Fragment of Your Imagination 2026: What This Challenge Taught Me

For the last couple of years, I taught a tangle every single day for Inktober Tangles. Every. Single. Day.

I managed it. I kept the videos going out, stayed on track and completed the full month each time. But with that said, it was a bit stressful. Not stressful as a tangler working my way through the challenge but as a teacher trying to be consistent for the people following along with me on my YouTube channel.

Last month, when the Fragment of Your Imagination Challenge (FYIC) rolled around, I decided to do it a different way.

Why I'm doing this challenge differently

I was on holiday for the first week of January, up near Oban, in Scotland, with my family. My little nephews were there and we were having such a fun - if exhausting - time. I could have taken my recording supplies and filmed videos in between family time and tried to keep up with the daily prompts.

Instead, I decided to take my time with this challenge. And it's been so much better.

How I'm actually doing the challenge

Rather than filming one tangle per day, I'm batching five tangles into each video. I've been playing with individual fragments separately - sometimes just doodling on scrap paper to explore the different shapes - and then filming when it suits my schedule, not when my calendar tells me to.

What I've really enjoyed is creating more-involved strings to accommodate the various shapes of fragments included in the challenge. When you're not racing against the clock to get that day's tangle done, you can spend time thinking about how the shapes work together and how they can create something interesting.

It's been genuinely fun, and isn't that the whole point?

The pressure we put on ourselves

I want you to know that you should absolutely not put any pressure on yourself with these challenges.

Tangling is supposed to be fun and relaxing. As soon as it becomes another item on your to-do list or another thing you're behind on when you miss a day, it's stopped serving its purpose.

You don't have to complete the challenge this month, or even this year. You can do it whenever you like. You can do half of it, you could pick your five favourite fragments and only do those. You can come back next January if you want.

The challenge isn't the boss of you.

Challenges are tools, not rules

I think we sometimes forget that these creative challenges - whether it's FYIC, Inktober Tangles or something else - are meant to be tools for inspiration, not rigid rules we must follow.

They're there to give you ideas when you're not sure what to tangle or to introduce you to new patterns you might not have tried or seen before. They can also create a sense of community with others doing the same challenge.

But if trying to keep up is making you feel anxious rather than calm and you find yourself tangling out of obligation rather than fun it's absolutely fine to adapt it, slow down or skip it entirely.

What I've learned

My experience with Inktober Tangles taught me that I can maintain a daily challenge if I need to but FYIC is teaching me something different - that I don't always need to.

Going at my own pace means I'm enjoying the process more - exploring it as a tangler more informally, rather than teaching others as I go. I'm not stressing about when I'll get everything filmed and edited, i'm just enjoying the process.

And isn't that much more aligned with what The Zentangle® Method is actually about?

Permission to go slow

So if you've been looking at FYIC - or any other challenge - and thinking 'I'd love to do that but I can't keep up with the daily schedule', I want to remind you that you don't have to.

Do it in your own time, at your pace. This should be bringing you joy, not stress.

The tangles will all still be there next week or whenever you feel like trying them. They're not going anywhere. And neither is the calm they can bring you.

I'll be sharing more FYIC tangles through the coming weeks on my YouTube channel - not every day but when it suits. I hope that gives you permission to do the same.

Happy tangling - at your pace.

Lisa x

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