2011 Vision Board

My 2011 Vision Board

This was my first vision board. It took forever to put it together because I was busy with work but I finally got around to it in April.

2011 vision board

Save

This was my priority for that year. I’d been laid off twice during the recession. By the time I became employed full time, I was broke with less than $1,000 to my name.

I gave up a lot of useless things to achieve my target for the year. Kudos to the following books which helped a lot – The Automatic Millionaire, Start Over, Finish Rich and Debt Free for Life, all by David Bach.

Study

Studying for and taking my CMP exam came next. This is a professional certification for practitioners in my field. Studying for that exam was hell.

My work schedule was a killer and I had no study group in my location. I had to work my way through 4 enormous books and a long online study course in less than 3 months. Damn near fainted when I passed.

Donate

Donating time was out of the question due to my gruelling work schedule. Additionally, my finances were tight but I just didn’t feel okay about not donating anything for the year so I added it to the list.

I managed to edge out a few bucks here and there every time I wanted to spend money on something I really shouldn’t. I resolved to do better the next year.

Travel

I love travelling and discovering new places. This is one of the things I refused to give up when I started my freedom journey.

I worked this into my vision board and discovered 4 new countries that year. You can see which countries I’ve been to on the Bucket List page.

Finish My Book

I spent as much time as I could working on a book I’d fleshed out in bits and pieces since 2008. Unfortunately, try as I might, I just couldn’t finish it. I had too many things going on professionally and study wise.

Swimming

It didn’t happen. The classes didn’t fit my work schedule and a customised schedule would have interfered with my savings goals for the year.

Writer’s Retreat

I hoped to visit a quiet commune in the woods somewhere to finish my book but in the end, I didn’t apply for any.

Again, my work schedule was erratic and I didn’t want to get in and then have to turn it down because I was unable to attend.

7 goals for the year. 4 achieved, 1 not quite and 2 shelved. Did having the vision board help? Definitely.

Have you ever tried putting together a vision board? Read my earlier articles:-

PS. The person next to me in the picture is blurred out for privacy reasons. It’s a pic of my SO at the time.