An Easy Way to Visually Set and Track Goals for 2025

When the new year rolls around, are you the kind of person that has all their goals written down in a nice little notebook? Each item with a list of actions for how you can complete it and a goal in mind for when it should be done? No? Me neither.

I’m more of a “put goals in the back of your mind and hope they get done” kind of person. I see so many posts on social media of people who create gorgeous vision boards or keep a journal that has custom designed pages. Something that lets them be creative while still habit and goal tracking.

For a performance artist and writer, I’m not a visually creative person. Tell me to write a short story about my goals and you’ve got a deal! But is that really the best way to habit track and make sure you’re coming out of 2025 as a better you? Probably not.

I’m sure we all heard the meme last year of events “not being on the 2024 bingo card.” In December, I spiraled down a Tik Tok rabbit hole to find out if that was just a meme or if people were actually creating bingo cards.

I’m a sucker for video game streamers who make bingo cards just for fun so you can cross things off while they stream. Oh, this hidden object game just used a diamond to cut glass? That’s one for bingo!

Turns out, people were actually making bingo cards to guide their year! Of course, I’m not typically on the arts and crafts side of social media, so I had to do some research to see what it was all about.

Getting Started

Like I said, I’m not an markers and paper, write in a nice font and draw pretty pictures kind of artist. My handwriting is sloppy at best, even when I work hard to make it look nice. And trust me, you do not want to see me free draw anything.

My digital art skills however, that is something I can work with. I used Canva to make my 2025 Bingo Card. They have so many templates to choose from so I don’t have to do as much creative cultivation. Of course none of them (that I found at least) are specifically 2025 Bingo Cards, but Canva makes their templates so easy to edit that it didn’t matter.

Once I had my favorite template, I could modify the title and add my own goals to each bingo square. The best part? Choosing little stock graphics in Canva for each box on my bingo card. It’s almost like I drew the card and had the creative ability to doodle along with it!

Choosing Goals

Canva made the artistic part of making a bingo card easy. The hardest part for me was coming up with goals to put on it!

I’m typically not the type of person who makes goals to reach for each year or each month. I have static goals in the back of my head to work towards, but I’ve never set out to complete anything specific.

The first thing I did to make goals — Google them. I needed to find a starting point to jump-start my ideas so I could tailor a bingo card to my life and my goals.

Naturally, Reddit had some great ideas. I found things like go on a solo date once a month, try a new workout class, travel to 8 new places, find a new to you hiking spot.

From just the goals I liked, I thought about how they apply to my life. Could I add having a nice dinner out with my wife once a month or making sure I go to one dance class every week? That was my springboard to understand how I could possibly come up with 24 goals for the new year.

Even though I had a starting off point, I made sure I added items to each category that is important for me to grow in: wealth, hobbies, social relationships, adventure, and health/mental health.

Whether you use my goals as a springboard or already have some in mind, make sure they’re attainable. You shouldn’t be able to complete your 2025 Bingo Card before the year is over, but it shouldn’t be impossible to complete either.

My goals are hard to achieve, but I know that if I apply myself and make a game plan, I can achieve them all.

Getting It Done

I built up making a 2025 Bingo Card in my head for all of December and most of January. Another reason why I don’t draw is because I need to make sure everything is perfect — if one little element is off, it will bug me for however long I have to look at it. Which will also make me not want to look at whatever it is.

Of course, I couldn’t let that happen with my bingo card, so I put it off.

When I finally sat down to create it, all my research and pondering over the new year only took about 15 minutes. And because I found a template on Canva, creating it was easy, fast, and efficient.

Now, I have my 2025 Bingo Card printed and hanging on the bulletin board next to my desk. That way, it’s a permanent reminder that I do in fact have goals set for this year that I would really like to keep.

What Now?

Like the true child I am, I needed some positive reinforcement to make sure I actually work hard to complete my goals. What happens when I get my first bingo? And the second? What if by some miracle I finish the whole card?

One idea is buying some mini champagne bottles that are only opened for each milestone I complete. Milestones being each bingo, then finishing the whole card.

There are 12 total ways to get bingo, then if you complete all 12, you finish the whole card. As the board fills up, each bingo will get easier and easier to complete. To motivate myself, I need a reward significant enough for the first bingo, then a gap between each milestone so I’m not rewarding myself too much.

My 2025 Bingo Card

For my first bingo, I chose the stereotypical mini champagne bottle to reward myself. I love champagne and don’t buy it often since I can never finish a bottle by myself in one sitting. It seemed like the perfect celebration for starting my 2025 goals.

For my third bingo, I’m going to reward myself by buying one clothing article that I’ve been wanting: Most likely, it will be a new pair of shoes or an expensive sweater. I always keep my clothes and shoes until they’re entirely worn out and look as old as they are. Allowing myself to buy something new as a reward is exactly the kind of motivation I need.

Now we’re going to skip a few and go to the eighth bingo. For that, I’m going to treat myself to some new books! I always buy far too many each year when I have a bookshelf full of books I haven’t read yet. Thankfully, I can make book-buying a reward, so I don’t impulsively buy them in 2025.

If I can get my act together this year and complete the entire card, I’m going to treat myself to a weekend in Manhattan to take dance classes and see some shows. I’ve been wanting to give myself a small creative retreat and completing my 2025 Bingo Card seems like the perfect excuse to pull the trigger!

Leave a comment below to tell me what your biggest goal is for 2025. Even though I have some good ones on my card, the one I’m most excited to complete is filling a notebook with free writes. Especially if I want to get a short story published this year, I need to get back into the habit of writing more often.