How I managed to get all the important goals on my vision board accomplished
New Year planning was something I started after my toxic, abusive relationship in 2020. I have changed so much in the last five years, which I am so proud of. But I had a totally different approach to it.
I love vision boards, going on Pinterest with a nice cup of a warm drink, and just getting lost in the planning. But I had a different approach to getting rid of the old year and planning for the new one.
Last year I had a rough year, a really rough one, so I changed my approach to planning. And even when some routines stayed the same, I am in a new season, just living on my own for the first time, away from my toxic family.
And I would like to share my view and tips with you, hoping it can help you.
Something always came true of my vision board in the past years, but this year I did it! Last year, I changed my plan for this year, and there is an important lesson that I learned this year: Have a topic for the year!
Obviously, you can do other topics on your vision board, but have one main goal. Main theme for the year. It could be whatever you want:
Business
Healing
Get your degree
Self-love
Or whatever you want, that comes to your mind. And plan your year like this.
What is the most important to you right now?
What do you want to focus on right now the most?
And that is where your heart and mind are set on, knowing what your main focus is doesn’t make you so overwhelmed going into the new year. And it helped me to achieve a lot of my vision board and goals this year.
For years, I have ‘moving’ out on my vision board. I put it there without even remotely having the money four years ago. And this year I did it, and since I took a big step like this, some things on my vision board weren’t important to me anymore at this time. And it’s okay when things change.
I didn’t write as many books as I wanted to, but that’s okay because I sit in peace in the evening. I wake up in the quietness of my own place, and I laugh and dance more than I ever did in my twenty-five years of living. And that is priceless for me. I never thought I could be so full of happiness. It sounds sad, but I never really knew what happiness was until now.
This year is healing for me, so next year I can put my focus somewhere else.
1. Finish everything you started, to start fresh
Something that helped me is to finish everything I started (As long as it’s manageable). If I have a project I am working on, I finish that. And that is how I am doing it this year, too. Or mostly.
I like to do it to my best ability, it’s relieving to have a fresh start when January 1st starts, and you can start fresh with what you had planned for this year. You deserve a clear mind and not to be stressed in the New Year already.
Also, don’t judge yourself too hard when you can’t manage everything before then. I don’t want to overwork myself; I have a long list for the next few days to get done. Small steps every day are better than doing 10 hard things all at once and burning yourself out for days.
2. Vision board
I already started to speak about this, but the most fun thing for me is creating a vision board, and I found out how they work best for me. While a few years ago I put words on there, and everything I thought was aesthetic, I stopped that.
Now, I only have pictures on my vision board that deeply resonate with me or just make me feel something. Instead of words, I use pictures that SHOW what that means to me, because different words could mean different things for you.
Let’s use ‘Health’ and ‘Healthy’ for example, everyone has kind of a different meaning to it.
For some, it’s: Waking up at 5 AM, going to the gym or a morning run, no junk food, stretching, and making 10K.
And I love that for them, I wish I could do all of this, but I can’t. Not because I am lazy, or because I have excuses, but because I am chronically sick.
For me, health is: Balance. Move my body in a way I can, and that looks different. Some days I can do a full workout with standing pilates, and on some days it’s just dancing around to music. It’s giving my body, with my sleeping disorder, the most sleep I can, even if it means sleeping in longer. Keeping my migraines in the ‘Migraine seasons’, I get in check and choose accordingly to that. For me, health is: Listening to my body.
There is no right or wrong answer on that; for everyone, it means something different, so I put images of what it means to me on my vision board. And this is important to make your vision board for yourself. And you only.
I did so many things on past vision boards because I thought it was something I needed to do or have, since it was what everyone did. This is not a good reason, and it won’t make you happy. Trust me on that, I did it a lot.
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
3. Goals & SMART goals
I like to use my vision board to plan, get inspired, and based on this, I make a list of goals that resonate with it. Just take a piece of paper and brainstorm anything that comes to mind.
S - Specific
M - Measurable
A - Achievable
R - Relevant
T - Time-bound
And then take this list and circle the ones that are important to you; these are the ones you work with. Split each goal according to the picture, and another tip: Schedule them in your plan.
I love to split my goals. I am huge on the achievable part, because that is the thing that will make you successful. Don’t overdo it. I did it. For years, it will only get you burned out and not focused anymore. Smaller things are important for the bigger picture.
Reminder: Small steps every day, is more progess than no progress at all!4. Reset your space
I know, we all hear this at this time of the year when we see the planning, but it’s so important. It goes back to the starting fresh I talked about earlier. You get in the New Year fresh, without a mess, you already need to take care of it.
A clean space really is a cleaner mind; it gives you a safe and cozy environment to relax and a lot more motivation. You don’t need to overdo it, just tidy and clean something that you can do on one day, maybe just an afternoon, but it will make it easier for you.
If you want to do more, you could redecorate your place as well. You don’t need to buy new decorations if you are on a budget, just work with what you have and maybe change furniture around or redecorate with what you have in your place already.
5. My favourite tradition
I have this tradition that I love doing, and the one year I didn’t (Which was last year), I am so sad about now. I’m writing myself a letter for next year; it is a tradition I love doing.
You can do it by hand, but I love to use this side:
Write yourself a letter to the future!
I don’t get anything from you using the link; it’s something I love doing. You can set the time, and it will be sent to your inbox on that date you set. It’s a lovely thing, sometimes you forget the date you set, and it’s like a surprise you can open up, except when you have an account, you can see the pending letters, but I love to have this in my mail, once a year.
You can write whatever you want in there. I like to start with a recap of this year, how it was, what wins, and everything that comes to mind. And then I write what I hoped I achieved, how I feel at the moment I read the letter. I always end the letter with how proud I am of myself!
Do you have any traditions or things you like to do at this time of year for the New Year? I’d love to read it in the comments.
I went from doing all of it, wanting all of it done in a year, to taking a calmer approach to it, and it made a lot of things happen for me. Chaotic or not, I will be forever grateful for this year!
Thank you for reading my little corner of the internet, no matter how your year was: I am proud of you!
xx
Lena
