I don’t really do resolutions. I like lists — the kind you can write down, revisit, and eventually check off. Can you relate?
I came across a quote recently about seeing a target before you can hit it, and it got me thinking about how I actually plan my life. I started compiling a list of things I’d like to work toward — home, relationships, creativity, travel, wellness. It quickly felt daunting. Not because the goals were unrealistic, but because seeing them all written out at once can feel overwhelming.
That’s when I thought…maybe this would be easier to hold if it were something I could see instead of something I felt pressured to complete.
A Different Way to Think About Resolutions
So I created a simple vision board using my own publishing programs and saved it to my desktop. Something I can glance at daily. I don’t know if I’ll ever print it. I could. But for now, it lives digitally, quietly reminding me of what I want to care for in the year ahead.
Around the same time, I was working a few personal things into my schedule— like planning around my best friend’s birthday and being more intentional about quality time. I’m learning that if something isn’t scheduled or written into my digital list, it simply doesn’t happen.
What Actually Works for Me
There are endless articles about how to make resolutions stick. I’ve read plenty of them. But at the end of the day, I’m focusing on what actually works for me.
A few years ago, I set up a simple money tracker in my bullet journal and consistently transferred small amounts into savings for a specific purpose. By the end of the year, we used that money toward an excursion on our Christmas vacation. That small, intentional habit worked — and it reinforced something important: structure doesn’t have to be complicated to be effective.
After sharing my most recent Life Lately post — Christmas at Balkumville: Home Rhythms and What’s Next — I decided to also share my vision board for 2026. Not as a formula, but as an invitation.
When Kids Start Imagining Their Future
My son created a vision board too, using brown construction paper. He wrote words and added doodles to represent his hopes: vacation ideas, a new wardrobe, blue-painted walls, and learning to play the cello. It sounds like 2026 may be a year of thoughtful investments.
Recently, I had coffee with a friend and our conversation drifted to school schedules — and unexpectedly, it turned into valuable insight. In the spring, my son will need to decide whether he wants to pursue learning an instrument. At first, he talked about guitar or drums. But after hearing the Rakow Orchestra perform, he told me he’s now interested in the cello.
So sometime this spring, we’ll begin mapping out what preparation might look like — orchestra pathways, upcoming school requirements, and how that fits with his long-term interest in engineering. We’re almost halfway through his school years, and moments like these feel worth slowing down for.
List or Vision Board—Just Be Intentional
If you’re still reading and wondering whether you should make a list or create a vision board — go for it. For me, the point wasn’t choosing the right method, but choosing to be more honest about how I want to spend my time.
What surprised me most wasn’t what showed up on my vision board — but what didn’t. It quietly revealed that what I’m really craving isn’t more productivity, but more presence. More time with people. More consistency. More care.
That’s where intention starts to move off the page.
Where Intention Turns Into Action
Being intentional doesn’t always mean adding something new. Sometimes it means showing up more fully in places that already exist.
There are so many legitimate organizations that could use skills people already have — time, organization, conversation, encouragement. Places that deliver meals to seniors, support families, mentor youth, or provide mental health resources.
One organization doing meaningful work locally is Rockwall Meals on Wheels, which serves seniors who rely not only on consistent meals, but on connection.
Service doesn’t have to be overwhelming or permanent to matter. Sometimes it’s simply choosing one place and showing up consistently.
That might look like:
• Volunteering at a food bank or shelter
• Coaching a team
• Getting involved at the J.E.R. Chilton YMCA at Rockwall
• Or even trying something new, like joining an adult league through AmeriSports Adult Volleyball
The Kind of Kindness That’s Quiet
There are also everyday acts of care that rarely make headlines — but matter deeply.
Raking leaves. Preparing a meal. Giving someone a ride. Meeting a friend for coffee. Being an encourager when someone needs it most.
Small gestures, done consistently, shape our communities more than we often realize.
Create It Together (If That Feels Right)
For those who enjoy structure, vision board kits with images and motivational quotes can be helpful. One thing I like about these kits is when the full-size images are printed on the back of smaller grid photos — it makes them easier to cut out and reuse in a journal or book.
You could even turn the process into a gathering. Invite a few people you care about, keep the food simple, and create space to talk about what you’re hoping to be more intentional about in the year ahead.
Choosing Materials You’ll Want to See Again
If you host a vision board party, be realistic about supplies. I’m not suggesting a flimsy poster board that ends up hidden in a closet. Use materials you’d actually want to look at — something you’d frame, keep in a book, or revisit weekly. The goal is clarity, not clutter.
Giving Structure to the Dream
If you want to guide the process, simple suggestions can help:
• Health & fitness
• Self-care
• Professional goals
• Family
• Spiritual growth
• Financial intentions
• Travel
• Education
• Home projects
• One bucket-list goal
Try framing intentions as:
• I can…
• I am…
• I will…
Index cards work well for jotting down small steps or journaling. Sometimes clarity comes not from the board itself, but from writing out how you might move toward what you see.
What Would You Like 2026 To Be?
Maybe it’s volunteering. Joining a church community and serving locally or beyond. Or maybe it’s meeting a friend for coffee once a month. Maybe it’s booking the trip you keep postponing.
Or learning something tactile — stained glass, pottery, mosaics, watercolor — anything that brings your hands and mind together.
Whatever you choose, let it be intentional. Let it be visible. And let it be rooted in care — for yourself and for the people around you.
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