It’s a new year and those resolutions are being created yet again, to be forgotten. The bingo cards are being drawn up, to end up scrunched up in a corner somewhere. And the vision boards… well it’s not as easy to get scrap paper from magazines, so they sit in your imagination, and slowly drift to the forgotten corners of your brain. Or so you thought!

Pack it up and stick it near the door

Vision boards are meant to be prompts to remind you of the goals you wanted to achieve during the year. It’s not meant to sit in a corner somewhere, away from your view, you need to have eyes on it as much as possible.

Growing up, my mum always said, “pack the stuff the night before and leave it near the door”. That’s because when we rushed to pack the car in the morning, if something wasn’t near the door, it was forgotten. So, this is the time to pack the stuff and stick it near the door. Prepare how you will create your vision board, gather what you want to accomplish in the year, ideas on how you will achieve it. And most importantly, how you will reflect on your year when 2027 approaches.

Here are some questions to help you get some ideas:

1. What small changes would you like to happen to you? (learn a new skill, change your appearance, try something new) – It doesn’t have to be drastic, just something you want to do, but haven’t been able to remember to try.

2. What are quotes that you would like to be reminded of?

3. What are some bigger goals you want to achieve, but are scared are too big? (think stretch goals)

4. What ideas do you have for achieving the small changes and the bigger goals?

5. How do you want to record/remember the year? (Think about Dec 2026, you’re looking back at what you’ve achieved. Do you treat yourself to something? Do you have a party? Do you have a jar holding a note with a memory from each week? A bullet journal of your mood and events throughout the year that you choose to read. – As long as it’s something that you do when you think about the year and reflect)

Make it messy, before you refine it

Now sit down and get creating on your board. I sat and made mine on Canva. I do pay for Pro, but it’s very doable to make it on the free version, with how many graphics and searchable tools Canva offers.

The key is not to worry about what it looks like right now. You get your pictures, your quotes and group them. I had 3 main groups: Content Creation, Personal life and Motivation. Content creation split into subgroups, such as ‘The blog’, ‘Bookstagram’, ‘online businesses’ and ‘the various areas I could make content on’. Personal life was made up of my career, my relationships, fitness and my finances.

Groups for the vision board: Content Creation, Motivation (quotes) and Personal life

I grouped them in separate areas on the page BEFORE I started sorting out how they will sit on the page.

Then it was time to dot them around the page, making sure to think about where I was sticking this vision board, and thus the orientation of the images for wherever I look at them. (More in ‘Where to stick the vision board’)

Refine it

The reason one of the prompt questions is ‘How will you achieve these goals?’ is very important as you refine the build of your vision board. You need to stick the methods you will use to help achieve the goals, near the goal in the vision board. That way when you look at that goal, and manifest/pray/whatever for it, you also have the methods on how to start trying to achieve it.

Not to seem ‘non-whimsical’, but you just ✨manifesting✨ something doesn’t guarantee it. Especially if it’s something that needs your actual work and input to get the result. You can manifest getting a job offer, but without applying for jobs and doing interviews, how will you get a job offer?

Where to stick the vision board

A vision board is to give you VISUAL reminders of what you want to do and achieve. People stick them in places where they will see it and be reminded often. Print it out and stick it in your wardrobe, by your desk, and on a wall in your bedroom. I used it as my screen saver for my phone and my apple watch, which are 2 things I look at A LOT when I am out and about and when I am home.

You can also make it the background of your laptop/desktop. Note: If you share a log on account with anyone on different laptops, they will have the same background as you. So, if you’re happy to share it, then go for it.

How will you reflect to make sure you stick to it

I use a bullet journal. I write down a few sentences each night, reflecting my mood from the day and any key events/take aways from the day. It’s a great way to empty my brain before bed, and it will keep note of any progress in my vision board, which I will see on my phone and watch screen before going to bed.

I have seen an idea that at the end of each week, you put a memorable moment in a jar. And at the end of the year, you will have 52 memories of the year, which was so cute. But I want to be keeping a close eye on my goals, because I have so many that I want to achieve this year, so I need to be able to pivot when something isn’t working. And being able to pivot means keeping regular tabs on what’s going on. So daily works for me. But maybe it’s weekly, monthly or quarterly, you do what works for you.

What about if you can’t stick to it?

It’s a vision board; it’s for GUIDANCE ONLY. It is not the end of the world if you do not achieve everything on the board. Also, you at the start of the year are missing all the experience you get during the year, so of course, you won’t know whether that vision board is achievable until you start experiencing the year.

Don’t beat yourself up over it. It’s not the end of the world, if you don’t achieve anything on this vision board. At the end of the year, you will always finish it having experienced new things you wouldn’t have predicted. Gained new perspectives and mindsets. Which are things you won’t have put on your vision board, but you gained as a bonus of surviving another year of adulting. We are adulting for the rest of our lives, so if this year doesn’t work out it’s ok. I’m sure you will still have learnt and experienced new things.

TL;DR

- Making a vision board doesn’t have to be complicated

- First get the ideas together on what you want to achieve in your vision

- Make sure to remember how you will celebrate/commemorate what you achieved in the year and how you will monitor progress

- Then organise them roughly (don’t panic about the aesthetics yet)

- Then start refining and making it look pretty (aesthetics)

- Stick it in places that you see often to remind you of what you wanted to achieve earlier in the year (watch/phone screen. Print outs everywhere)

- It’s ok if the vision you had earlier in the year changes. You made it based off the information you had, and if you get more information later in the year which changes that, then change it. It’s your vision board, not your ball and chain.

Creating a 2026 vision board that you will stick to