2020 was a year. Here are the lessons that I learned personally and professionally:

Take more time to rest and renew.

I've often felt like I wasn't operating at my highest capacity unless my calendar was completely full of projects, volunteering, and social activities. And while I certainly tried to keep that up during the first part of 2020, eventually I realized that I needed more time to rest and renew from the stresses of the year.

For me, this looks like more sleep, lots of yoga, daily meditation, and plenty of quiet time away from news, social media, and pop culture. Reading inspirational books again like Brendon Burchard's The Charge, Marie Forleo's Everything is Figureoutable, and Think Like A Monk by Jay Sherry helped to ground me in positivity and expand my perspective beyond current events.

Protect your energy and outlook.

Since reading Tim Ferriss' book The Four-Hour Workweek, I adopted his low-information diet. I don't consume much news or social media in order to keep my mind from wandering into distraction. Yet in the wake of a global pandemic and the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many other Black people, I felt it was important to stay up-to-date on current events. Consuming the news worked for a little while, but it started impacting my work. So in the last quarter of the year I returned to my low information diet. The NPR app and its headlines keep me informed about what's happening in the world, but I only read them once or twice a week. A low information diet isn't about remaining ignorant. For me, it is a way to protect my positive outlook by intentionally consuming negative news. It's kept me feeling better about my life and more energized to serve you.

The other piece to this lesson is protecting my energy. The 2020 presidential election was exhausting. Surviving during an unchecked pandemic is exhausting. I'm a naturally positive, energetic person but even I was downtrodden by 2020. So I turned to things that helped me feel good: cooking, dinners with my partner and our germ bubble, inspiring books and podcasts, gardening. I chose activities that energized me and refilled my cup so that I could continue supporting my clients.

Ask for help sooner.

I'm terrible at asking for help, and I have a feeling you may struggle with the same challenge. I'll admit that I'm working on this one, but I'm getting better. I hired a web developer to help with a client's WordPress website. I hired an editor to craft blog posts from subject matter interviews. I told my partner and my friends what I needed in order to be successful.

If you've been holding off asking for help, do it fast and early. I learned that it's much easier to ask for help when starting a project than when halfway finished. The setup cost of bringing on a new person is much lower at the start of the work. If you don't have the money to hire or contract someone through UpWork.com, tap your volunteers who may be furloughed or working reduced hours. Or simply ask for support from your team or friends and family. Your work is too important and valuable to try and do it all on your own.

It's OK to not know what to say.

Every time I wanted to post on my Instagram or write a blog post, I felt like I was ignoring the pain and heartbreak of seeing so many Black, Indigenous, and People of Color oppressed and killed in the U.S. The Trump Administration's pathetic response to the coronavirus pandemic coupled with the avalanche of outright lies from Trump and his cronies during the election left me feeling like my work paled in comparison to the life-or-death choice U.S. voters were faced with in November. So I stayed silent for most of the year. But I didn't stop working. Like you, I kept serving the people who depended on me. I donated and made phone calls and had difficult discussions. I voted. Eventually I realized that it's OK to not know what to say. It's OK to remain silent and allow your actions to speak for you. Because in a world that seems ever more infatuated with self and celebrity, being of service is what truly makes an impact on the world.

The time to act is when everyone else hesitates.

I missed the boat on this one. When so many people in our industry were waiting for the dust to settle or holding their breath for some sense of normalcy (like me), some people were moving ahead, adapting to the changing environment, and expanding their influence.

I learned in 2020 that I need to continue moving toward my goals and dreams one step at a time, because hesitation and self-doubt will too easily stop my progress.

My wish for you this year is that you'll find new and innovative ways to make your difference despite the challenges and uncertainty of the world. I hope that you'll take courageous action even when doubt and delay gnaw at your dreams. I hope that you will protect your energy for the precious resource that it is, and that you'll ask for help long before you need it.

Here's to a better year.