|
Blog: Organizing for Boomers
 Forget Resolutions-Do a Vision Board Instead
How did you do with those leftovers I mentioned last week?
I devoted three consecutive days to dealing with them and jumped out of bed Saturday, Sunday, and Monday with great resolve. My head was dancing, not with sugarplums, but with so many loose, tangled webs I wasn't sure which ones to plow into first. I have to admit I was pretty stoked.
The first day, Saturday, went swimmingly well. I organized some storage areas in the garage, using country music and a timer as my support team. I completed correspondence I had been working on in my office. And finally, my husband and I had a much-needed business meeting to update some financial projections.
Saturday, I was SMILING with success.
Sunday and Monday proved to be different.
Though I bounded out of bed both days with "great expectations", I realized I had caught a cold that was turning into something bigger. As I attempted to behave in the same energizer bunny behavior of Saturday, I realized I was starting to crash and burn. So I had to give up grandeur thoughts of major completions and be happy with just my smaller Saturday successes.
Life is like that sometimes.
So some of my leftovers will require a return visit later in January.
On to the New Year!!
I love new beginnings. For me the New Year starts twice a year: August/September when school bells ring and January 1st when having to remember to write the New Year on checks notifies me over and over that last year is history.
Have you made New Year's Resolutions? How do those work for you? For me I've had mixed results, so I don't do them any more.
Instead I create a Vision Board for the year-a collage, a picture plan. Last year I did the vision board by myself and had it in my home office where I could see it. Whenever I would start to wander off into projects, ideas, events that were fun but consumed time, money, or energy (or all three), I would check in with my Vision Board to see if that was a part of where I should be heading. More than once I stopped and evaluated these diverting detours. The Vision Board became my compass and got me re-centered quickly.
HOW TO CREATE A VISION BOARD
- Gather old magazines from around the house. If you have none, the folks at the local library usually sell these for a couple of coins, or ask your neighbors for some.
- Check if you have any foam board at home. I like 14" x 21" and prefer the sturdiness of foam board over tagboard. Office supply stores carry these as do art stores. Last year I used black. This year I used white. What you will be making is a collage, a vision of the New Year so the color doesn't really matter as it gets covered in pictures from magazines, words, and letters.
- Gather supplies: scissors, double stick tape or glue stick, or my favorite because it's so fast: adhesive rolls from scrapbooking supplies. Other supplies I use are stickers, scrapbooking paper 12 x 12, borders, and paste-on letters.
- I add horoscopes I have saved from the past year that were very positive and seemed to be talking directly to me. Others put photographs of family members or places they plan to visit, their business cards, and/or cartoons.
- If you don't want to make something as large as a 14 x 21 Vision Board, think 8 ½ x 11 size construction paper and slip it in the acetate sheets on the cover of a white 3-ring notebook. This makes the board very transportable. Plus you can use the inside of the notebook to record your goals and their progress throughout the year. I plan to make a mini-version of my 14 x 21 board for one of those notebooks.
- Allow yourself a block of time. Both last year and this year took me about two hours to get all the ideas that had been rummaging around in my head into a visual roadmap
- Last year I did the project alone and this year I did it with my mastermind group. This is a group of wonderfully-talented women (There are six of us) who meet twice a month to support one another in leading creative, authentic lives. We all brought old magazines to use and each worked on designing her vision for the New Year. Either alone or with a supportive buddy, neighbor, relative or group this is a grand way to welcome in the new and create a direction for the year ahead.
- There is NO wrong way to do this. Just see what pictures, words or sayings start talking to you. Cut them out and move them around your foam board or tag board. When you start to like what you see, then start securing the items in place.
- I loved my Vision Board from last year. I thought it was so cool I was going to try to remove some of the items and reattach to this year's board. When that wasn't working too well, I simply let go of last year and started confidently into the new one.
- I am wishing you the same. Just like the leftovers from last week, I had to leave some things on the plate and move forward.
Next week: Use Your Vision Board to Create S.M.A.R.T. Goals
Until then…
Making Your Space a Special Place
Sue
the R.E.D. team – Reinventing Everyday Designs
posted on: 1/4/2008 12:30:00 PM by Sue Crum
category: Special Populations
Organizing for Boomers: < Previous Post - Next Post >
Blog Central: < Previous Post - Next Post >
 Discuss This Post
|
|
Organizing for Boomers
by Sue Crum
View This Blog
 Subscribe To This Blog
About Sue:
Sue Crum knows and understands the life of a Baby Boomer all too well. Having served as the filling of an Oreo cookie for many years, she has reinvented herself in San Diego as the owner of The R.E.D. Team, Reinventing Everyday Designs, doing professional organizing, real estate staging, and interior redesign.
Sue's Website:
www.theredteam.com
|
www.OnlineOrganizing.com is a service mark of Bradford, LLC.
