Our new decade started with the most unprecedented year, and certainly one that has brought about challenges, opportunities, and many lessons along the way. This is a special time of the year to reflect on the previous year and to plan for the upcoming one.
What did we learn in 2020? What do we want to do more of? What will we stop doing? Who do we want to be in this new year? These are just a few questions to reflect upon.
Here at Artisan Creative, each year we work on our vision boards and present them to one another at our first team meeting in January. The boards are a collection of our short and long-term goals and include both personal and professional aspirations. Most of our team members create physical boards, although a few opt for a digital version using Trello, Canva, Pinterest, Jamboard, or PicMonkey.
Presenting to the team creates accountability (one of our core values) and enables us to learn more about each other’s ambitions, dreams, and commitments. Many start by setting a theme for the year, and then include specific action words and inspirational quotes. All have in common a shared use of imagery that inspires, tells a story, and conveys a message to create a powerful visualization tool.
In addition to sharing our vision and goals at the start of the new year, we review our boards mid-year in our June meeting and share a recap at our year-end meeting. This helps keep us on track during the course of the year, which can have many twists and turns. This activity is one of our strongest team-building exercises, as it stays “evergreen”.
Here are five tips to create your vision board and get started on achieving your goals!
- Choose a theme
- Select words and images that inspire and are true to your core values and positivity and inspiration for yourself and others.
- Imagine the integrated life/work you want to have.
- Create your board.
- Live your best life.
You can either divide your board into sections for business and personal or mix the elements together throughout. The important point is to create an integrated board where your personal and professional aspirations are represented.
Hang the board where you can re-visit it daily—read the inspirational messages out loud— and often! Mine is right in front of my desk, so I get to see it every time I look up from my computer.
Another key element is sharing the board with others. Having an accountability partner will help you get closer to achieving your goals.
If you choose to go the digital route, change your desktop to the vision board artwork so you can see it every day for inspiration and setting priorities.
Tools needed:
- A large poster board to give you plenty of space to visualize your year, yet small enough to hang on your wall. We use the 22 x 28 size available from Staples.
- A good pair of scissors and a strong glue stick so the pictures stay on all year long.
- Variety of magazines to look through and find those inspiring words and pictures.
- (Optional) Markers/stickers to write on or embellish your board.
- Patience and Creativity.
- Time to reflect.
Cut images and words throughout the month. Select aside a day to create the actual vision board. For some, it’s easier to start with a theme and for others, the pictures and words shape the theme of the board. There is no right or wrong method, harness your creativity any way that works best for you.
What is your goal-setting process?
Happy 2021! We hope you’ve enjoyed the 576th issue of our weekly a.blog.