Bingo

How’s the start to your new year? One of my besties found herself in the emergency room with one of her kids yesterday and shared on the way there that this was not how she planned on starting hers. We got a letter from the IRS saying that they are reversing their previous decision to reimburse us the paid COVID salaries connected to our Employee Retention Tax Credit because ‘Merica right now. That’s not what we were expecting to hear at the start of 2026.

Image: Family picture from New Year’s Day seconds after the ball dropped. Someone was playing in someone’s make up. 😆

But I did get a chance to make great headway on my Year Compass workbook. The last time I finished this workbook, Sugar Hill Creamery was the outcome, so it’s a pretty powerful way to start a year. All of the prompts allow you to reflect on what served you in the previous year, what didn’t, and what you want to invite into your new year.

My 2025 takeaways from my Year Compass writing reflections were that I did A LOT. Most of it was work-related. I didn’t really do much on the personal interest and hobby front, which I’d like to change in 2026. I tend to get excited about things I’m interested in and turn them into work. In fact, I was chatting with one of my 10KSB classmates about this and my lack of hobbies yesterday at an impromptu dinner that another one of our classmates organized. He thought running was one of my hobbies, and I quickly corrected him that it’s just my most enjoyable form of exercise. I shared that I defined hobbies as fun and joy-depositing activities—activities where I can lose myself in the act of doing it. Currently, running is not that for me, though it has been in the past. But collaging is, so I’m hoping to do more of it in 2026.

Images (L-R): I started my Year Compass in bed on New Year's Day; I spent almost two hours deciding on the collage I wanted to make for my neighbors for their New Year's letter. I caught up with a friend while I was planning it out and then spent the rest of our phone conversation cutting paper and assembling them on the page. There are 32 strips representing 32 units in our building.

Maybe you have already reflected on 2025 and set out some intentions or resolutions for 2026. Maybe you picked your word for the year and are filtering all of your actions through it. Perhaps you have identified some key performance indicators (KPIs) that will keep your physical and mental health on track—and it’s possible you haven’t done any of these things. If you fall under the latter but want some resources, here’s a great, simple tool for personal goal tracking that one of my 10KSB classmates put together and shared with our group. Here’s another loose, customizable behavior tracker that the Year Compass folks put together.

If you read last week’s email, you know I’m not much for hard-and-fast resolutions. They’re just not realistic for me. I prefer intention setting so that I can keep my focus on the outcomes I’d like to see in my life but not be riddled with paralyzing guilt when I don’t accomplish everything I set out to do.

I have lots of things I’d like to see us achieve at work, and for that, I’m gamifying our goals through quarterly Bingo cards. I got this idea from a new ice cream colleague that I met at last year’s ConeCon—the big, national ice cream conference that Nick and I attend each year. The card will break down my big goals for the year into smaller chunks, and we’ll share our wins through the staff management app that we use. When the company completes what it set out for the quarter, we’ll all get a prize. I also dropped the Growth Plan that I wrote as a part of the 10KSB program and our new Brand Guide (can’t wait for our refreshed brand look to drop this spring!) into NotebookLM to produce a video presentation of 2026’s priorities for our front-of-house team as well as admins.

Image: Group picture at last night’s dinner of some of my 10KSB classmates with some of our partners

As we approach our 10th year in business next year, I’m excited to see how I’m going to grow as a leader and as a more well-balanced person juggling her identities with these goals anchoring that growth.

What tools are you using to set your intentions for a promising 2026?

Hopeful,

Petrushka

Your Local Ice Cream Lady & Life/Business Coach