2020 - a year in review

You'd think being 100% remote since March would have resulted in tons of builds, side projects, posts, and other fun stuff...

👎🏼 NOPE

It's been a tough year.

Remote work is hard, and my engineering department is very meeting-heavy. Here are several things I've learned since the pandemic started:

• It feels like my coworkers have been reduced to avatars
• Everyone's calendars are 80% booked all the time
• Impromptu design sessions are nearly impossible
• Actual whiteboards are 1000% more efficient than Mural/LucidChart/etc
• In between all the meetings and check-ins, it's hard to find time to actually write code

And it hasn't been just work. This year has left me feeling isolated... and a lot of times, trapped at home. I've lost count of the times this year that I wished I had the motivation to build something, but instead felt like all of the energy had been sucked out of me.

It hasn't been all bad, though... I got promoted to Engineering Lead, and now I'm managing a team of developers! I also helped launch the first build of our next-generation ad building platform in late May.

This ended up being a bit of a ramble, but here's to better year in 2021! 🍾🎉