During the first few days of the year, I always take a moment to reflect on the past and the new year, and on which goals I want to pursue this time around. The podcast episode '9 powerful reflection questions for 2021' by Jay Shetty has made this a lot easier. He asks 9 questions that make you think about what really counts. Because if we know what matters, we can start spending our time better. Or wasting it. It just depends on how lightheartedly you want to look at it! :) In this post, you can read the last 5 questions and my answers.

In part 1 of this article, you can read my answers to questions such as what made me happiest and unhappiest in 2021, what my biggest lesson was, and what I wish I had done more of. Curious? Click here for more.

5. What do you want to do less of in 2022?

What did you do a lot of, or what were you often occupied with in 2021, that you now really want to cut back on or even let go of completely? Think of (unhealthy) habits, pastimes, or situations that drag you down.

My answer:

Social media. Although I really enjoy engaging in digital communication through words and images and love talking to you, I also waste a lot of time on social media. I’m not talking about work-related time (posting, engagement), but really about mindless scrolling without a purpose. I regularly notice myself reaching for my smartphone to look something up, only to scroll through the Instagram homepage for 30 minutes or more, completely forgetting why I needed my smartphone in the first place. On average, I spend 1 hour and 26 minutes a day on Instagram. On some days, this is 2 hours and 29 minutes or more. All that time could be spent much more productively.

6. What was your biggest success in 2021?

This question is career-related and goes deeper than you might think. Shetty asks you not only to name your greatest success of the past year, but also to fully dissect it to where it originated. When did you take the first steps that led to this success? When did you have the first thoughts and make the first decisions about it? Perhaps this success goes back months or even years! As you can see: the seeds you plant today are the flowers of tomorrow.

My answer:

My biggest success of 2021 is undoubtedly the second Flair publication about my Watch me bloom collection . With these illustrations (available as greeting cards and posters), I want to shine a hopeful light on victims who are trying to get back on their feet after sexual misconduct. Making the subject open for discussion and offering support to victims is what I strive for. In October , no fewer than four of my illustrations were published full-page in this popular magazine , alongside interviews with people who, sadly, also became victims of sexual misconduct.

In 2020, I saw the coloring pages for the #bloomforchange campaign for the first time. That is how I got to know the organization behind it, PUNT. vzw. Shortly afterwards, in May 2020, I posted the first message on my social media about this organization and their message (making sexual misconduct a topic of discussion, helping victims, and addressing the inadequate legal framework surrounding it). I felt very connected to PUNT. vzw because I myself had been a victim of sexual misconduct multiple times. With every news report that brought a new case to light, my stomach turned a little more, and I became angrier. I wanted to do something with these emotions and help the world. Sometime in January 2021, I started sketching, initially for just one drawing. I posted this on Instagram in March with the caption 'Watch me while I bloom,' referencing a song by Hayley Williams.

After this, I started thinking more and more about a complete collection centered on this theme. I entered into discussions with PUNT. vzw about a collaboration. When I sat down with one of their employees, Nikki De Wolf, I decided that a portion of the proceeds from this collection had to go to this non-profit . Last summer, I launched the 'Watch me bloom' prints . It became a positive, powerful collection about the healing process following such heavy events. I wanted to reach a larger audience than just my followers on Instagram. This is when I sought the advice of a journalist friend, Eugenie D'Hooghe , to help me write my very first press release. Flair magazine accepted the request for a mention in their issue in the Love List section. Eugenie encouraged me to make this publication bigger, and so the second publication eventually came about, a year and a half after my first 'seed'.

7. When did you fail in 2021?

When did you feel you failed professionally in 2021? Was this fail really that bad? What were the consequences, and what did you learn from it? View failures more as a learning experience for the future. Think of a moment in 2021 when you failed in your plan and how this unfolded.

My answer:

Last year, I wanted to start developing creative workshops. That idea had been in my head for a while, but I didn't dare take the leap. Eventually, I gave a very informal version of the workshop to a friend as a test. He loved it, and his experience gave me the courage to fine-tune the concept and get started. I developed my idea but soon ran into mixed opinions from people who didn't like it at all. Additionally, I realized that my timing and budget were far too tight. I had no choice but to put the idea for these workshops on hold , work everything out more concretely and test it out first, and only then start. This dragged me down enormously and felt like a gigantic failure. In the meantime, I am a bit more hopeful again and think that my reworked version of the watercolor workshop could even be a (bigger) success, now that I have thought about it more and have a slightly larger budget. Entrepreneurship is a learning experience!

8. What do you want to learn in the new year?

With this question, Jay Shetty focuses on growth rather than goals. Growth setting instead of goal setting , as he puts it. Learn, plan, and prepare yourself for the growth you want to see that can bring you closer to your goals.

My answer:

Living a more organized life , that is something I really want to master. Sticking to agreements more regarding planning and budget. Estimating time management better and sticking to the schedule. Researching and determining budgets in advance instead of rushing through it. Something else I want to improve at is networking . And on a personal level, I want to improve my surfing skills!

9. What is your favorite way to recharge?

We reflect on this too little! Recharging is so important.

My answer:

Taking a rest (both in the form of sleep and me-time) and being by the sea to walk or surf are my favorite ways to regain my energy.

Did these questions help you? Which question did you find the hardest? Let me know in the comments or share it on social media and tag @beyondtheclouds.be

Love,

Margaux

Update 2026: I finally decided to pull this blog post '9 questions on how to waste your time wisely (part 2)' from my drafts and post it after all. Unchanged and years after I wrote the draft. Because the core remains the same. In 2022, I didn't find the courage to publish this blog post (and many more blog ideas). I was going through a severe depression, during which creativity disappeared from my life and had to make way for survival. Fast forward to today, writing beckons more and more. I see this action (publishing a years-old post after all) as a confrontation with my inner perfectionist and as an opening to more writing in the (near?) future.