What Did We Accomplish In a Year?

Creators are sharing their 2025 accomplishments online. Let’s take a look at ways we can measure a year and what might help us achieve a healthy and productive 2026.

Healthy Measurements

Measuring what we’ve accomplished can be healthy. Just putting together the list can help us recall all that we did in a year and reflect on what that meant to us. We can get a sense of pride from accomplishment.

We might also have some regrets, hard-earned lessons, or setbacks. Recent studies indicate we can learn a lot from these, perhaps more than from successes, if we adopt the right mindset and learn from these moments. Other metrics might not be helpful. They may cause anxiety or leave us feeling hollow. We want to avoid those metrics unless they are absolutely necessary to the work we do.

What might we measure? Figuring out what you might want to track and how to track it lets us make sure we track the categories helpful to us. Let’s take a look at possible metrics. I provide a list at the end.

Sessions Played/Run

An easy way to track these is through session notes. Check the file date or session date and see how many games you ran or played in in a year.

I love an excuse to read over session notes, so looking at my session notes brings me great joy. I also sometimes find I misremember which year I ran something. Looking at session notes helps me remember it all more clearly. Depending on what you do, you may track sessions in a particular way, such as sessions for your home campaign, sessions you ran at conventions, or sessions played in your favorite RPG.

How did I do? I like to track which games I play and run. I GMed 3: Deadlands, Draw Steel, and D&D. I played 13 (7 new): Alien (including the new version), Blood on the Clocktower, Coriolis, Daggerheart, Draw Steel, D&D, Invisible Sun, One Ring, Pirate Borg, Shadowdark, Star Trek Adventures, Toon, and Walking Dead. I know I play and GM a lot, so I am less concerned with total sessions and more interested in the next two metrics.

Campaigns Started / Campaigns Ended / Campaign Sessions

I am fascinated by how a campaign can go longer than I expect. On the positive side, this is because the players and I breathe more life into the provided campaign structure, adding personal stories and new dimensions. And, scheduling conflicts always increase the duration of a campaign. Measuring a campaign’s start and end and total sessions helps us better predict future campaigns.

How did I do? I started and ended a great campaign, began another, and ran playtests. My Deadlands campaign (running Horror at Headstone Hill) was a ton of fun (even if Savage Worlds wasn’t our favorite system)! We played 13 sessions, starting in January and ending in September. The previous year I had run a 2-3 session prequel to help us learn the rules. I also started a Draw Steel Delian Tomb campaign this September, with 7 sessions for the year. This one is not at the hallway point yet. When I wrap it up, I’ll playtest Crack the Sun! I also ran various other playtests this year, with excellent results.

Different RPGs Played/Run

I love trying out new RPGs, so a metric I track carefully is a list of the total number of RPGs I have played. I love adding more RPGs onto that list, because it is a sign of my trying out and mastering new approaches and play experiences. My total all-time is more than 80 different RPGs played or run.

How did I do? This year I played 7 new RPGs! I GMed 1 new RPG. I enjoyed making videos of some of these (including some I played in 2024), such as 5-Room Learn-to-Play Deadlands, Daggerheart, and Pirate Borg!

Different RPGs/Sourcebooks/Inspiration Read

I read a lot of RPGs and supplements. A couple of years ago my wife and I started the habit of ending the evening with twenty minutes or so of reading. This has really helped me read more RPGs cover to cover and to read more supplements, novels, and inspiration.

How did I do? I don’t personally count the number, but it is delightfully high!

Crafted and Painted Items

This can be a huge category for many. Painting minis, crafting terrain… these can be awesome at the table and bring a ton of enjoyment.

How did I do? I crafted my Draw Steel DM Screen Initiative Tracker and began work on my Daggerheart Fear Tracker. I probably painted a few minis and terrain as well, and I updated my advice on storing minis and terrain with a new video! I also set up some really neat game sessions with Dwarven Forge and other terrain, which I find creatively pleasing. Still counting as creation, I created an Excel-based Draw Steel Adventure Tools for Patreon members, to more easily create Draw Steel encounters and more!

Conventions/Stores/Public Events Attended

I’ve created a video on the high cost of conventions and whether they are worth it for creators. I’m a big fan of community through organizing store events, which can have a great local impact and teach us many valuable skills. Another variant metric is to track whether we taught new players how to play or GM.

How did I do? This year I again helped coordinate the D&D events for Baldman Games at ECCC and PAX-West, filled with new players. I attended Winter Fantasy and Gamehole Con. All of these are likely to continue next year as I get a lot out of them and can keep costs manageable. I always dream of helping with store play again, but I simply lack the time.

Blogs / Podcasts / Videos

If you like to share your thoughts and guidance with communities, counting the number of blog posts, podcast episodes, or videos released may be helpful. Or not. Sometimes it’s enough to know that you are periodically making a difference. I don’t count episodes of Mastering Dungeons other than to know that we have very few weeks where conflicts cause us to skip a week. I don’t count episodes on my Alphastream YouTube or blog because I know priorities like family and friends come first. This is also why I don’t generally worry about metrics like top posts, downloads, words, views, or the like.

What I do worry about, because I would like to find ways for the hobby to increasingly displace my day job, is whether the activities seem to create or help create income. I set yearly goals and see how close I come to them or if I exceed them. This can be ad revenue through YouTube but is most importantly support through Patreon. How did I do? Slower than I wanted, but I am not giving up due to the great comments I get from people telling me that what I create is helpful.

