I have never been the best planner. I tend to fly by the seat of my pants for the most part. Getting ideas and acting on them shortly after. But in the last few years, at about this time of year I find that I am drawn to doing a little more planning ahead than usual, and do you know what I have noticed? The things that I am dreaming to do and wanting to make happen are coming together much smoother as a result. I know, I know, hard to believe right?

But seriously there are a few rituals that I do this time of year as the seasons are changing.  Where I live things are getting colder and I tend to go into my shell a little more – in a good reflective way that is.

One of the things that I always do this time of year is clear out old junk, literally and metaphorically speaking. The last few weeks I have been tidying around the house and in my home studio space (there are pockets of creative space throughout my house) getting rid of stuff that I don’t use. I have been clearing out the old to make room for the new. Not necessarily new stuff, but new ideas, dreams, hopes, aspirations, the kind of stuff that takes up a lot of mental and emotional space and needs a tidy organized environment to thrive. Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not a neat freak, and I’m all for a bit of creative chaos, just as long as it doesn’t become so distracting that it gets in the way of my new ideas and creativity growing.

Another thing I like to do this time of year is a vision board, otherwise known as a dream board. I find that as a visual person, visioning my year ahead in this way helps me tap into those unconscious dreams and aspirations in ways that just writing lists cannot. And it is a tool that I can use throughout the year to help keep me focused on my vision and my intentions for the year.

The next thing that I like to do is review my Life & Biz planner from the year (I use Leonie Dawson’s Shining Year in Life and Business). It is amazing to see what I have dreamt up and what I have accomplished. I review throughout the year of course.

I then set out to fill in my new planner for the upcoming year. This is by no means a rushed process. I like to begin to fill it out in early December and work on it as much as I can each week so that I am ready for the new year. I don’t always fill out every part, and sometimes come back to fill out parts when it makes sense for me to.

What I know is that this process of doing opening to vision and  filling in the 2015 workbook help bring more clarity into my life. These simple but powerful rituals really help me focus on my intention to bring more of what I want into my life, namely a joy filled year.

What do you do to help bring life into your intentions?

Need some support getting started?  In person or online vision board workshops are available.  Creative visioning online workshops available, online art journaling and  Toronto vision board workshop.