What I Learned in 2020 – Conor Duignan, barrettSF

By thesanfranciscoegotist / December 21, 2020 /

2020, what a ride huh? I, like most of you, learned a lot this year. Here are a few nuggets:

• An agency isn’t its four walls or the wine on tap, it’s the people. But damn do I miss the wine.

• Production over ZOOM works, but the craft service doesn’t compare.

• Even 10 months into a global pandemic I will still forget my mask when leaving the house and have to run back up my stairs 8 out of 10 times.

• Tiger King. Not sure what to add to that. Just, Tiger King.

• I thought I would be in my 80’s before I spent an entire year exclusively in sweats. I was wrong.

• Live music is more important than I knew.

• I’ve spent more time looking at myself this year than in all of my previous years combined. #zoomproblems

• There’s always money in the banana stand.

• This country is more divided than I thought possible.

• Racism, sadly, is alive and well.

• Baking sourdough bread at home isn’t worth it. Or at least, me baking sourdough bread at home isn’t worth it. I suck at it.

• Dogs were the big winners of 2020.

• We don’t need to be together in a creative space to work together and be creative.

• I’ll never again take for granted a hug from a friend or a full dinner table.

Ultimately, my greatest takeaway from this year is that we can overcome anything if we stick together. That’s true for a San Francisco ad agency striving to make great work, it’s true for a nation divided, and it’s true for a planet trying to turn the page.

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Conor Duignan is Head of Production / Associate Partner at barrettSF.