Goal Setting.

I think to one extent or another, everyone does this.  Whether it is structured or not is really a matter of intention.

Since becoming a parent, my goal setting has had to become hyper-intentional, as life has become far more segmented.

I am the kind of person who could binge watch a show for an entire weekend.  I would rather read, play, watch a movie, hang out with friends, ANYTHING other than do things that need to be done.

Now, when I was single, this was more admissible because there was a little less to do.  (By a little, I mean one quarter of the work…) Or, I could throw on some gangsta rap, hair in a bun and rage-clean for a couple hours.  Boom – my house was back to normal.

With a family, the “recovery” time if I choose to slack off for a weekend or a couple days is crushing.  I know you know about this, mama – this is the exact same reason that most of us refuse to get sick, because the consequences of getting sick and taking a few days off are worse than the sickness itself.  It’s the same principle as not taking days off work because the work when one comes back sets you behind for at least twice as long as your actual vacation.

Yet, I have always been a person that likes structure.

Goals and deadlines appeal to me; otherwise, I find myself floating through life.

I feel aimless and unproductive.

And I find myself much more prone to regret.

I hate to feel regret far more than I hate most things, and that is my driver.

Because of all this, I LOVE coming up with a vision board in January and putting some structure in place for my year in advance.  It instills a bit of self-imposed accountability. (And, if I’m honest, I do better when I tell myself to do something rather than when someone else tells me to do it.)

What is a Vision Board?

In short, it is a collection of images or words that create an inspirational visual representation of your goals for the next year.

It could be drawings from your kids, magazine clippings or even a trip to Hobby Lobby to gather the resources necessary to create your collage.

Nerd Alert: I spent one entire year researching how to set goals and create a vision board before I was ready to commit to it. Those of you who know me will have no trouble believing this.

It starts with goals.

Set your goals – this could be a blog post in-and-of itself.

Some people are going to want very specific goals that can be checked off of a list.  Others may just want to focus on finding a word for the year to use as a quick reminder of how to direct your days.  (My word my first year was “intentional” – this helped draw my mind back to the picture in my head of the board I had created.)  Most of us fall in the middle.

As an example, maybe you want to read more this year.  Great! Pick a number of books to complete throughout the year, but you don’t necessarily have to name each book.

Start big and then whittle it down to bite-sized chunks.

Create your masterpiece.

1. Your collage has to appeal to no one other than you.

Choose colors, pictures or phrases that inspire you and are visually appealing.

2. Choose a word.

This creates quick recall of your goals and helps you make decisions based on attaining those goals.

3. Choose a pictorial representation of your goals.

It is that simple.

I pick up a piece of foam core at the Dollar Store and piece together a background of papers from Hobby Lobby that I find pretty or represent something for me. My word (or words) of the year are placed next.  I have generally Pinterested some inspirational quotes to use as affirmations throughout the year. I fill in the blanks with pictures or colors that are either energizing or calming for me, depending on the mood I am going for (color theory might be something else to look into if you really want to dig deeper here).

That board gets placed in an area that I can see and reflect on daily.

This process scratches my creative urges while also satisfying my left brain list-maker. Give it a shot and see if it helps you through your year!

vision board

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Rochelle
Rochelle is a desert-rat from Arizona who kept moving north until she hit Colorado Springs; good luck getting her to leave now. She wasted no time snagging her husband under the pretense of athleticism and outdoorsy-ness. Among other things, eleven years of marriage has yielded two beautiful daughters, Harper and Quinn. Momming these super-sassy littles is her biggest adventure yet, and provides for some serious writing material. Rochelle works out of the home also, and has a diverse background in public relations, social work, student advising, youth ministry and pyrotechnics. She is presently finishing up her MBA and is juggling all of it fairly well for a person with little to no hand-eye-coordination. She is a firm believer that it takes a village to raise a child and she is beyond grateful for hers.