One thing you should know about me: I love new years. I love the feeling of starting afresh, growing and setting new intentions and goals. I was that kid who liked the new school year purely to buy a bunch of new stationary.
I’m a very goal-oriented person, a facet of ADHD that I actually really like. But - and here’s the important bit - they need to be goals I can actually achieve, or my motivation goes out of the window. This year, I’ve made them into a bingo card for an extra level of game-ifying!
2025 was a very fun year, overall. Career-wise, I got promoted and invested more time and effort into the data community. In my personal life, I found my partner and moved 4 hours across the Scottish border to be with him. There were some scary times too, but that’s a little too personal for my second ever blog.
Every year, I have a big ol’ journalling session to reflect on the year and figure out what I want to take with me into next year and what I want to leave behind. So, I thought I’d share some of these with you, around health and hobbies, to help hold myself accountable.
On my 2026 bingo board:#
Run a 10k race
I’ve dabbled in running but never stuck with it for long enough to be comfortable doing more than 5k. I want to build running into an actual routine this year!
Get back into dancing
I’ve dance from the age of 3 up until 23, but haven’t in the past few years. I’d love to get back to dancing again - for my body, but mostly for my mind.
Read 20 books
I’m an avid bookworm but haven’t ever tracked how many books I read. I’ll be using Storygraph to gather aalll the data!
Compete in a poetry slam (competition)
I’m also a writer, and love reading at poetry open mics - but the idea of competing in a slam terrifies me! But, I remember feeling that way about public speaking, which I love now.
Have my prose published
I’ve had my poetry published a couple of times, but haven’t ever submitted my prose/fiction, mostly due to imposter syndrome! Hopefully, I’ll have my flash fiction or short story in a lit mag this year.
Travel to 4 countries
Let me admit something: this is a cheat goal. I’ve already got plans to travel to 4 countries. But, having a goal on the list that I know I can achieve will motivate me to complete the others. (Hopefully!)
These are very tangible goals, which is partly what gives me motivation; but it’s also very easy for them to give me a sense of dread if I feel like I’m behind where I ‘should’ be. So, these goals will be combined with intentions - softer, more thoughtful ideas that nudge me in a mindful direction. Perhaps not as exciting as goals, but just as important!
In an ideal world, I’d check in a couple of times during the year and again in December to see how they’ve gone … but that might be a tad optimistic. We’ll see. 😅
