How to Create the Perfect Vision Board
Written By Cristina Villalón
ABOUT THE AUTHOR | Cristina Villalón is the Co-Founder and Lead Designer at Álvarez-Díaz & Villalón. She directs both the Interior Design and Visual Merchandising divisions while overseeing all decisions made on a day-to-day basis at the firm.
Follow through on your New Year’s resolutions by creating the perfect vision board.
As a new year begins filled with opportunities and possibilities, it’s good to give some thought to what you want to achieve during the year. The world changed in 2020 and now it’s time to hit reset, reevaluate, and make your 2021 goals happen. We’re going to help you create the perfect vision board to make those goals a reality!
WHAT'S A VISION BOARD?
A vision board is nothing more than a visual representation of one’s goals and aspirations placed and organized on a board. Images and quotes are usually placed on the vision board to inspire and motivate oneself. Visualizing your goals can actually help you achieve them, according to Psychology Today.
BEFORE WE BEGIN
Make sure your goals are S.M.A.R.T. goals:
Specific: clearly defined.
Measurable: able to be measured and verified.
Achievable: attainable.
Relevant: reasonable and realistic.
Time-bound: requiring completion within a specific period of time.
Following the S.M.A.R.T. criteria, will help you attain your goals. For example, rather than saying your goal is to lose weight. Define how much weight you’d like to lose and by what date. Make sure your goal is realistic and attainable and then keep track of your progress.
HERE ARE THE STEPS TO CREATING THE PERFECT VISION BOARD:
1. LIST YOUR GOALS
Notebook on table with pen on top.
Begin by listing all the goals you want to achieve this year. These can be personal goals or professional goals. You can organize them by priorities or list the goals by category.
Here are some examples of goals by category and goals people add to their vision boards:
Work – apply for a new job opening, successfully complete a specific project.
Health – meditate, eat healthier, lose 10 pounds.
Finance – save money to go on a trip this summer, move into a new place.
Family & Friends – spend more time with loved ones, phone 1 friend per day.
Lifelong learning – learn a new language, read 1 book per month.
Determining your year goals beforehand, will help you get your vision board organized.
2. CHOOSE THE IMAGES
Person placing images on wall,
This is the FUN part! Once you’ve listed all your goals for the year, it’s time to choose the images that will visually represent your goals. You can look for these images in magazines or online. Pick out photos that you feel embody your goals and cut them out or print them. These can even be images of words, phrases, or quotes that just speak to you. By choosing these images you are one step closer to manifesting and making those goals a reality!
3. CREATE A PHYSICAL VISION BOARD
After choosing the images that will represent your goals, it’s time to create the perfect vision board. You can create an actual vision board physically or you can make one digitally. For creating a physical vision board, you can use any kind of board, the wall, or even get creative with curtain rods. Then use scissors, glue, tape, pins, or any other needed tool to put your board together.You can organize the images on the board by category, priority or however you like and add your own decorations to it. You can also collage it or keep it more structured. It’s totally up to you, get creative! You are doing this for YOU. By choosing these images you are one step closer to manifesting and making those goals a reality!
4. MAKE A DIGITAL VISION BOARD
Hand scrolling through images on a phone placed on a table.
If you are not very crafty and feel more comfortable staying digital, you can use websites like Canva and Pinterest to create a digital vision board. In Canva, you can upload your own photos or choose from the site’s images to create a custom vision board from scratch. In Pinterest, you can discover, share, and compile visual content (videos, images, infographics) on your board. Pinterest also lets you easily create multiple boards and make different sections within each board.There are also smart phone applications such as Vision Board, that are made specifically for creating vision boards that let you set goal reminders and deadlines to complete your goals on the go.Creating the perfect vision board takes a little bit of thinking, organizing, and creating but it’s a great habit to develop. By taking the time to focus on yourself and your aspirations, you are setting yourself up to succeed in following through on your goals. There is nothing like looking at your board each and every day to keep you inspired and laser focused on your goals. Have fun with it and let us know how it goes! We’d love to see your vision boards, feel free to share them with us. We’ll be cheering you on!