Have you ever created a goal map for your aspirations for the year? How about for the projects and ideas you’d like to accomplish in your creative life?
If you’re new to this whole making goals for your creative life thing, then read this article first on why it’s important to make them. Then come back here and make a fun map for yourself!
Mapping your goals visually is a great way to literally see the journey you’ll be taking as you work towards your goals. I started doing this for my big projects (such as writing my first book!) several years ago and have found it to be really helpful.
Not only am I able to see the big picture (super important), I’m also able to drill down to all the steps it’s going to take for me to get to my final destination.
Once you decide on the project you want to map, I highly recommend you take a moment to brain dump every single task you’ll need to do for this project onto a sheet of paper. Once you have everything down, you’ll be better able to create your map.
This is your map, so make it your own. Stickers, markers, paint, ephemera, doodles . . . anything goes for your goal map! In the video, I kept to a very basic map so I could share the process, but you could definitely take it up a notch and add your own personal touch.
How to Make a Goal Map
To get started, you will need to think about your goal map template (don’t be afraid of that term, it’s just a way of seeing the big picture.) Think about how you want to visually represent your goals. Garden stones, fence posts, ladders, leaves on a tree, and other natural images come to mind when I think of a creating a path on paper.
What do you want to make?
Gather your pencil, paper, and ideas and watch this video for how I make a goal map. (Note: for some reason, the screen bounces a bit for the first minute of the video but then it stops—ah, the joys of live video!)
For this video on goal mapping, I am using the Make Map Art book that I received several years ago from a friend. I’ve used this book of papers and ideas over and over throughout the years for mapping memories and ideas. It’s really a lot of fun!
You can use whatever paper you have on hand and decorate it as you’d like. The idea is to make a colorful map that you can hang on your vision board or wall so you can track your progress. (And keep yourself on task!)
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial on how to map your creative goals.
Have a lovely {and creative} day!
