Have you considered using a Vision Board for your work goals or OKRs?
Let’s consider the science of why a vision board for work goals may actually help.
We are very visual creatures. A large percentage of the human brain dedicates itself to visual processing. Images are able to grab our attention easily. You can put up a picture of a holiday, or you can write and put up a paper saying, ‘Enjoyed a great day at the beach in Goa in 2019’. Which one has more of an impact on you? Obviously, the picture.
Not only that, we process images at an alarming speed. When we see a picture, we analyze it within a very short snippet of time, knowing the meaning and scenario within it immediately. The human brain is able to recognize a familiar object within 100 milliseconds.
Bright colors capture our attention because our brains are wired to react to them. Our vision senses are by far our most active of the senses. This is also thanks to our evolution. Quick processing of visual information would have saved our ancestors from the attack of a predator. Pictures were also used to remember locations and directions so that we could find water and food, and obviously with no sign boards we had to rely on memory – and so we encoded pictures to remember things.
So pictures have a way of registering in our minds much better than words. By creating pictures of our goals, we are able to tap into our subconscious mind, thereby increasing our chances of reaching those goals.
While vision boards are commonly used by many for visualizing our personal life goals, we haven’t really tapped in to the concept for work related goals or OKRs.
Ever found inspiration in a song? The cues are all around us. All we have to do is be present, be aware and get inspired In a New York Minute.
Creating a vision board for your work goals
So what should we do — we can start by looking at our work goals and thinking of inspiring imagery related to them. It’s important to be creative. For example, if your goal is “hit a 95% on quality of code”, you could think of yourself coding on the keyboard with “95%!” on the monitor, and your face replaced by a big smiley face! Then, with a little help from Google and a photo editor, create these pictures and put them on a board near your workplace where you can see them and get inspired every day.
The happier and crazier your images are, the more effective they will be.
Now when you look at your board, envision those things happening. Think about how would you feel then when you have achieved these, and try to feel the same feelings. Spend at least a few minutes engaging with it every day. By engaging with it every day, the images remind us of what is important and thereby prompts us to take actions towards achieving them, and hence, exponentially improves our chances of accomplishing our goals faster.
Vision board yourself to a better future.
Happy crafting!
If you’re looking ways to be mindful at work, do check out Mindfulness for the Urban Professional – A Conversation.