Why I start my year with a vision board

One of my favourite rituals for the new year is to set aside a few hours to create myself a vision board. I only started doing it 3 years ago – before that I set goals, but found that wasn’t working for me…

Problems with resolutions and goals

I’ve talked about this before in my previous article Struggling with goals? Set yourself an identity. When I started the year with a list of goals I found that:

• Written goals lend themselves to an end result rather than a process
• I went text blind – having written goals on the wall lost my attention over time
• I made the mistake of capturing the goal but not the ‘why’ or the feelings

So, whilst I did make some progress, I knew that I needed something different to help me achieve more, and that’s when my vision board ritual was born.

What is a vision board?

Broadly speaking a vision board is a visual representation of things that matter to you:

It is predominantly made up of your goals but may also include:

• Who you are
• How you want to show up in the world
• What motivates you
• Your values
• Affirmations
• The direction you are headed in

How to make a vision board

You can check out a longer article on my website for tips on how to Create a vision board to springboard your year

In short:

1. Brainstorm your goals & priorities
2. Choose motivating images & symbols to represent them
3. Organise them in a way that is meaningful
4. USE your vision board as a working document

Why a vision board works for me

• I still write out traditional goals as the starting point (I stick these to the back of my vision board).
• Most of the images on my board are from my last year: friends, family, adventures and work. This celebrates the previous year and motivates me with real examples.
• Working from pictures rather than text taps into my emotions for more motivation.
• When I’m on a slow day, facing challenges or procrastinating seeing the smiling faces on my vision board reminds me why I’m doing all of this!
• The images themselves give a sense of direction without being too strictly defined. This reminds me of my priority or focus without being as black and white as a SMART goal.
• Each morning when I journal, I set one or two intentions for the day which help me work towards something on my vision board.

What I’ve noticed after 3 years of vision boarding

Time is key

Even though I’m a little more practiced in the process, it still amazes me how much time is needed to do a good job of it! This year it took me a good 3 hours to define my priorities, find the pictures I wanted and stick it all together. It is so important to dedicate time to it!

Use words sparingly

For me, the pictures do most of the work in motivating me and representing everything I want to remember on a daily basis. Having said that, the few words that have made it onto this year's board are essential: What I want to be known for, my mission and my five core values. There are only 18 words on my board but they are fundamental to my identity.

Layout matters

Last year I sort of stuck things where they would fit and vaguely grouped them into friends, family, experiences and work. This year I took a bit more time to organise them in a way that showed links between the different areas – my goals in business help me to create a sustainable future to support my personal life. Organising my board in this way helps me to even more concretely tell the story of my ‘why’.

Less is more

This year I have fewer pictures and symbols on my board. I seem to have been able to focus on the essentials of how I want to show up and what I want to achieve without making it cluttered. That means that when I make my morning intentions I can really focus in without being overwhelmed or distracted.

Notice change

Some of the themes from last year have stayed the same because the goals are still in process or because that ‘thing’ is still a priority. It was interesting to review last year’s vision board and notice anything that dropped away. This is an excellent learning opportunity – why is that less of a focus? What do I want to spend my time on instead? Noticing what doesn’t make it onto your board can teach you a lot about your priorities and boundaries.

Your reflections

Do you have any new years goal / intention setting rituals?

And if so, are they working for you all year round?

I may be biased, but if your process is failing to motivate you, then I’d highly recommend trying something visual to see if helps you to connect your daily actions to your bigger ‘why’.

And If you want some support in defining your goals, creating a vision board or keeping momentum then you can book in a free coaching consultation.