How To Create A Vision Board That Works

Creating a vision board can be a fun and empowering task. The concept of a vision board is to help you stay focused on what you want your life to look like in the future, so it’s great to get one going as the new year begins. Everyone has their own unique goals, and it’s helpful to have a tool that allows you to visually represent these goals, so they are easier to keep in mind. By creating your own customised vision board, you can set your intentions and targets, focus your energy, and create a life that you love. We spoke to education expert and founder of The Profs, Richard Evans, who shares his simple steps to creating a vision board that works for you.

1)    Reflect on the past year

The first step to creating a vision board is to reflect on the past year. Where are you now in your life? What is working for you? What isn’t? This moment of self-reflection can help you identify what goals are important to you, so you can redirect your energy to focus on the things you love doing. Another thing to consider is whether your vision board is for long term or short-term change. Having yearly goals can be more digestible on your vision board and will help alleviate pressure to get your targets achieved without a constricting short time frame.  

2)    Prioritise your goals

The next step to creating a vision board is writing out everything you want to achieve. This includes big goals and dreams (write a book, achieve good grades, climb up the corporate ladder), wish list type stuff (investing in a new training program), intentions (mindfulness and meditation) and words for the year (fun, focus, freedom). Instead of going straight into designing your vision board, I recommend a ‘brain dump’ on a piece of paper of your main goals and intentions. Then, highlight 3-5 goals you really want to prioritise within the next year. The goals you prioritise should be the main focus on your vision board, and the images, words, or accessories to visualise this should be the largest, so they catch your eye.

3)    Gather your materials

Now, for the fun part – it’s time to gather your materials for your vision board. Don’t be afraid to get creative. Whilst the obvious choice is to cut out images or words that resonate with you from relevant magazines, you can also create your own print-out images via beginner-friendly design tools like Canva. Visit your local art store and check out their different supplies too. Play with texture by writing quotes with scrabble letters, printing photos on glossy paper, cutting fabrics for decoration and using special keepsakes like old notes from people who motivate you. There are no rules, so you can be as literal or metaphorical in your design.

4)    Figure out where you want to display your vision board 

The trick for creating a vision board that actually works is to display it in a place you see it. There’s no point putting in all that effort if your vision board will not catch your eye and remind you of your intentions every day. Think of placing your vision board by your bedroom nightstand, desk space or in the hallway before you walk out the door. Contrary to tradition, a vision board does not have to be displayed on a standard corkboard. It can be framed as a display piece, written on a whiteboard or within a flipbook. If you wish to be more discreet about your vision board, you can also take an image of it and set it as the background of your phone or create an electronic version online.

5)    Experiment with different layouts

Before you begin decorating your vision board, it’s a good idea to experiment with several layouts. Arrange each piece on the board before you start gluing or pinning them, so that you can see how different arrangements look and make sure everything fits together well. If you like open space and don’t like clutter, leave plenty of room between your objects so that you can see them clearly. But if you prefer the feeling of closeness or enjoy scrapbooking styles, then touch and overlap your objects to achieve your creative masterpiece. You can also form categories on your board to section off your ideas or frame your vision board as a spider diagram, so all your thoughts align.

6)    Assemble and use your vision board

Now that the layout of your vision board has been decided, assemble it together, take a step back and see how it looks as a whole. It sounds basic, but you must ask yourself ‘am I happy with my vision board?’ If you are not, you may feel constricted and demotivated looking at a board full of goals, dreams and ambitions that don’t excite you. If you are pleased with your vision board, it’s time to use it! Simply visualising and displaying the board isn’t enough, action is required to accomplish your targets. Let the board be a reminder to take small steps each day toward your goals.

7)    Don’t be afraid to make updates

As time goes on, your goals may evolve, and you might find yourself wanting to change your vision board. Perhaps you have outperformed in your recent exam and want to use the vision board to focus on a new subject you are struggling with, or maybe you are no longer excited by a prospective career path and wish to change direction. Don’t be afraid to make these updates, you have full autonomy over your life path and should not feel constricted by goals you made previously. How often you update it and what you do to it depends on your preferences. You may want to update it on notable occasions such as results day, your birthday or new year, but it’s really up to you – the creator. Perhaps you will want a total refresh of the vision board or may just want to swap out a few images or key quotes.