How did I do? I am particularly proud of the reactions from new players on my videos covering the Heroes of the Borderlands D&D Starter Set. It was so gratifying to hear from first time DMs saying the videos helped convince them to run the set or helped them do it better. Videos like my how-to on Cinematic Montage Character Intros weren’t as popular, but the folks who watched it really liked it. I wrote several blogs examining where the D&D 2024 design surpassed or fell short of the 2014 5E design, including this look at the stark difference in playtesting. My post on how to create monsters for 5E 2024 has been well received. On Mastering Dungeons we covered lots of amazing topics with great guests. One of my favorites was the look at how the hobby is changing with games like Daggerheart and Draw Steel, and what this revolution or evolution means for D&D and RPGs. We ended the year with two great shows examining the history of the DMsGuild and its future (and that of D&D Beyond).

Products Written/Started/Released/Crowdfunded/Delivered/Sold

Creator strategies differ, so what you track will depend on your strategy. Tracking revenue and profit (including the cost of your time) is vital if you are serious about turning a hobby into an occupation. Revenue over time can tell you about trends regarding audiences and product appeal, as well as format/platform and much more. Tracking output can help measure efficiency. I am focusing here on a creator who writes or creates written products, but you could be an editor, layout expert, artist, or project manager and track various elements of your craft to provide you similar insights.

I do track sales of products, though I generally look at this quarterly. I also look at the revenue from freelance projects, including conventions I help run and projects I manage (such as Crack the Sun for Draw Steel).  I always look at my words written and I compare these to the revenue on the project and the time it took me to create a work.

There is an additional metric here that we could track: projects we turned down. It’s important for me to say no to projects that either I lack the time to do well or that conflict with my goals. I could also turn this metric around and call it “projects I couldn’t do for which I recommended another person,” because whenever I can’t do a project I try to suggest at least one person I know who could do that work.

How did I do? The DMsGuild and DriveThru provide slowly decreasing royalties, but I am still glad I have the revenue source. I am confident that writing more there would boost royalties, if I had the time. Without new products, 2025 earned 23% less than 2024 and 55% less than in 2023. Patreon grew slightly, as did YouTube ad revenue. Freelancing grew significantly due to the MCDM managing director roll for Crack the Sun. Overall, steady growth but short of my goals and despite more time investment.

New Skills Acquired / Honed / Understood

It can be easy to forget this metric and then wonder where our time went. It can be hugely valuable to master a new platform, new tool, or new way to create. In recent years I’ve moved from learning how to make podcasts to learning how to edit and produce videos and how to manage RPG projects. On the GM side, new techniques for handling travel and worldbuilding have been fun and may eventually become a product. My role as managing director for Crack the Sun represents the big change for me here and opens new possibilities for the future.

Mental Health

It can be helpful to identify places where as a GM or creator we doubt ourselves, experience anxiety, or could make mental health gains. Thinking through what helped and how to create a healthier environment can lead to great gains. For me, it’s healthy to set boundaries on how and when I check royalty revenue, video performance, or other factors over which I will not react instantly, but rather need long-term data to make adjustments.

Productivity Gains

Depending on your goals, it may be beneficial to track how productive or efficient you are and whether you are increasing over time. This could be the number of sessions your home group managed to schedule and play, the number of words you wrote per month, the number of freelance projects you booked and finished, how long it takes to make a podcast episode, or the time it takes you to research and outline before you start creating.

How did I do? I improved the speed of various aspects of podcast and video creation… and then found more ways to make videos and podcasts better… which cancels out the efficiency gains. I struggle with this one. I did get faster at outlining for projects.

Games Purchased / Collected

Collectors, I’m talking to you! If you love seeing shelves fill to the bursting point and perhaps showcase a rare game or adventure, I recommend a spreadsheet tracking your collection and its worth, plus the date when you added each item to your collection.

Goals Set/Accomplished, Resolutions

I wrote about resolutions a few years ago! Measuring accomplishments can be a part of my recommended approach to resolutions. If your resolutions are incremental or flexible, then it makes sense to measure progress toward them over time.

As I share in my article, I really like to set goals while also being forgiving of the progress I may need time to make. Reviewing my goals is really helpful.

How did I do? I am really happy with the quality of my work and the types of work I am doing. I feel like the audience I have is very positive about what I create. However, I had set goals for YouTube revenue and Patreon growth and those were slower than I had hoped. I’ll keep refining my approach to try to draw audiences without compromising on quality.

List of Metrics

Here is the collected list of metrics I reviewed above:

• Sessions Played/Run
• Campaigns Started / Campaigns Ended / Campaign Sessions
• Different RPGs Played/Run
• Different RPGs/Sourcebooks/Inspiration Run
• Crafted and Painted Items
• Conventions/Stores/Public Events Attended
• Blogs/Podcasts/Videos
• Products Written/Started/Released/Crowdfunded/Delivered/Sold
• New Skills Acquired / Honed / Understood
• Mental Health
• Productivity Gains
• Games Purchased / Collected
• Goals Set/Accomplished, Resolutions

Zooming Out

When we look at a metric or two, we may feel like we didn’t accomplish that much. Zooming out across all the metrics, that’s where we can truly appreciate all that we do in a year! It can also help us see other harder to measure gains, such as the communities we help form, friendships we made, and creativity we experienced.

Action for the Year

Having reviewed our metrics for the previous year, we can assess our goals for the new year. Which categories do we want to see improve, and what might help achieve that? Are there categories that don’t do much for us and thus where we should spend less energy and time?

I like to go back periodically and assess How do we define success? What is our creative passion? The answers can help us set great goals for the coming year. What will I change up this year? For now I must remain coy. Stay tuned!