Just draw a line: The Life Planning exercise I do with every coaching client
Okay, so hear me out.
I know vision boards have a bit of a reputation. Either you're obsessed with them (hi, me in my early twenties with a pile of magazine cutouts) or you've tried it, felt a little silly, and quietly wondered why nothing on that board ever actually happened.
Here's what I think is going on.
A vision board without context is just wishful thinking.
And I say that with so much love — because dreaming big is beautiful. But if your dream isn't tethered to your actual life — your timeline, your kids' ages, your partner's plans, your finances — your brain doesn't actually believe it. And if you don't believe it, it won't happen. There's real research on this, by the way.
So a few years ago, I started doing something with my 1:1 coaching clients that changed everything.
I call it the timeline exercise.
Here's how it works
Step one: draw a line. Seriously. Grab a big piece of paper (tabloid size is great, or cardstock from the dollar store) and draw a horizontal line across the middle.
Step two: add the concrete milestones. These are the facts. The things you already know. When will your kids start high school? When do you turn 40, 50, 60? What age might you or your partner retire? Start with what isn't going to change much and build from there.
Step three: add the hopes and dreams. Once the facts are on there, now you get to dream. Where do you want to be in your career at 45? What does travel look like when your kids are older? Put it all on the line.
Step four: add the vision. Grab some magazine cutouts, stickers, printed photos — anything that represents how you want to feel in each phase. Put them around your timeline, or flip it over and do a full vision board on the back. Both work.
What you end up with is a vision that's grounded in your real life. One your brain can actually get behind.
Why this works
When I first did this with a client — an incredibly analytical thinker who was struggling to dream big — something clicked the moment the timeline was on the whiteboard. The abstract became concrete. The future became real. The vision became believable.
That's the whole thing.
Believable.
If you create a vision you don't actually think is possible for you, it won't happen. But if you marry that big beautiful dream with a timeline that makes sense — one that takes your real life into context — you will show up for it in a completely different way.
Want to do this yourself?
You can do this solo on your couch with a glass of wine. Invite some friends over and make a morning of it (mimosas encouraged). Do it with your partner.
If you do — I genuinely want to see it.
Take a photo and tag me on Instagram at @allfiguredoutandrea.
And if you want to do this with a room full of incredible women in real life? That's exactly what we do at the Breakfast Club — my monthly gathering for working mothers in West Vancouver. Join the Breakfast Club here
This exercise changed how I coach. I think it might change how you plan.
Want more of this?
Listen to the full podcast episode that inspired this blog post and learn about what I’m pondering, what I’m loving and what I’m wearing!