2018 Goals – Dream Board

I began the habit of creating a visual representation of my goals in the form of a dream board in 2017. I kept it in the cover of my planning binder to keep my aspirations front-of-mind every day. Below is my 2018 dream board.

Related Posts:

• How to Make a Vision Board that Actually Works
• How to Create an Eye-Catching Vision Board in Canva
• How to Create a Gorgeous Vision Board Using PicMonkey

How to Make a Dream Board

1. Define your goals for the year, including a list of things that you want to experience or achieve. I always do a review of the previous year’s goals, and then think about what I want to get done in my four main categories of Health, Freedom, Happiness, and Purpose.
2. Write a list of words that represent these goals and achievements. I also create a “theme” for the year using a few of these words.
3. Search for these keywords on Pinterest to find attractive pictures for your dream board. I will save a few pictures for each keyword because I want the photos to look good together.
4. Use a collage maker to put them together in whatever format you like. I used PicMonkey to create the grid of photos you see below. I move the photos around into different formats to make sure the dream board looks balanced.
5. Print the dream board and keep it somewhere you will see it every day. I printed mine to keep in the front of the binder that will function as my planner for the year. The binder/planner was a system I implemented last year to keep me moving towards my goals day by day so by the end of the year I have achieved them.

1. Teardrop Trailer: Build a teardrop trailer (dubbed the “microhouse”). Construct the microhouse, which will be a teardrop trailer we plan to tow with my partner’s Honda Civic for insane savings on gas and a free hotel alternative when we travel. This is also a learning ground and a test run for the tiny house project.
2. 2018 Journal:  Journaling and gratitude practice. I am starting a daily journaling practice in the 5 minute journal that will focus on gratitude and positivity. I am hoping this practice will make me more mindful of the great things I have in my life and more happy and positive overall.
3. Vegetables: Find a nearby farmer’s market and eat more local fresh veggies. This was on my dream board last year too. I achieved one goal – starting my own garden! This year, I will re-plant the garden, and I will find a farmer’s market in order to incorporate more local fresh veggies into my diet.
4. Smile: Floss on the reg. OK, so I have to admit here that the only time I am really consistent about flossing is when I have a dentist appointment within the next week. Since I see the truth in the saying “you only have to floss the teeth you want to keep,” and I want to keep all of mine, I am going to make this a daily habit this year.
5. Yoga on the beach:  Rekindle my yoga practice. I have practiced yoga on and off since I was a teenager. Now, I want to really get back into my yoga practice by doing a flow each morning (on the beach in the summer!), and attending some classes.
6. Laptop: Blog consistently. This was also on my list in 2017. I started this blog in August of 2016 and have been thinking so much about it… but still not posting very much at all. This year I am making a renewed effort to blog consistently.
7. Bullet Journal: Track progress towards goals / bullet journaling. Last year I started tracking my progress towards my goals using a planning binder. This year, I am also going to incorporate a goal setting journal practice using the “bullet journal” method.
8. What we think, we become: Cultivate more mindfulness. I want to become more mindful for many reasons, including living in the present, and appreciating all of the beauty life has to offer.
9. Reading: Read more, look at my phone less. I love reading – it’s a great way to learn, grow, and relax – but I haven’t done much “extracurricular” reading since high school. I find that the time I used to spend reading before bed is now sucked up by scrolling mindlessly through my phone. I intend to change that by reading at least 12 books this year.
10. Kayak: Start doing water sports and enjoying the ocean. This was also one of my goals in 2017. Since I moved to the beach in October 2016, I’ve really been wanting to incorporate oceanic activities (such as ocean kayaking, paddle boarding and surfing) into my routine, so I am making that a priority this year. It even has a line item on my 2018 Spending Plan!
11. Meditating woman: Begin a daily meditation practice. Linked with my goal of mindfulness, I also want to begin meditating daily, since it will help me think more clearly, reduce my stress, and increase my productivity. I go into more depth on this topic in my 2018 Theme post.
12. People on mountaintop: Hike and camp more – in Canada. Just like in 2017, I love spending time in nature and I want to make sure I do more hiking and camping this year. Now that we will have the microhouse, we can do a bit of “glamping,” and we intend to take a two week trip in August to drive all around Canada with it!

Some other, non-pictured goals I have include meal-prepping once a week and decluttering my digital stuff like photos and computer files (since I didn’t fully achieve either of these goals last year). And a few other activities I have on my to-do list for 2017 include running on the boardwalk, long boarding to see more sunsets, and having a campfire on the beach.

The habits I will be tracking daily include: getting up when my alarm goes off; getting up by a certain time (progressively earlier throughout the year) on weekdays and weekends; working on the blog; meditating; reading before bed; flossing; completing my monthly workout challenge (#ChallengeYear); working towards my Year of Less challenge; using a journal to track my goals and to-dos; completing the 5 minute journal; and doing yoga.

Tracking Progress Towards Goals

1. Make your goals S.M.A.R.T. That stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. Creating a dream board is the first step towards visualizing your goals, however you have to be specific if you want to be able to measure your progress towards them. For example, a SMART goal is “I will post a new blog post once a week each week this year for a total of 52 new posts by December 31, 2018.”
2. Separate Goals from To Dos. My dream board represents a mix of my goals for the year, which I write out S.M.A.R.T. goals for, and to-dos, which I can just cross off the list. For example, beginning a daily meditation practice is a goal that can be tracked, and hiking and camping more is a to-do (when I go to Canada, I will cross that off my list).
3. Keep your goals in one place. I make a spreadsheet with my goals for each month and each quarter. Then I print it and keep it in my planning binder, where I will see my goals daily.
4. Set milestones. My goals spreadsheet has monthly milestones for me to achieve on the path towards cultivating a habit or achieving a specific task. That way, when I review at the end of the month, I can check off whether or not that milestone has been reached.
5. Review your goals regularly. Review your goals at least once a week (although daily is good as well) to keep them in the front of your mind. Then, review your progress towards those goals using milestones once a month, once a quarter, and at the end of the year.
6. Use a goal-tracking app. By using the Streaks app to track my progress towards certain goals, I get a visual representation of how often I am performing an action that I want to cultivate as a habit.

Resources for Effective Goal Setting:

• Conquer Your Goals: How to Set SMART Goals That Will Help You Get Shit Done
• 6 SMART Goal Templates to Make Goal Setting Insanely Easy + Effective
• SMART Financial Goals You Need To Set Right Now

Your Turn:

What are your goals for the new year?

 

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