Positive takeaways from 2020
2020 was certainly a year for the history books. Australia had a particularly rough start with the bushfires and the year seemed to continue on a downward spiral with COVID-19 disrupting everyone’s lives.
But, as terrible as 2020 may have seemed it wasn’t all doom and gloom. 2020 gave rise to many developments and breakthroughs that offered some positive takeaways we can carry into 2021.
Work routines
Our work routines were no doubt drastically impacted in 2020. As employers implemented working from home policies, parents were forced to work remotely and adapt to working from their homes.
While this threw a spanner in the works, it allowed for more flexible and autonomous work routines, and for many, it afforded more free time to spend with family.
Now, many companies are not adhering to the traditional 9 to 5 in-office work hours, enabling more parents to adopt flexible work routines and allowing them more time to spend with their children.
Greater connection
Connection is a word that was thrown around a lot in 2020, and rightfully so. Many of us spent weeks, if not months, isolating in our homes, which imposed a very apparent physical distance from family and friends.
Instead, we were forced to rely on technology and digital communication to stay connected with the ones we love. Even grandparents became more tech-savvy, using platforms such as Zoom, ensuring they too stayed connected with friends and family which is a valuable tool they can carry into the future.
Time in isolation reinforced not only the importance of staying connected with our friends and family, it also demonstrated the possibility of staying connected without the constraints of time or place.
New perspectives
2020 enabled us to start redirecting our priorities and afforded us new perspectives of what really matters in our lives. Many people started to focus on the things that made them feel grateful and happy, rather than worrying about the uncertainties of the future.
There has been much more emphasis on staying connected with friends and family, maintaining a healthy work-life balance and focusing on personal health and wellbeing, all of which are valuable outlooks that can be carried into 2021.
Appreciating our teachers
A new appreciation of the essential role teachers play in children’s lives was sparked as a result of school closures across the country.
Many parents became tasked with home-schooling their children, which shone a unique light on the various skills it takes to be a teacher.
Teachers have begun to receive the recognition they deserve, with more parents expressing their heightened levels of gratitude and respect for their children’s teachers, which is an important attitude to maintain this year and in the future.
Environmental recovery
While the inability to travel, either for leisure or business, inevitably changed many of our 2020 plans it did have one major positive outcome - improved air quality.
In June 2020 Australia had recorded 3% less carbon dioxide emissions than the previous financial year and levels are expected to drop to their lowest in over 2 decades.
The realities of these decreased emissions, as a result of our time in isolation, has prompted many companies and individuals to focus their efforts on implementing sustainable initiatives - steps that can help us to build a better and cleaner future.
While 2020 was not quite the year anyone was expecting, it did teach us the importance of resilience and adaptability and it gave us all an opportunity to experience and learn things we may not have otherwise.
About Edstart
Edstart is a leading technology and financial services company providing funding and payment services for education. We offer fee management solutions to schools and flexible payment plans to parents to help make school fees easier to manage.
To see how we can help you, visit our main website.
Find out more
Edstart is a leading technology and financial services company providing funding and payment services for education. We offer fee management solutions to schools and flexible payment plans to parents to help make school fees easier to manage.
To see how we can help you, visit our main website.
Find out more