Stick With It- Interactive Vision/ Goal Board

Vision boards are tangible reminders of our goals and aspirations.  At the start of each year, I love to start with a blank piece of foam board and possibility.  Making my yearly vision board provides me with a fun afternoon of reflection, planning and creativity. I always love the final product and hang it in the hallway, so I will walk by it each day. Then it fades into the background,  never changing, unnoticed in the hustle of daily life, like most new year's resolutions forgotten. I wanted a different type of vision board- a stick with it- interactive vision/goal board. I need to find the right adhesive to make my goals stick.

Adhesives- hot glue, liquid glue, stick glue, super glue, spray glue, packing tape, transparent tape, Duct tape, sticky back Velcro dots, 3D Foam Adhesive Tape Small Dots, removable labels, stickers, Command removal strips and magnets, technically not an adhesive but they can keep things in place.

Vision board materials-inspiration, books, magazines, foam board, decorative paper, metal tags (dollar store)

I decided to focus on the idea of life design. The problem was that my vision board was static. According to the Oxford dictionary the definition of static includes unchanging, lacking action, something which may be viewed as uninteresting. Designers often make prototypes to try to solve problems.  Blueprints are a key part of designs, so I chose a blueprint themed paper for the background. (spray adhesive, packing,  tape) 

I wanted to be able to easily add and remove temporary elements- such as  race notices or a great healthy recipe to try, so I added hidden metal plates to make certain areas of the board magnetic. (liquid glue)  The focus tags have a durable label, water and tear resistant label (permanent strong adhesive because the focus will not change)  Motivational quotes are important , so I added a designated area to post a focus quote. (hot glue)To add interest to the magnets I added glass marbles and gears (super glue)  

Redesign tip- add the hidden plates to the front of the board before adding the decorative blueprint paper, so that weaker, cheaper magnets work too.

Vision/goal boards should be dynamic, characterized by constant change, activity, or progress.  I didn’t want to create a new vision board every month, but I wanted to be able to move the elements around.  A loosely designed scatter plot / target seemed ideal for observing the relationship between variables. (Removable color coding labels and sticky back Velcro dots) 

I wanted the visual elements to show and reinforce action and I wanted to be able to move the elements around the board.(sticky back Velcro dots) I combined stickers, quotes, graph paper and colored card stock to represent each part of my goals. (transparent tape, stick glue)  I also wanted to be able to layer them to add depth to the final board. (3D Foam Adhesive Tape Small Dots) The date is also changeable, instead of just the year , I can focus on a shorter time frame.

Duct tape is my favorite adhesive.  It represents ingenuity, problem solving, emergency solutions and strength, so  my unchanging focus mantra- learning is transformative is written on duct tape (duct tape)

I decided that my Stick with it- interactive vision/ goal board had to be easy to use.  Instead of hanging it in the hallway.  I put it on my bedroom door. (Command strips) I have been using my newly designed Stick with it- interactive vision/ goal board for three weeks and feel that it is more effective than my original static vision board.  Each morning, I move some element to a new location, this simple quick action refocuses my energy on my goals.  Since, starting the test period I have run a 5k and signed up for another, cooked more healthy meals, rode my bike more and have been actively creating and posting on Instructables.  Choosing the best adhesive for the task can help you stick with your goals.