My 2025 Bingo Card: A Q1 Check-In

At the start of the year, I came across a TikTok trend where people were making 2025 Bingo Cards for their New Year’s goals. Cute graphic? Check. Instant accountability? In theory, yes. I figured if I made it look good, I’d obviously stay consistent. That’s how motivation works, right?

I borrowed the idea from my work life to do a quarterly reflection on how I’m 'performing', what’s going well, what needs a nudge, and what I might want to just let go of altogether. Below are a few highlights of my reflections for Q1.

Education - Achieve My Level 3 Accounting AAT

Let’s start with the goal that’s currently side-eyeing me from my bingo card.

After some complications during my Level 2, I enrolled in an apprenticeship program to finish my training. It came with solid perks - study time during work hours, and I picked up some great soft skills along the way.

Because it’s a government scheme, extra exams were required - even after finishing the actual qualification. And to be honest… I just didn’t want to. The motivation dipped, procrastination set in, and here we are: I haven’t finished the apprenticeship, which means I haven’t started Level 3.

So, this is my gentle Q2 reminder: pull it together and get it done.

Personal Development - Read 20 Books & Look Put Together Daily

Let’s talk reading. I’m deep in a slump. Is it lack of time? Patience? Or the fact I haven’t found a book gripping enough to make me ignore my phone? Could be all three.

But hope is not lost - I’m going on holiday soon, and nothing kicks off a trip better than a WHSmith airport book haul. Excited to read every blurb like it’s a personality quiz, and decide whether I’m solving a murder or falling in love with someone I hated ten pages ago.

So fingers crossed the vacation reignites my reading spark - and that it follows me home.

As for the “look put together every day” goal - it’s not about flawless makeup or putting together a show stopping outfit. It’s more about taking an extra five minutes in the morning to feel like I’ve tried. Picking an outfit I actually feel good in, taking a moment to  do a bit of  skincare, and leaving the house without looking like Hagrid on a humid day. Just small upgrades to feel a bit more human. But not supporting my current long-term situationship with leave-in conditioner and a bun.

Physical Development – A Productive Morning Routine

And while we’re talking about upgrades... Not gonna lie, this goal didn’t exactly spark joy - mainly because I could happily sleep for 14 hours straight if society allowed it. My usual routine involved waking up at 7:30am, sprinting around my room for 15 minutes before I had to leave for my commute, and not eating until lunch. A small chaos I chose, daily.

Lately though, I’ve been managing a 6:45/7am wake-up, and it’s honestly made mornings a lot less frantic. I’ve even started making overnight oats - because apparently I need a pre-made chocolate fuelled meal to trick myself into abondoning my bed. It’s not revolutionary, but it’s progress.

That’s a good chunk of my Q1 check-in: some progress made, setbacks owned, and a few hopeful glimmers going into Q2.