Whilst I’m writing this post, I’m sitting in my London flat trying to digest the news that London and It’s surrounding counties have been shut down again as we move into tier 4, as well as trying to avoid people who keep saying the Government have cancelled Christmas.

I can confirm Christmas most definitely hasn’t been cancelled, it’s just going to look very different this year.

I appreciate everyone’s circumstances are different, but if we are going to prevent this second wave from ruining more lives, then we do need to take this time to be sensible and to just stay indoors, even if it means not seeing our loved ones.

Rant over.

Despite 2020 being a write off in many ways, it’s been a fairly productive one for The Mindful Gingernut. We’ve doubled the number of visitors stumbling across the mindfulgingernut.com, we’ve had almost 5 times the number of likes, as well as 7 times the number of comments, and we’ve also more than doubled our social media followers.

I took the opportunity during the pandemic to focus on my engagement levels and found the time to read other people’s blog posts and to engage with them, as well as to engage those commenting on my own blog. I also had a logo created for me which gives The Mindful Gingernut a better identity.

Although towards the back end of this year I haven’t been able to read as many of your blog posts as I would’ve liked, one of my goals for next year will be to continue to engage with fellow bloggers as often as possible.

As we move into the new working week, it’s all change again. I leave my career in football behind on Wednesday after 14 years in the industry, and move into the world of freelance writing. I’m sad to be leaving my role in football, but I love change, and by becoming a freelance writer, I hope to prove that it is possible to find your dream job and to make a success out of it.

For now, I leave you with my top 5 most visited blog posts of the year. I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them:

1. 5 things I’ve done that make me feel proud of myself

I’m not quite sure what it is about this post, but for the second year running, it’s my most viewed blog post.

Looking at my analytics, it seem’s that it’s quite a searchable subject so I can only really put it down to SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). That’s not to say it’s not a half decent blog post, considering I published it within my first few months as a blogger (on the 9th December 2018 to be precise)!

Looking back on the 5 things I wrote about in this post, they are all still relevant today. In the uncertain times we’re in, it’s good to reflect on the things we are most proud of.

To find out what my 5 things are that make me feel proud of myself, click here, and let me know why you think this post does so well?

2. Kicking Imposters Butt

This is one of the blog posts I’m most proud of. Again, this was one of my early posts (originally published on 21st September 2018), but it didn’t get a reaction from people until it was re-published on 19th July this year.

It was one of the first blogs I put on my LinkedIn profile, and across my Mindful Gingernut channels it received plenty of likes and comments.

Imposter Syndrome can be a really de-moralising issue, and this post really seemed to resonate with people. Understanding what Imposter Syndrome is, and knowing how common it is, particularly in women who are looking to push forwards in their careers, goes some way to making it a bearable thing to cope with. Knowing the signs of Imposter Syndrome also means you can start to put things in place to conquer it, or in my case, kick its butt.

To read Kicking Imposters Butt click here.

3. Change, Grief & Pride

Re-reading this post made me chuckle to myself. If only I had known at the time of writing how much things would change this year. The change I wrote about at the time was about pursuing my life mission.

I wrote and published this post in June this year. I wonder how June Becky would’ve felt about her life mission, had she known her job was going to be put at risk in August, and she would make the radical decision to take redundancy to pursue her life mission!

We’ve all been through a lot of change this year, and sadly we all know someone who’s lost someone. 2020 has been a year full of losing people to the hands of Covid. Things still aren’t improving here, but it’s more important than ever to protect our loved ones so that once this pandemic finally buggers off, we can all be together again.

To check out Change, Grief & Pride, click here.

4. Why redundancy doesn’t scare me

Written and published on 13th September this year, I wrote about my decision to take voluntary redundancy.

I knew as soon as my job was put at risk, that I wouldn’t be re-applying for one of the new roles being created in place of mine.

At a time when so many people were losing their jobs and their businesses, I thought it was important to put a positive spin on redundancy. It’s certainly helped me to deal with it, and I hope it’s gone some way to helping others too.

Redundancy hasn’t been completely scare-free (the financial implications gave me many a sleepless night this year), but I did choose to view it positively.

Being made redundant has allowed me to chase my dreams, and as I sit here writing to you, whilst continuing to work part-time in my football job before I hang up my boots this coming week, I’m also juggling this with my first paid freelance job!

Sometimes it’s worth taking a risk and chasing your dreams, even if the timing does seem a bit lousy!

To find out why redundancy doesn’t scare me, click here.

5. Love or Loyalty?

Last but not least in my top 5 most viewed blog posts of 2020 is Love or Loyalty.

This post stemmed from a conversation one of my colleagues started in the office one day last year, back when we could go to work and sit and chat to our colleagues face to face without having to schedule a Zoom call!

Published in March 2019 this is another oldie, but a particular favourite of mine.

We spent a good afternoon in the office debating what was more important in a relationship, Love or loyalty?

To read which is most important to me and the reasons why click here.

Which is most important to you, love or loyalty?

So there we have it, this years Top 5 most viewed blog posts at The Mindful Gingernut this year!

Which post has been your favourite this year?

As this will be my last post before Christmas, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for tuning into my weekly posts and for supporting me on this wonderful journey.

I’d also like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Wherever you are, and whoever you’re celebrating with this year, I hope you manage to make the most of the festive season.

I’ll be back next Sunday with my final blog post of the year!

Stay safe everyone x