2020 Year in Re(ar)view

So, 2020 was the perfect year with nothing wrong with it!

What? What’d I say?

Okay, but actually, in this article, I’ll be going over what my year looked like, what I succeeded with, what I failed at, and what my plans are for next year.

You can watch this reflection in video form (including the 2021 goals of other creators):

Allow me to introduce myself

My name is Anton Wong, I’m a videographer & YouTuber and I can help you understand, unlock, and unleash the power of video.

I’ve been making videos for over 10 years from when I stole my parents’ 360p camcorder to now. Since then, I’ve made close to 1000 different videos from event videos to commercials to documentaries to YouTube and social media videos.

I started making YouTube videos in March 2020 and decided to turn some of those topics into blog form for all those who prefer to read things, in the blogosphere!

But enough about ME, let’s talk about ME…but, in 2020!

“The Before Times” of the Year 2020

Now, it’s hard to imagine but, there was a time this year when the world wasn’t flipped upside down…entirely. Some call it “the before times”, but you might know it as January.

I started off the year like plenty others except I started it with the sixth episode of my new podcast, SO FAR. 

If you aren’t aware, SO FAR is a podcast I started in the autumn of 2019 where I interview people from various industries all in the early stages of their current venture.

The goal of the show is to help inspire listeners just starting out with stories of others who are not so far ahead of them. It’s a show for starters, by starters.

Anyway, at this point, I was still making the show with in-person interviews and not thinking too much of it because the pandemic wasn’t on the horizon, in Canada, yet. Plus, I would bulk record a bunch of these, anyway.

Everything in January was still business as usual. I would work events and attend events for opportunities. It was in February when things started to look a little grim. My parents and close relatives were visiting Hong Kong where the pandemic was really picking up while Canada just saw its first few cases.

March Lockdowns

Life went on…until mid-March. That’s when North America had all but shut down. All of my event work had disappeared and I, along with everyone else, suddenly had a lot more time on our hands.

Realizing how lucky I am to be healthy and have SO MANY other things in life, I decided to take the opportunity to do something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, get back to making videos specifically for YouTube.

I did what any reasonable person would do and decided to challenge myself to uploading 5 videos per week for 5 weeks. Okay, it’s not that reasonable, but I challenged myself anyway

It started off really well! I was making a lot of videos for YouTube, again, and enjoying it all. I even had one video do really well because it was search optimized.

Of course, 5 videos a week for 5 weeks is easier said than done. Trying to get work, grow my other social media, update my podcast, learn new skills, AND upload 5 times a week, I had committed myself to too much.

At the end of the 5 week, I had completed 18 out of 25 videos. But, that was still 72% of my goal and nothing to scoff at. At this point, I was back in the YouTube game. From then, I continued to make more videos all the while enjoying my process.

Summer Comparison Fatigue

Now, one thing that I struggled with is something that a lot of people struggle with and that’s “comparison fatigue”. It’s the feeling of frustration from comparing yourself to what you see of others, online.

Looking at how well others are doing on social media during this pandemic really hit me hard. It also didn’t help that we were in the middle of what most would agree is a pretty hot dumpster fire of a year.

So, in the summer, I decided to spend less time on social media and almost take a break from it. I had turned off notifications for likes and comments on Instagram but I decided that I would stop checking and posting by changing the position of the app on my phone.

Of course, habit swapping kicked in and I began consuming so much more YouTube and depressing news stories but apps like DF Tube and “Cold Turkey Blocker” helped me regulate my time. I even made a video about how I curb my YouTube consumption:

Autumn of Collaborations

And one thing I started to do, again that really helped was reach out to other creators. I reached out to collaborate on videos with people like Travis from Curious Tangents and Avery from Avery Talks About Stuff. This was in addition to having insightful conversations with my podcast guests like Jon Gross, Dalal Sabra, Jayde Vincent, Kyle Kaplanis, and Kenneth Wong.

I also began to take a sports commentary podcast my high school friends and I were doing and make it a consistently weekly podcast. This forced me to talk to more people to continue human interaction. We all need it but I, a mild extrovert, really needed it!

Coming Soon, in 2021…

So, we’ve come to the end of the year. This year, there were no big gatherings with friends and family or events to attend. But, that’s okay, because this year, I feel that despite the train wreck 2020 was, I feel incredibly motivated for next year. So, what are my plans next year?

Well, as we’ve learned, plans can ALWAYS be derailed by something but, I figure I’d set out goals, anyway. 

For my content, I’ll continue to make more YouTube videos and grow my channel and community of supporters. I plan on making more searchable content in addition to more story-based content and I especially want to make more collaborative videos with fellow creators!

I want to continue making my podcast so I can talk to people I find interesting. I’ll also work on my other commentary podcast about digital creator news and intertwine it with this channel!

I’ve also decided to start making more narrative content, whether documentary or fiction. I’m planning on even making a feature length-documentary or two. I’m still researching them but I’ll let you know what they’ll look like in the future.

I plan on making video-related products like graphic tees, digital assets, and online courses to expand my income streams. I’ll keep you updated on these, too.

And finally, for my self-development, I plan on continuing to learn more skills like colour-grading, visual effects, digital ad planning, sales, and time management. I’ll probably continue reading books like I have, last year. And if all goes well, I also plan on spending quality time with my friends and family, hopefully, in-person.

Final Thoughts on 2020

This year was tough, but, I hope you can see from this that if you take the opportunity to pivot, bad situations can be a little less bad.

But, what about you? What was your 2020 like and what’s your 2021 plan?

Let me know in the comments or @antonwongvideo on Twitter