Unfinished Kris

I had a few main goals this year. Overall, I wanted to focus on doing what fills my cup – more writing, more creating, more friends, more family, and more focus on health.

While I was focusing on writing this year, something came clear – as will often happen while writing. I was writing about my overall creative journey, and how it led to the creative career I enjoyed for over a decade before a corporate merger snaked my role and my soul in 2020. What I realized is that I wasn’t hunting for that career. I didn’t even know such a career existed. I found my way there by doing what I loved and (the key) putting it out there. Basically, I got caught doing what I loved, and that became my goal this year.

After this a-ha moment, I started sharing some of what I am working on through various channels. My portfolio of creative outputs is no longer simply sitting on my shelves gathering dust. My hooks are in the water…

Speaking of hooks, I also focused on strengthening my ties with friends and family this year. Most of my friends and family are not local, but they don’t need to be close for us to stay close.

My professional goals for the year were minimal – keep the job. Ride it out until I can exit on my terms, and Do. Not. Let. It. Crush. My. Soul.

Here’s how it looks by the numbers…

Creative: By the Numbers

• 25+ papier mache pieces
  • critters (real or imaginary), candy, buildings, masks, people
• 12 Instagram posts of my creations (Unfinished Kris)
  • 10 were papier mache creations
  • 1 game table
  • 1 painted sign
• 5 UnfinishedKris.com blog posts
  • This one will make 6! It counts!
    • many fewer posts and words than I would like
      • shooting for 12 in 2026
• 4 full game prototypes
  • 1 board game for adults
  • 1 board game for kids
  • 1 table top game for families
  • 1 card game for families
• 3 new creative outlets
  • Papier Mache
  • Vibe Coding
  • Tabletop/Board/Card Games
• 2 proposals submitted (and accepted) for art classes I would teach
  • 0 students signed up
• 1 children’s show script submitted for an open call
• 1 new website (Face Cramp Games), where I added:
  • 11 blog posts chronicling my focus on developing games (THAT’s where all my words went!)
  • 8 digital games, vibe-coded with Chat GPT
    • Go Play! Try an original like: Pickle Fickle Fat Rat, or a twist on a classic, like: Tick Taco
  • supporting social media account
    • not enough posts to create any real engagement
• 1 big idea for a business that keeps making sense the more I work on it

Professional: By the Numbers

• @30 hours of professional learning via LinkedIn Learning
  • mostly AI and writing related
  • I learned SO much more on my own time watching YouTube.
• 11 LinkedIn posts
  • 3 articles
  • 0 related to my actual job, role, or company
• 2 major “reductions in force”, aka re-orgs, aka lay-offs
  • Somehow I keep avoiding the ax.
• 1 new boss
  • my 8th in my 6 years at the current company
• 1 major twelve-month project successfully completed
  • resulting in a system that will have massive downstream impacts for years if the company can manage not to unalive itself.
• 0 co-workers punched or cussed-out
  • 1 that absolutely deserved a punch
  • 1 that might have benefited from some spicy language

Personal: By the Numbers

• @240 mornings included exercise and stretch
  • I skipped Saturdays and some of November and most of December
  • going for at least 300 in 2026
• 50+ hours of connection time with far-away friends via:
  • a weekly video chat started in 2024
  • 4 road trips to meet up
• 20+ hours of connection time with far-away family
  • via a weekly chat initiated mid-year
• 15 pounds lost
  • Woot!
  • going for another 15 in 2026

I plan to continue these same goals through 2026. Some of the seeds planted in 2025 will ideally make it into my 2026 review – in the form of anything from seedlings to fruit.

This year, on one of my road trips to see friends, I pitched an idea that involves them. They all love the idea, so perhaps my 2026 year in review will include this idea.

AI exploration and output will certainly be a significant part if my 2026 review.

Will my big idea see the light of day in 2026?

What new creative outlets will be found in 2026?

I can’t wait to find out!