Oh man, 2020 is almost over! Can you feel the excitement in the air? š I know it’s kind of silly and mostly a mindset thing, but I do love the chance for a fresh start that the new year brings. I think it’s because I moved so frequently growing up, but I crave change.ā Something about that new year always just resets something and settles me. It always feel like the gift of a clean slate being given to me.ā So on that note, today I wanted to talk about making a very simple digital vision board!
What is a vision board
I had never made a vision board, but had definitely heard of them! We were tasked with creating one this year as a part of the perennial mom squad, a membership I am in run by Kelsie Ruoff. A vision board is essentially a visual representation of your hopes/dreams/goals for the future. You can obviously decide how far into the future you want to look. Now, I usually just take the clean slate and run with it, but I have to say, making the vision board this year actually did help clarify what I want 2021 to look like! I think having made this and keeping it somewhere visible will help motivate me to make choices that align with the future I want.
The leg work behind your board
So, we want to create a visual representation of your hopes and aspirations for your life. Which means, we gotta figure those out! I started by brainstorming a word of the year using Kelsie’s directions. I ended with these options for my word of the year:
- intention
- mindful
- embrace
- purpose
- content
Which basically I could make into the sentence of what I want for my life: I want to be intentional with my life and mindful of the choices I embrace, making sure they align with my purpose and help me find contentedness. BOOM. So, I decided I don’t need to pick just one word. š¤£
With that, I moved onto phrases or goals I wanted to focus on for 2021 and beyond. You can be as specific or generic as you like but I recommend creating specific, time-stamped goals so you have something to measure them by (that’s teacher Megan talking lol, make SMART goals, people). I just included paraphrases of my goals on my vision board and they are:
- Take care
- Make with heart
- Hold boundaries
- Be fearless in sharing my mission
- Cultivate a slow, safe, and steady home
Now that you have the word(s), goals (or paraphrased goals), and feelings you want for the future, let’s get visual.
Get Visual
Read each of your goals aloud, one by one, and close your eyes after each one. Let the goal or aspiration roll around in your mind and wait for what images appear for you. If no image, what feeling would you describe as you envision yourself fulfilling that goal or aspiration? What colors do you think about? Shapes? Are they turning into any forms? Jot everything down including any images you are thinking of, and then we will start compiling images after we open our board.
*You can use your own images, stock images from Canva, or look for inspiration on Google/Pinterest of course. If you plan to share the vision board with the public, make sure you note the original creator of any images/graphics you borrow for it. The images you use should inspire you or make you feel those same feelings you had when rolling around with your ideas.
Creating the digital vision board
So we also had an option to do a paper board but I don’t have any magazines to choose from so I went digital. What you are going to do after you have finished your reflective work, is jump on over to Canva (or Picmonkey)! I suggest Canva for this because if you log on and search “vision boards,” guess what?! They have some templates for you!
I started mine with an existing template and then ended up moving it all around and changing frames and text. š If you want to use my vision board as a template, click here! I would love for you to share this post info if you do use the template. š
Select a template that seems right, or open a blank image and start from scratch. Remember you can customize all colors, fonts, images and graphics on a template.
Decide whether you want your aspirations to be written in full, paraphrased like mine, or not on there at all. I suggest getting those on there first if so.
Then, start gathering your images. I would start searching your own images, then search within the Canva stock images, THEN move to Google and Pinterest if needed. Canva stock images are OK to use without permission from the creator IF you create a derivative work from the image (i.e. use them on your vision board). Search using words from your aspirations. If you’re really stuck I would search your words on Canva and then see what those images make you think of.
Customize your digital vision board
Now that your aspirations are (or are not on there) and your images are gathered, let’s customize your template. You can upload any images you’d like or drag and drop images into the template. I decided on one image per aspiration. Change the background color to something that sets you on fire or gives you the mood you are going for. Choose text and a text color that is readable to you and matches the “vibe” of your images. If those decisions are too overwhelming, stick to the colors and font that were originally in the template and move it around to make it work for your images/text.
That’s it! You made a digital vision board that you can now download!
What to do with it
Okay, you made this vision boardānow what?! Where does it go, how does it help you? Kelsie suggested we find a spot for it, where we will see it regularly and be motivated by it. Basically, you gotta find a way to hold yourself accountable to stick to these goals. One of her suggestions was to make it your background or screensaver on your computer which I thought was genius, so that is what I did!
If you pay for Canva pro you can use the smart resize feature and quickly turn this into a phone background, too! For a discount on your yearly membership, click here (this is an affiliate link and I will earn a commission if you purchase a plan, thank you for supporting me!).
The Perennial Mom Squad
Did you notice I blimped over what the perennial mom squad is? Wellllll that’s because you gotta save the best for last! š¤£ The Perennial Mom Squad is a membership that helps moms conquer their chaos. It is actually led by fearless older sister, Kelsie. She’s the type-A to my go-with-the-flow.
Kelsie has divided a motherās chaos into five categories that she helps you conquer: stabilizing your schedule, mastering meal planning, establishing self-care routines, harmonizing your home, and getting social (plus a bunch of bonus content). She has live coaching meetings inside a private facebook group and she’s really good at holding your feet to the fire so you get it done, because she’s really passionate about helping moms live with less stress.
The most life-changing part of the membership for me has been mastering meal planning. I did not realize how much brain space dinner was taking up everyday until I started meal planning. The other most life-changing part was stabilizing my schedule. I even made a DIY command centerĀ that I have actually consistently used this year! I can feel the impact it has made, too. Blocking time for tasks takes away the undercurrent of stress I feel from overwhelm.
Click here to take Kelsie’s quiz to find out how her membership can help you! This is not sponsored I just want you to know I would not have made a vision board if Kelsie hadn’t told me to, and if you need someone like her in your life I want to share her! lol!
