It’s fair to say that 2020 was a mixed bag when it came to achieving goals – some would have achieved more than they set out to, others perhaps less. I know I fall into the ‘perhaps less’ camp. Whilst work shouldn’t be an excuse, working in the NHS during the pandemic was, and continues to be, non-stop. No sooner are we temporarily winding down services, we are winding them back up again; focussing on performance, activity plans, recovery trajectories, financial forecasting…the list goes on. And that’s just for the managers amongst us – regardless of your clinical or non-clinical discipline, there was and still is a lot to contend with. So truth be told, for me personally, it left little head space or even energy to then train for a 10K, update my CV or even try my hand at a new skill and consistently stick with it. But as we enter a new year which is beginning with some of the same characteristics as the last year pandemic-wise, and having made it through to this point, I feel I’m a little more equipped to try and achieve a little bit more through any lockdowns this year. Cue the Vision Board…

So what is a Vison Board? Well, a Vision Board is a visual (clue is in the title) way of setting goals or intentions for the future or the year ahead. A Harvard Business Study demonstrated that if you write your goals down, you are more likely to succeed in achieving them because they are constant reminder of what you are setting out to do. It also helps you to clarify your goals, particularly if you use the SMART model in defining your objectives (Specific. Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timeframe). I get enough practice in at work writing SMART objectives so I’m not too strict with myself at ticking all of the boxes – my main driver is whether the goal I’ve written is something I actually want to achieve.

Rather than simply writing a list, a Vision Board can be a more creative way in representing your goals. You could use a whiteboard or a pin/cork board to decorate, and you can make it as big or as small as you like. You could even use a picture frame if you have one which is of a good size. The fun bit is then grabbing magazines or papers and cutting out pictures or text to represent what you would like to achieve. In our digital age, you could equally print pictures from Pinterest or Instagram which inspire you, or use an online tool like Canva. The key to making the Vision Board work, however, is placing it somewhere you can see it every day and look at it as much as possible…perhaps your bedroom, your kitchen or take a photo and post it as your screen lock on your computer or phone

The first time I did a Vision Board was back in 2015 when I drew one up on my laptop. I used speech bubbles in which to type my goals and made it as colourful as possible; and I would look at it regularly, ticking things off as I went along, which gave me immense satisfaction. The goals weren’t all necessarily big things which took up a lot of time, just things I really wanted to do but hadn’t got around to, like seeing a specific musical or do a bit more baking.

Whilst this sounds like a good craft activity for a rainy afternoon, it doesn’t necessarily have to be done in isolation. It would potentially be a good activity to do with friends over Zoom to help fill in some time during lockdown, which would also then give you an accountability group who could encourage you to take action, and also celebrate your achievements –  it is said that when we share our goals with others, the chances of achieving them increases quite significantly.

So, if you felt like you didn’t achieve much in 2020 well you did – you survived! But if you feel like building on last year, then maybe give a Vision Board a go in 2021. Whether you have two or ten goals to achieve, it can be a creative way of making your vision come alive.