In this blog post, I'll discuss why it's essential to take your time when setting your intentions and goals for 2022. Also, let's talk about how physical vision boards are out, but digital vision boards are in! I'll detail a step-by-step tutorial on how you can create your 2022 virtual vision board, too.
Hi, friends! Is it too late to say Happy New Year??? Well, I hope not because that is literally the type of vibe that I'm on right now – moving and doing how I see fit. Listen, I just simply want to know who came up with the concept that by January 1st, I need to have my entire year planned out? That my goals should already be written in stone by the first of the year? That if I'm not on a "New Year, New Me" type of attitude, then my year will be trash? Well, if you're like me and you've felt a little guilty for not being prepared or ready to tackle the new year by January 1, 2022, then this post is for you.
Rest > Productivity.
Lately I've been on a kick of not really rushing to plan things. For those of you who are new to the blog, I'm currently a first-year doctoral student studying public health with a concentration in environmental health. Not only does my days consist of long hours of coursework and study-time, as a teaching assistant, I am also busy most of the day/week grading papers, printing tests, holding office hours, responding to emails of persistent students on why they can't receive extra credit on future assignments although they never turned in past assignments, and so much more. And of course, fulfilling my weekly research duties so that I can, needless to say, graduate in a few years! *Whew! Breathe, Xiara, breathe.* I know – this is the life that I chose. I'm grateful to be here but I must admit that last semester drained the life out of me - mentally, physically, and emotionally. When the semester finally ended and winter break arrived, I was insistent on utilizing the majority of my downtime to decompress and rest. I knew that if I didn't use this period to finally sit down and do absolutely nothing, I wouldn't be able to continue school in the next coming weeks. No, seriously! I almost lost my mind a few times in these last few months and ultimately, my body needed to recuperate from that. But now that I feel well rested - thank you, Lord! - I still find myself taking my time when it comes to visualizing my intentions/goals for 2022.
Relax, sis.
January 1, 2022 snuck on me like a thief in the night. Sure, I had a few goals or ideas in mind that I would like to conquer in this upcoming year, but I still didn't feel solid in my vision(s) for 2022. Like I know that I want my relationship with my long-distance boyfriend of almost four years to enter into a new level, but what should I be doing financially or emotionally to get there? Of course I want to do more with my research or gain recognition for my work, but what does that look like? What specific things can I do to get there? This year, almost more than anything, I want to cultivate more self-love for myself. But again, what does that look like? More mani-pedis? More solo dinner dates? Although I have a love-hate relationship with my natural hair – should I flaunt my tight 4C curls more often as as avenue to gain more self-love? Chile, all of these thoughts were dancing around in my head on NYE. I began to feel a bit pressured to have it all figured out by the next day. I even felt forced to write a new blog post by the first day of the year. I also felt guilty for not using my downtime to really set my intentions for the new year along with every detail that was associated with my future goals.
But if there's one thing that I've learned in my adult life: you will never have it all figured out. And that's okay. I realized that there is no rush to setting my intentions/goals for the new year. I also realized that I needed to use my winter break to rest and not plan. Listening to one of my favorite podcasts – Balanced Black Girl - Episode 118: Reframing the Reset, Redefining Productivity, + Creating Systems of Self-Care – really helped me with being okay about choosing rest over productivity and learning how to take the new year in slowly, at my own pace. I've even decided that I'm going to use the entire month of January as my time for preparation. I also plan to use this time to incorporate more prayer into my daily routine, because what is preparation without prayer?! It's impossible, I tell you.
So I encourage you all to enter into the new year and this new season with a mindset of your choosing. Whether you choose to settle into the new year as cool as a cucumber or go full throttle – all gas, no breaks if you will – move as you see fit. You're not behind if you haven't created your 2022 list of goals yet. The vision board can wait until you are good and ready!
How to make a virtual vision board (for whenever you're in the mood, friend):
And speaking of vision boards – now it's time for the fun part! @itsbrilew via Instagram gave me the idea to make a virtual vision board this year and this has been the best thing that I've discovered yet! After posting my vision board on my close friends through my personal Instagram account, many of my friends and followers asked how they could create their own virtual vision board, too. So below I'll detail a few, easy steps on how you can create yours.
Xiara's 2022 Virtual Vision Board
Step 1: Go to Canva.com and create a free account.
Step 2: Once you've created an account, go to the homepage and in the search bar, type "Photo Collage". Here you will find a variety of different photo collage templates*. Choose one template that you would like to start your virtual vision board with and from there, design away! For my specific virtual vision board that is pictured above, I chose the "Green and Brown Realistic Interior Design Moodboard Photo Collage."
(*Please Note: Canva has free, paid, and pro design templates. If you would like to use the paid or pro templates, simply upgrade your account to one of their monthly subscriptions.)
Step 3: Now that you've chosen your desired template, it's really up to you as to how you would like to insert your photos or words. On the left side of the design page, you will see an "Elements", "Photos", and "Text" icon. From here you can find a plethora of design tools, words, and photos by typing in a word or two in the search bar. For my virtual vision board, I utilized photos that I bookmarked/saved on my personal instagram account. You can easily transfer photos from your phone or laptop by dragging the image from your desktop onto the Canva webpage until you see a green plus button. If you want to use photos from your phone, just airdrop or download the photos onto your desktop and from there, repeat the step above.
Step 4: When you're finished with your masterpiece, you can download your design by clicking the three dots in the upper right corner and select "Download". You can download your content in a variety of different settings such as a PDF, JPG and more. I saved my virtual vision board design as a JPG so that I could use it as the screensaver on my laptop and phone. Feel free to save and view your design however you see fit.
As you can see, in just a few easy steps, you can create your own virtual vision board! You can literally customize every little detail of your design and that's what I absolutely love about #Canva. It's a user-friendly graphic design platform used to create social media graphics, presentations, posters, and other visual content. I even used my vision board template to create a mood board for my best friend's upcoming bachelorette trip that I'm in charge of ;) Needless to say, virtual vision boards are definitely in. Feel free to share your virtual vision board with me by emailing me at XisEssentials@gmail.com or you can DM me a picture of your virtual vision board at Xi's Essentials IG page. I'd love to see what visions you have in store for this year.
Stay encouraged, friends.
Xi's Takeaway Essentials:
Don't feel guilty for choosing rest over planning and productivity.
You know the vibes – move at your own pace.
Get into virtual vision boards. They're easy and fun to make!
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