If you’re one of those people whose New Year starts on February 1st – (Hi, my name is Kevanté and I am president of the Procrastinators’ “I Have Yet to Get My Shit Together” club!) – then we welcome you with open arms.
This is not to say I haven’t done anything since the New Year started, ‘cause a girl’s been making money moves.
I’ve been on my Badu shit, minding my business, lying low and maintaining smart connections. I just have yet to execute any projects I have set on my vision board for the year. And I know what you’re thinking, because I don’t strike me as a “vision board” kinda gal, either. But I am, and I’ve been keeping them since 2016. There’s something so beautiful about structure (as contradictory as it may seem), or at least the appearance of some sort of structure in your life that you can return to from time to time when things get overwhelming.
‘Cause Taraji makes all of us feel like girl bosses.
So what am I talking about here? This is not your generic “new year, new me” blog post. We’re not here for it – especially given the fact that we (and by “we” I mean Kevanté) barely celebrate pagan holidays anyway. But I do believe in metaphysics, numerology and astrology, and I do believe there is some significance in being joyous about a new year with time returning to either right wrongs or get projects going.
So how do we achieve that? I’m gonna share with you all the tips and simple steps I’ve taken to create a successful vision board for 2018, and the plans I’ve set to help me accomplish most of it.
Please note: These tips are not meant to impose on or replace whatever structures you may have already established, but just to share a different perspective on how vision boards/goal lists can be created.
With that disclaimer out the way, I must note another one: I don’t actually have a vision board but rather a vision notepad. I’m a writer at heart and I hold my journal close to me, so what better way to be reminded of my goals and plans than by jotting them down in my notepad?
I simplified my “board” into 4 different sections:
2 – (TWO) THINGS I AM CHOOSING TO EMBRACE THIS YEAR
0 – THINGS I AM DROPPING THIS YEAR (LEAVE IT IN 2017)
1 – (ONE) THING I WILL CONSCIOUSLY WALK IN
8 – (EIGHT) LONG-TERM GOALS FOR BETTERMENT:
- Work goals (2)
- School goals (2)
- Community goals/projects (2)
- Personal goals/projects (2)
And of course you can tailor the sections to your liking for whatever fits best with your life, goals and schedule. The point is to fully embrace the newness of the year through the power of numbers.
Once you establish the content of your four sections, you need to create a system to master them. What realistic steps are you going to take to achieve each goal? For example, the one thing I will consciously walk in this year is financial stability.
So my goal is to obtain: Financial Stability.
The aims are: (1) To achieve a stable bank account balance that can grow, and (2) to achieve a steady flow of pocket money that is never limited or leaking.
The methods I will employ to achieve such goals are: (1) finding visual content like books and videos to help shape my consciousness into a financially stable one; (2) applying the financial theory discovered in The Secrets to the Millionaire Mind (a simple Google search will pull it up); and (3) limiting my spending habits/monitoring where and how I spend my money – otherwise known as being a freakin’ adult and eating the leftovers in the refrigerator as opposed to wasting $15 on Singapore noodles from the Chinese restaurant. And yes, Chinese food is expensive where I live.
Methods can change throughout the course of the year, over months, weeks and even days. That’s why it’s important to remain as fluid as possible while goal setting. But while mechanisms change, the vision never should; long-term or short-term, anything you set your mind to can be accomplished with the right energy and productivity driving it forward (God, I sound like a Sunday school teacher).
But as cliché as it sounds, if you have a vision, you should write it down and seek practical avenues to get to work on it. From one creative procrastinator to another: Time is in your hands. What will you create of it?