Hey friends. It’s been a while. Last time I wrote a blog post here, I had a plan. This time, the plan is posting more and putting my creative projects out there. So here we go –
Curious about what I’m creating lately?
- A bench for my mother-in-law’s laundry room
- A romantic murder mystery set on an eroding island
- A colorful jewel-toned blanket that I started making for Project Linus last year. I’m really struggling with the idea of giving it away!
And then there are all of the house projects that I’m in the midst of, like picking a whole house color scheme, designing a mural for my living room, refinishing our dining room table, or even just completing my 2026 Bingo card.
Let’s be honest. I’m probably not going to finish creating that 2026 Bingo card, but I do want to write a follow-up to my 2025 Project Bingo post, covering what went well and what didn’t.
Oh heck! Let’s just make this that post.
Was 2025 Project Bingo the ADHD Goal-Setting Hack I was Looking for?
Sort of. I like that it got me thinking about what I wanted to accomplish in 2025. Gamifying my goal-setting kept me interested in and focused on completing the goals that I’d given myself. I actually completed about 50% of the squares on my card:
- I visited a friend in another state
- joined a gym
- went on a camping trip
- sent out a short story to literary journals twice
- and more
Did I complete a Bingo streak?
Nope. And to be honest… that stung my internal, recovering perfectionist quite a bit. But even given that elitist jerk, I’m still happy with everything I accomplished.
No. I didn’t complete a 2026 Project Bingo card.
I started one. I filled out about half of the squares, but realistically, I think I’m a little bored with it. One of my ADHD strategies is changing my strategy – whether that’s my New Year’s goal setting system or deciding what I’m doing next at work. I need a novel approach to keep me interested and engaged. And a big part of what keeps me engaged is reinventing the approach. I’ll be honest. This constant invention and reinvention is a real challenge for consistency, but I’m sure with a little thought I’ll find a novel system for dealing with the worst outcomes of an inconsistent approach. Sounds like a great topic for a future post.
Can I see myself coming back to Project Bingo? Yes, with a few important tweaks.
What I’d change for Project Bingo 2026.
- I wouldn’t make it project-oriented.
The whole concept of a bingo card built on projects is an ambitious concept. I like that I was thinking about goal setting as project-based because it celebrated the fact that there would be multiple short term steps on my way to the larger goal, but what I was really asking myself to do (quite literally in some of my squares) was build new habits, and building one new habit it hard enough if we’re being honest. - Instead of choosing squares I feel I ought to aspire to, I want to choose squares that are enjoyable and attainable. What do I want to do? And what can I do quickly? The questions need to be paired together in my mind. Maybe a handful of the squares will take a month or more to complete, but that shouldn’t be the dominant trend.
- I’d give myself that free center square.
Enough said there. What was I thinking with that ‘Crochet a Table Runner’ center square? My table is over a 110″ long, and of course I had to choose a size 4 crochet hook. Yikes.
Have you tried a Bingo goal setting approach before? Leave me a comment, and let me know how it worked for you. Or are there other goal-setting approaches that work better for you? I’m always looking for a new way to do a common thing.
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