Erin Jones has given the world a new perspective on meeting their New Year’s resolutions this year—by converting them into a game. Since 2023, the TikToker has been using the strategy, and she reported outcomes to her TikTok community.
In a now-viral video with over 350,000 views, she said, “I’m turning my New Year’s resolutions into a bingo card. And now that it is a game, I I’m going to win. All right? I’m going to get multiple bingos.”
In an interview with People, Jones said she initially thought of bingo as a method to make resolutions more enjoyable—and competitive.
She explained, “Since I’ve always had trouble with standard goal methods, like habit tracking, I decided to lean into my competitive spirit and gamify my goals.”
“As a former maternity leave teacher, I knew that turning a complex lesson into a game or challenge always inspired my students to try harder to achieve their goals and the same is true for adults. When you can make an obstacle fun, it’s not intimidating anymore and you’re excited to put in the work and accomplish it.”
According to her, the trick to winning bingo while also including big goals is to blend difficult-to-achieve tasks with attainable ones.
She emphasized, “Implement ‘base goals’ and ‘stretch goals.’ A base goal is a goal you have minimal doubt about completing this year. A stretch goal is a goal that takes you out of your comfort zone and usually represents a theme you’re trying to embody.”
She went on to say that even though she knows she will tick off a number of things on her card each year, she keeps adding “delusional” expectations to the mix.
Jones went on to say that she has already been compensated for being bold enough to set her own goals.
She recounted, “I said that I wanted to go to Greece in my bingo card video (which was delusional at the time, since I didn’t have international vacation money), but Delta Airlines saw my video and gave me two free roundtrip tickets to Greece. I was convinced that things like this only happened to girls with millions of followers and would never happen to me, but once it did, it changed my entire outlook and made me believe that I could have the life of my dreams. Anything is possible if you put yourself out there.”
Among the goals she crossed off in previous years? Go to a concert (she went to Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour), vacation within the U.S. (she went on three trips), try eight new restaurants, and go dancing.
Jones said when she creates her own bingo card each year, she asks herself: “What hobbies do I want to try? What do I want to experience? What do I want to see? What would I do if I knew no one would laugh at me?”
Meanwhile, this year, she shared her goal of making two separate cards: one with nine squares, and one with 25 squares, and explained why. “Because, I have a lot of career goals, fitness and finance goals — but I have also have a lot of silly, goofy, side-quest goals. And I feel like it’s going to take up too much of the card. So why not have two?”
She advised, “A good blend ensures that your year is balanced and that you don’t burn yourself out trying to accomplish goals that may take years to complete. A mix also just makes it easier to win bingo.”
Jones said she encourages people to make resolution bingo cards so they may treat themselves to a reward for each goal they accomplish, no matter how modest.
“I want to encourage people to still be proud of themselves even if they didn’t get bingo. That’s why I urge people to reward themselves after they complete each square, and not just when they hit bingo,” she remarked. “This increases motivation and inspires you to tackle the next goal now that you have proven to yourself that you can set a goal and achieve it.”
