Visualize: How to Get Things Done and Achieve Your Goals

Reflect – Set your goals – Focus – Believe – Accomplish

One of the best time management tools is the creation of daily, weekly, and monthly lists. It helps us reflect, stay motivated, structured, and focused on our goals and future vision. It also gives us a sense of purpose and enables us to recognize (and hopefully CELEBRATE!) even our small achievements as well as our milestones.

Tomorrow is the beginning of the new week and the new month July is also about to begin. So today is a good day to reflect and to think about the things we want to accomplish, to start or to finish. Writing down our goals helps us visualize them, think them through, and to “make them real” by seeing them on a piece of paper and be reminded of them in that way, which will all eventually help us to stick to them as well as to stay motivated.

The important part of writing down your goals is to be as specific as possible. Thus, when setting goals, using the S.M.A.R.T. goals technique will maximize the probability of actually achieving them. Furthermore, making a change is never easy and quickly done, and involves a whole lot of courage, strength, and commitment. Find my post on the psychology of motivation and making a change with further explanation of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as well as the “5 Steps of Change” HERE.

So, what is the “Wish box” for and how does it work?makeawish

Instructions:
  1. Take a piece of paper and cut it into small pieces.
  2.  Write down your goals (one on each piece of paper) including how you are going to accomplish it and until when (SMART goals technique).
  3. Categorize and rank them (weekly, monthly)
  4. Write the one(s) you need/want to accomplish within this week on an extra list and include the steps into your daily planning for the next week
  5. Add a picture or item of this “dream” or “goal” that reminds you and helps you visualize it. (for example: you want to have your own house within the next 5 years or go on a trip to Bali, then cut out a picture in a magazine or a put a key chain or sticker that reminds you of it in your box)
  6. Focus and do the work that is possible for getting closer to and for achieving your goal eventually.
  7. Believe
  8. Accomplish
  9. CELEBRATE even the smallest achievements!

My lovely box is by Raeder Design, but you can of course also get creative and create your own “Wish Box”. It doesn’t have to be out of wood, it could be made of cardboard, paper, or can even simply be a shoe box.

Just as a personal example for Step #5: when I moved to Berlin and I found my apartment, I had to apply for it really hoped I’d get it. I added the business card of the contact person in my box with the address of the apartment. It simply helped me with Step #7 , thus with believing that I will get it. And it worked.

Please keep in mind that this box is NOT a guarantee for achieving your goals. It is still entirely up to you what you make of it and if a “tool” like this works for you or not. It’s a simple reminder of the power of our thoughts, our motivation, and belief in ourselves.

“Stay hungry. Stay foolish.” (Steve Jobs)

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