schedule disappeared. The result was simply overwhelming. For 2021, I need to figure out how to maintain a schedule and structure to find time for the things I need to do.

Around the same time as we returned to school, the election coverage ramped up. I’m a news junkie, but I’d done a really good job of avoiding social media. That fell apart in October, when I started to pay more attention to Twitter and even look at Facebook on occasion. I thought for sure that things would calm down after Biden was elected, but the Trump chaos train continues. I’ve written on this blog about finding a balance with social media. As 2020 ends, it’s time for me to reevaluate that relationship.

I’ve never been happier to flip over to a new calendar year. I’ve been working on my planning process for 2021 since early December and will post about that tomorrow. But considering all that’s happened over the last year, I’m calling my 2020 a success.

Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, researcher, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create. Bob occasionally and begrudgingly posts to Twitter and Instagram. And he wears a mask to protect his community.