On Reflection, Goals & Room for Fun: Olive & Ink January 2026
This letter was originally sent to Olive & Ink subscribers in January 2026. Olive & Ink is our monthly Snail Mail Club—handwritten letters, original art prints, and creative writing delivered to mailboxes around the world. Want to receive future envelopes? Subscribe.
Dear Creative,
This time of year has a funny way of compressing everything. The past 12 months blur together just as the next 12 start demanding plans, habits, intentions. Suddenly your brain is full of books to read, bodies to build, versions of yourself to become. I know this season overwhelms some people, but I've always found a small comfort in it. Goals give me direction. A path.
Before we look forward, though, it helps to look back. An exhausted marathon runner who thinks they've only just begun will feel far more defeated than one who knows how much ground they've already covered. Every January, I sit down and reflect on the prior year. I make a list of highlights (memories, trips, friends, accomplishments) and then the lowlights, too. I usually follow it with a kind of personal "wrapped": who I dated, where I traveled, what I learned, how many workouts I finished, yadda yadda. It's grounding. It reminds me that while we tend to overestimate what we can do in a day, we deeply underestimate what we can achieve in a year.
Personally, I discovered that 2025 has been especially work-focused. I'm proud of what I built, but that reflection made something clear: I want more room for fun. So, I made myself a 2026 bingo board. Some squares are goals (read 20 books), others are small adventures (take a pole dancing class). Fun isn't a distraction from creative work; it's a vital ingredient. It invites chance, flow, and the messy, unpredictable parts of life back into the process. Your task this month is simple: reflect on your 2025, then make a bingo card for 2026—with at least one square reserved purely for fun. Hang it somewhere visible. See how many you cross off before we're back here again.
This month's image, "Do Not Rush", comes from photographer and videographer Daiki Shinomiya, known for his postcard-style photographs from cities around the world. He selected this one of Amsterdam to make into a real postcard. A reminder to carry a sense of adventure and notice the little things.
The accompanying poem, "Joakim" by Janna Ullrich, begins with a small act of defiance and spirals into play. What starts as a breach of social rules opens a much larger world: one where imagination bends structure and joy leads the way.
Here's to reflection without judgment, goals without rigidity, and a year that leaves room for delight. Bingo!
Warmly,
Britt Broadwood
What else was in this month's envelope:
📸 Print: Do Not Rush by Daiki Shinomiya
A postcard-style photograph of Amsterdam. A reminder to carry a sense of adventure and notice the little things.
✍️ Poem: Joakim by Janna Ullrich
A poem that begins with a small act of defiance and spirals into play—where imagination bends structure and joy leads the way.
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