Final Recap of 2020 Goals

Here we are again.  I can't believe another year has come and gone.  This year, I set out to conquer 2020 in a way that I've never been able to in the past.  I really wanted to feel like I accomplished something at the end of the year.  For a while, I have felt like I'm floating along as a bystander in my own life.  This year, I wanted to take some of that control back.  And to me, that feeling of control usually coincides with a checklist (or a few lists).  Thus, I find myself looking back at another set of goals.

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Back in January, I posted 20 of my Disney Goals for 2020.  The list was very similar to my goals for 2019 since I didn't get as much done in my first year of self-employment as I had hoped to.  Now, it's time to look back to see how I did.  

I've been making goal lists for about 10 years now and I've never completed an entire list before.  Nevertheless, it's something that I genuinely look forward to.  Here are my past goal posts: 2014 goals, 2014 recap, 2015 goals, 2015 recap, 2016 goals, 2016 recap, 2017 goals, 2019 goals, 2019 recap.

Much like 2019, I stuck with the basics.  After Eliot's and my insane year of traveling in 2019, this year I set out to make my goals about sticking closer to home and making magic in our daily lives.  However, I never would have imagined that we'd be sticking so close to home... or how much I'd need to find magic in our everyday lives.  2020 was certainly full of lots of unexpected experiences and surprises... not the good kind. 

For those of you who are new readers here, or for those who need a quick reminder, here is the short cliff notes version of my goals for this year:

Melissa's Blog and Disney Goals for 2020

1.) Go to Walt Disney World
2.) Get a Puppy and Give it a Disney Name
3.) Work on Disney Scrapbooks
4.) Decorate the House for the Holidays
5.) Rebrand Blog and Social Media
6.) Be More Active on Social Media
7.) Refocus on Travel Agent Job
8.) Make Disney Decor for the Holidays
9.) Make Disney Accessories
10.) Have Disney Movie Nights
11.) Have Disney Board Game Nights
12.) Disneybound/Themed Outfit Challenge
13.) Have a Disney Themed Party
14.) Take an Online Class
15.) Design an Imagineering Project
16.) Read Disney Books
17.) Paint Disney Art
18.) Decorate House with Disney Touches
19.) Launch Clothing Line
20.) Launch Home Decor Business

This list might look long, but at the beginning of the year it seemed manageable.  (Little did I know what 2020 had in store for us.)  I did a check in back in July.  Unfortunately, things haven't changed much since then.  But, let's check it out anyways!

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Melissa's Blog and Disney Goals for 2020

1.)  Go to Walt Disney World- Goal Met

Thankfully, Eliot and I took a trip to Walt Disney World back in January when we went with my cousin Kaitlin, her husband and their three kids.  Otherwise, we wouldn't have gone to Florida this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

2.) Get a Puppy and Give it a Disney Name- Goal Not Met 
While many people got welcomed new furry family members this year, this was not our time to do so.  Things were rough in the small business world and getting our puppies wasn't in the cards.  We really didn't need another mouth (or two) to feed with the financial uncertainties we were already facing.  Now that Eliot and I have figured a few things out, we're planning to do this in 2021.

3.) Work on Disney Scrapbooks- Goal Not Met 
Simply put, I haven't cleaned my office out yet, so my stuff is all still in storage.

4.) Decorate the House for the Holidays- Goal Met 

While we didn't decorate the way I wanted to, Eliot and I were able to decorate the outside of the house a bit.  We also put up a few decorations for Halloween and Christmas inside the house.  The really good news is that with our new shelves in the basement, we're going to be able to organize all of our holiday stuff finally!!!

5.) Rebrand Blog and Social Media- Goal Not Met 
While this was the perfect time to rebrand, I opted to hold back.  I'd rather do it right when my heart is totally in it.  This year, I wasn't really inspired to do my blog overhaul, but I am getting closer to how I want it to look!

6.) Be More Active on Social Media- Goal Met

I was more active on my social media accounts.  This year, I had 35 posts on my mydisneylifeblog Instagram account.  It wasn't nearly as many as I'd hoped it to be, but I did make an effort.  I was also more active on my blog Facebook account.  I was really active on our Happily Ever Hatter Instagram and Facebook.  I also managed Eliot's Snowblade Creations Facebook and helped him with posts for Instagram.

7.) Refocus on Travel Agent Job- Goal Not Met 
Clearly, this was not the year for traveling.  I didn't put much effort into this.  People weren't traveling and I didn't push the issue with family and friends.  I'm really hoping that the travel industry bounces back in 2021.  I really enjoy planning trips for clients and I'd love to get back into this.

8.) Make Disney Decor for the Holidays- Goal Not Met 
I had a few projects that I was trying to work on this year.  I ended up going in another direction with my priorities, but this is definitely on my to do list.

9.) Make Disney Accessories- Goal Met 
I was able to work on more tote bags in my sewing class.  I'm also working on a few new products for Happily Ever Hatter behind the scenes.

