Year in (More Than) Numbers 2020

I've been going back & forth as to how to write an end of year summary because I have been incredibly fortunate this year while so many others have not.

Though I partially credit my success this year to my hard work, ambition & endurance, I've also been a benefactor of luck, capitalism, marital privilege, and of course the privileges I often take for granted such as being born middle-class in a Western country without physical or mental disability that impedes me from functioning adequately in a capitalist society.

I wouldn't, by any stretch of the imagination, say that this was a good year. I cried a lot, I worked basically non-stop, took on a lot of emotional burden for the sake of progress, had a lot of sleepless nights, and deeply miss my previous way of life (not to mention, my parents).

But, this was a pivotal & substantial year where many conversations, considerations, and innovation wouldn't have happened as swiftly (or perhaps, at all) without. So, though I am incredibly happy to see this year end, I do hope we learn from our mistakes, learn from our triumphs and keep that same energy when we fully emerge as a new world.

So given all of that, this is a celebration of all the good I was able to do for myself & others despite, and because of, this incredibly difficult year.

Career:

• New Job: Changed teams, starting a new role at WMG in Global Marketing allowing me to work on huge projects to democratize marketing data for the entire company and build a network of amazing colleagues and friends around the world.
• Diversity & Inclusion: Became co-lead for WMG UK's BAME/ERG Group, The Link, contributing to promising conversations and great initiatives for the UK & Global company strategy regarding Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.
• Award: Appeared on Remesh's Research & Equitable Leadership List

Giving Back Professionally

• New Project: Launched Measure of Music and filled all the spaces within hours to provide an avenue for those wanting to get involved in music & data a place to build their network and portfolios. Proudest of a participant demographic makeup of 70% people of color and 55% woman & non-binary.
• Mentoring & Advising: Had at least 20 one-on-one conversations giving encouragement & advice to primarily women and people of color students & job seekers both IRL (pre-COVID) and virtually.
• Boards & Advisory Roles: Joined the board of EmmsTech and serve as a mentor for Correlation One's Data Science for All program.

Making Money & Giving Back Financially:

• Money Made: I say this because I don't think most people benefit from not talking about money. This year, I made more money than I ever have in my life--a full 70% higher than my previous highest-grossing year due to having a full year of my London salary, the current bear market and the high GBP to USD conversion rate. These factors combined meant I hit both my age 30 salary goal and age 30 retirement goal (1 full year gross income saved) this year.
• Charity & Gifting: We donated more money than we ever have before. This is the first year we've been able to donate a four-figure amount of money to charitable organizations. In addition, we've tipped 10-15% on all deliveries, paid our service staff throughout the pandemic (regardless of whether they were working), and gave both our service & building staff all Christmas bonuses.

Speaking:

• Virtual Conferences: Spoke at 5 about music, tech & marketing including Women In Tech World Series & 3Search Data & Analytics Panel.
• Podcasts: Featured on 2 podcasts - Next Bite of Life and Chartmetric's How Music Charts UK Music Diversity Report Episode

Writing:

Wrote some pieces I'm incredibly proud of this year including:

• Becoming a Better Ally
• Everything I Did that Didn't Get Me a Job as an Ex-Pat in Sweden
• Hey Christine, I Need Money Advice: Personal Finance For Ex-Pats, Millenials & More
• So, You Want to Work in Data in the Music Industry
• To Those That (Re)affirmed For Me That There's More Than One Way to Be Black: Why Media Representation Matters

Fun:

• Travel: Didn't do much of it for obvious reasons but made it to the Arctic Circle and a bi-coastal trip to the states this year (pre-Covid) and a COVID-friendly Scotland trip.
• Games: Took some time to pick up The Sims & chess again!

Infographic & Data Sources:

I think in the new year I'll write a piece on how to track your whole life but til then I'll leave you with:

• Piktochart: Infographic Design
• RescueTime: Track your screen time, program/website usage across all devices (referral link)
• Google Location History: Track your GPS location at all times
• Last.fm: Track your music consumption
• Exist: Bring everything together! (referral link)

And Finally, The Numbers: