2025 Goals Bingo
Dear imaginary friends,
How life has been treating you so far this year?
It’s been surprisingly snowy with sprinkles of sunshine around here in Copenhagen all month. Cosiest winter I ever experienced here! I’m having my decaf coffee on a lazy Sunday with fuzzy llama socks. I read/heard a lot how January felt never-ending.. For me, it was fast and confusing in many ways. I blinked, February came and it’s ending!
I could say it’s all the world news anxiety but I’ve been quite off, mostly focused on my own studio world. I spent January struggling to make myself sit down and just work. I paused client work so I could make my book project happen. It was hard to balance last year so I felt it was time to give myself the license to finish my own thing. Put all the love it deserves and see it printed. And also decided to go to Bologna Children’s Book Fair this year - what a fantastic excuse for a deadline!
Turns out I’m really bad with work carpe diem. I wanted to put love and have fun with the process. Instead, very quickly I turned into a schedule control monster panicking with my procrastination waves - I forgot how scary is to work on your dream project. Nevermind how waaaaay too optimistic I was about time and amount of work and creative energy needed. Personal project has a million more micro-decisions while riding a confidence roller coaster in the dark- no client to guide you here. It’s for sure way more exciting but also exhausting. I think that’s why trying to balance between client work is the way to go. Still big time my goal as freelancer illustrator! I will tell you all about next post.
Speaking on Goals, I love making it but I‘m not good at it. I get lost, confused and afraid of saying NO/YES to something outside the list - I like rules and either I follow or ignore completely. Not mentioning that I love goals that are too ambitious. Once, my year goal end up happening after 3 years!! Points for stubbornness, zero motivating. So, should try again?!
Yes!! The thing is, I looove a focus excuse. I’m easily distracted by new shiny things and taking side paths - big waste of precious time. So, when my friend Camilla came to me with a reels of Bingo Goals concept I said: Ok!
Have you heard about it? The idea is, as far as I understood, to create a Bingo Card with 25 goals mix between easy/simple and big goals. This way you can feel happy if by the end of the year you finish one. Extra happy when gets a full line. And so on. Like in a Bingo, it’s not really realistic to get ALL OF THEM - note to myself.
First of all, let me tell you that took me almost a full month to finish my cute Bingo Card. I had trouble to choose my 25 goals. Seems a lot, but once I started I quick got around 75 (!!) I considered creating separate cards for Professional goals, personal goals, fitness goals etc - such overachiever! so unhealthy. So after days I finally made my 25 - One card only.
I’m so happy I made it! I let it rest for a week while I was slowly also making drawings on the card. I wanted to print it and leave at my studio wall as a vision board. Since I share my studio space, having just the drawings would keep personal. Here it is!
Each space has something that I really would like to make/create/play/improve this year. Each one of would make me happy to do. I thought was also a nice way to remind myself the skills I wanna have and fun activities that I wanna spend more time doing. For instance: I put activities such screen printing, lino printing, papier marché, clay so when I feel like out of ideas on what to play on my free time. Also there are skills that I wanna improve like speak Danish, become Procreate wizard and dust off my Cricut to make stickers. Others are goals such beloved personal projects that have been on the drawer. Some dream clients/projects. Other more practical like self promotion, increase my income, craft fairs, shop sales etc. And a healthy fit one.
I made all the drawing in Procreate and had such great time making it one by one with intention. I’m not sure how will work out. It’s already February and just add to my wall.
For now I’m happy that it exists and it feels inspiring. I love seeing all these drawings/words of intention, 25 intentions fully focused on me and what I want, need, like to do more. If anything, it’s a good reminder of what I love. Specially when it’s so easy to get lost in the social media rabbit hole.
What about your goals and intentions? Do you have a word? or a list? How ambitious are you? :)
That’s all from me for now. I’m back soon to tell you all about my struggles in February.
Love, Malu x