10.) Have Disney Movie Nights- Goal Met
I watched a lot of movies this year, although not as many as one would expect.  Eliot and I mostly watched Hallmark Channel movies.  (We crossed a ton of movies that we'd never seen off of our checklist.)  However, I did watch a few over on our Disney+ account.  Eliot and I watched Lemonade Mouth from Disney Channel.  Then, we also watched Frozen, Frozen 2, Cinderella, Hocus Pocus, Onward, Coco, Secret Society of Second Born Royals, The Greatest Showman and Godmothered.

11.) Have Disney Board Game Nights- Goal Not Met 
This would have been perfect for a year stuck at home, but Eliot's and my board game collection is still safely packed away.  I've got a place we want to display them in the finished side of our basement; hopefully we'll be able to get to that sooner than later!

12.) Disneybound/Themed Outfit Challenge- Goal Not Met 
Let's be real, I spent most of 2020 in my pajamas or in yoga pants.  Somedays, I was proud of myself if I took a shower.  For me, this was not the year to have aspirations of stylish outfits.  However, I did start to organize my clothes, so it'll be easier to find things.  Hopefully I'll have more of a reason to dress up and go somewhere in 2021.

13.) Have a Disney Themed Party- Goal Not Met 
I really wanted to have our housewarming party this year.  (Haha!)  Yeah... that clearly didn't happen.  Maybe we'll be able to have people over again in 2021.

14.) Take an Online Class- Goal Not Met 
I did sign up for a few online classes this year but I still haven't gotten in the swing of scheduling them into my days, so I'm planning to do that in 2021.  Who knows when I'll be able to take in person classes again; maybe this will tide me over in the meantime.

15.) Design an Imagineering Project- Goal Not Met 
I had an idea for a fun small-scale project, but it made no sense in our current 2020 world.  Then, my other idea fell through when Massachusetts banned Maine from traveling there in November.  Blah.  Maybe next year, I'll just go back to my other idea regardless of where we're at with the pandemic.  

16.) Read Disney Books- Goal Not Met  
I hate writing goal not met, because I did read in 2020- which is an improvement from not reading at all.  It's just that I didn't read any of my Disney books.  I also just got a bunch of new Disney books for Christmas... at least 10 of them.  So once I finish re-reading the Hunger Games series, I'll have to start a few of my Disney books.

17.) Paint Disney Art- Goal Not Met 
I have more ideas than I did before.  I actually found an online class to paint Olaf in the snow, but we don't live near any of the art studios to pick up the supplies.  I wish more paint bars would do "instruction only" classes where you get the supplies yourself.  I've found some other alternatives though... maybe I'll try those in 2021 instead.

18.) Decorate House with Disney Touches- Goal Not Met 
I hate writing goal not met on this one too.  The only reason it's not met is because I haven't actually put anything on display or hung any artwork while we're still cleaning and organizing the house.  However, I bought some really cute Disney items for our home this year.  We've gotten a bunch of great things from the Disney Store, Hot Topic, BoxLunch and from small shops.  I can't wait to actually decorate!

19.) Launch Clothing Line- Goal Not Met 
This made no sense to dive into when I finally realized how much Happily Ever Hatter was suffering.  Making another line of products and designs mostly geared for the theme parks just isn't the right thing to put all of my efforts into when Disneyland remains closed.  However, we have some plans to get this going sooner than later.

20.) Launch Home Decor Business- Goal Not Met 

Eliot and I were so close to doing this.  I had a launch date scheduled and I was getting our products ready for a large photoshoot.  Then, we pulled the plug a few days prior to the launch date.  We ended up getting a ton of orders for Snowblade Creations for the holidays, and Happily Ever Hatter's sales picked up too.  In retrospect, it would have been a mess if we had pushed this issue, so I'm thankful that we held back.  That being said, we are actively working on getting this business off the ground in 2021.

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In 2020, getting 5 out of 20 goals done seems like a huge accomplishment.  While I didn't get as many of these goals accomplished as I'd hoped to, I still feel like I made a lot of progress this year.  I was also able to check a few things off from my personal goal list.  We made major progress in organizing our house.  I prepared more meals at home and ate healthier.  I did take time to read a few books, even if I was just re-reading things I'd read before.  Eliot and I paid down a few of our credit cards.  I did travel somewhere new (Reno, NV for New Years) before we weren't able to travel at all.  Ironically, I spent more time with my immediate family... even if I spent far less time with everyone else in my life.  In the scheme of things, I did accomplish quite a bit.

You might recall that my 2020 word of the year was POSITIVITY.  I never would have imagined how much I'd need to look for that each day of 2020.  Things happen for a reason, and no matter how hard things got this year, I always tried to find the positive in it.  Was I perfect?  No; I felt plenty of gloom and doom.  But in my darkest moments, I brought it back to positivity and somehow I got through it.

So, there you have it.  Farewell 2020!  It's been real.  Don't let the door hit you on the way out.  Like most people, I'm certainly ready to say "Hello" to 2021... °o°