We’re grateful for each year that we’re lucky enough to experience with family and friends, but we’re also always excited for a new year to come around because it fills us with a sense of promise, freshness, and possibility. That’s why you’ll always find us making resolutions and goal lists around this time of the year! We like to keep our resolutions realistic so we don’t feel stressed or disappointed in ourselves as the year goes on, but we also love outlining the things we’d like to achieve and the personal changes we’d like to make.
Being crafty and practical people, it only makes sense that we find it helpful to write our resolutions and goals down so we can reflect back on the things we’d really like to get done. There are so many different ways to keep track of your goals in 2018, though, that we couldn’t help browsing through other people’s ideas for some inspiration. Just in case you could use some list making and resolution tracking motivation too, check out these 15 awesome ideas we could hardly make ourselves choose between!
1. Rotating goals list made with sticky notes
Are you intent on keeping track of your goals this year, no matter how big or small, but you’re not picky on which order you achieve them in so long as you work hard and do your best? Then we think maybe you’d enjoy this rotating sticky note idea from Pink Invasion best! When you’re feeling ready to tackle a particular thing on your list, swap the sticky notes and put that thing at the top so you can see your goal clearly until you feel like you’ve reached it. This idea also lets you adjust and swap out goals depending on your needs throughout the year!
2. Hand drawn bullet journal page
Have you always been more of a visual person and you find charts, webs, and shapes more helpful in staying on track and meeting goals rather than just long lists of words and self made demands? Then we have a feeling you’d feel better about making yourself a journal page like this “Hey, Let’s” web idea from T. Matthews Fine Art! Rather than being a specific list of resolutions that you should feel pressured to meet, this web lets you keep track of nice things you like to do and would like to do more of and make you feel inspired to remember to give those things the time they deserve in 2018 when you want to feel happy.
3. Visual goals wall for kids
Perhaps your kids have recently learned about New Year’s resolutions and they want to make some too, just like their adult relatives, but they’re not quite ready to be making lists or keeping mental notes about how they should improve their behaviour? In that case, a visual sticky note motivation wall might be the best idea to keep them on track! Help them draw pictures to represent things like “eat more veggies”, “read more books”, or “spend time with my siblings”, just like Homeschool Crafts did here. When they need a reminder, they can look at the wall! Using sticky notes lets them add to the wall or take things away when they feel they need to.
4. Goals by month or day
Does the idea of setting lofty goals for your entire year stress you out too much and you don’t want to give yourself more things to worry about than necessary, even though you’d still like to meet some goals and motivate yourself? In that case, we think perhaps you’d feel better about making yourself goal lists along smaller timelines! Why not make a list by month or by week so the resolutions you make are a little more manageable and easy to visualize throughout the year? We like the way Bullet Journal kept their lists.
5. Categorized goal lists
Have you been thinking about all the different things you’d like to achieve this year and you’re starting to realize that generalized resolutions might not actually be that helpful for you because there are a few different areas of your life that you’d really like to improve upon? Then perhaps you’d feel better about making yourself categorized goal lists instead! We love the way Jillian’s Books made more manageable goal lists for school, their blog, and life in general, letting them concentrate on the things they’d like to do without getting overwhelmed.
6. Illustrated goals journal
We already talked a little bit about visual goal lists and creating webs that will help you organize your thoughts and goals in a way that’s more helpful for the way you think and learn, but what if even that is a little much for you? Well, who said you can’t make your entire resolution list for 2018 in actual pictures? We love the way this Pinterest feature actually drew out and doodled the things they want to achieve and work on this year. This list is an especially good idea for artists and creatives.
7. Flashy goal cards
Maybe you’d rather have a smaller version of your goals and resolutions rather than making yourself a big poster or decorating a page in a book? Then maybe some goal based flash cards would be a better idea for you! Make them look colourful and keep them by your bed so you can browse through all the awesome things you want to do when you’re feeling a little demotivated. If you make them look cheerful and positive like My Indian Version did with these ones, you’ll feel energized reading through them rather than pressured.
8. DIY goals web
Did you actually like the visual goals web so much that you’d like to make an even more in-depth web to really outline all kinds of goals and ideas you have for 2018? Then try making your own wall web of goals, ideas, and motivation pieces, just like Simply J Savage did here! They hung up things that motivated them and pushed them towards goals and mapped out a potential plan of action using yarn or coloured string.
9. Vision board for the year
Has the idea of making a vision board always appealed to you a lot more than making actual lists full of words and demands? In that case, why not make yourself a bigger vision board for the whole year using that corkboard on the wall you’ve never really used? We love the way The Fit Switch used bright colours, positive language, and motivating statements to map out the things they’d really like to get done and succeed at in 2018.
10. Clothes pin goals vs achieved board
If you’re going to make goals and keep track of the things you’ve succeeded at throughout the year, would you like to follow a design that actually lets you move the goals around and see what you’ve managed versus what you’ve still got left to try your hand at doing? In that case, take a look at the way A Little Craft in Your Day split their board between things they’ve done and things they’ve still got left to do. Move each thing from the top clothes pins to the bottom ones as you finish them!
11. Goals board made with paint chips
If there’s one thing we find more positive, happy, and motivating than almost anything else, it’s bright colours! In fact, the colours don’t even have to be bright, per se; we find any colours we love soothing! That’s why we thought this idea from Burlap and Lace for making a goals board out of paint chips was such a good idea! Their tutorial shows you how to arrange the chips under the glass of a wall hanging picture frame so you can write on each square with a dry erase marker but also make edits.
12. Visual motivation board
Are you still thinking about how much you love the idea of a visual motivation board because you’re always been a very visually based person and learner, but none of the photo based ideas we’ve shown you so far have quite caught your eye yet? In that case, we suggest taking a look at the way Single Mom Journey created this motivational collage board from magazine clippings and positive statement words! You might not be writing down actual resolutions, but that doesn’t mean the board won’t keep you working hard in 2018.
13. Goals and allowance board for kids
Perhaps your family has made the collective resolution to work harder together on getting housework and shores around your home done quickly so you have more free time to enjoy together doing other things? Then we’d definitely suggest taking a look at how Living Well, Spending Less organized their family a chore and allowance board! Keep track of tasks and whether they’ve been done on a cork board and place a dollar behind each chore as motivation for the doer to collect.
14. Framed dry erase learning targets for students
Are the most important resolutions and goals for either you or your kids in 2018 academic ones and you’re looking for ways to keep track of the individual tasks you want to complete and tackle as the year goes on, things change, and new ones arise? Then maybe some customized dry erase frames for each subject of study would be helpful! Check out how Welcome to First Grade made these ones from photo frames and scrapbooking paper.
15. Vision planner and motivation book
Have you always been a slightly more private person and you feel like putting your goals and resolutions all over the walls and on display for others to see might be a little too public and stressful for you? Then perhaps a diary style goals and motivations note and scrapbook would be more beneficial for you! If you create one that’s portable in size, you can carry it anywhere to remind you of the things you’d like to achieve and the people or things that might inspire you along the way. Check out how Five Sixteenths made this one!
