How to Create a Motivation Wall and how it can Save you Time and Money!

One of the tools I have used to help me change my life (I went from homeless single mum to multiple international award-winning CEO) is a motivation wall. I love it and achieve so much more when I actively use it.

On Instagram I mentioned it and was asked to share mine, so I have posted it below. I share what I have on mine and how to do your own. Disclosure, there are a couple of affiliate links in this post. Click here to see my full disclosure.

What is a Motivation Wall?

A motivation wall is something I created for myself back in 2012. My marriage fell apart (I left him, he was abusive) and I needed to overhaul my life.

I’d read about vision boards in The Secret and more on the topic in The Answer (I preferred this to The Secret) back in 2010. I knew I needed more.

My motivation wall includes a vision board, my calendar, goals, savings graphs (back in 2012 it had a graph for debt needing to be paid off) and anything else I need to stay motivated.

This is my 2011/2012 Vision Board and Motivation Wall:

Not long after creating this, I got the courage to leave my abusive marriage, lost a lot of weight and the debt plus travelled. A lot of what is on here happened during some of my hardest times too.

How does a Motivation Wall Save Time and Money?

When I am focused, can see what I am working on and have a visual reminder I am much more likely to stick to my budget and do what I set out to do. (For more on ways to save money check out this post and for time, here are 18 ways to save time as a busy mum.)

Think about it, if you have a graph on your wall showing how much debt you have and you’re colouring it in as you pay the debt off, it’ll be on your mind, won’t it? And isn’t seeing the debt reduce motivating?

With your vision board, having it there with what you want in your life and seeing it means your subconscious will lock it away. If it is in your subconscious it means your mind will always be looking for ways to make your goals and dreams happen.

To be clear though, while it is great to have these visual reminders, you still need to take action! My wall is the first thing I see every morning. It’s on the wall next to my bed which I face when I wake.

What’s on my Motivation Wall?

Here is my 2018 wall with everything I was willing to share publicly. A few things were removed for this picture and you can’t see some of the finer print. I am currently working on my 2022 one.

A Calendar

My calendar keeps me on track. I can see what we are doing each day plus I add in there when I want certain goals to be achieved. School holidays, public holidays, family events and more are there.

Yes, I use a digital calendar too, but this one in my room works better for me to stay motivated. Also, when we write things down instead of typing, our brain seems to lock it in harder so we don’t forget.

Savings Graph

We have a few on the one A4 sheet. I downloaded ours free (there are heaps online) then changed it in Canva to suit our needs. I removed my graph for court for this picture, which was my main savings goal.

n the picture above I have our family savings. One thermometer is for Cairns and The Great Barrier Reef, another for Uluru and surrounds, the others are more personal. My kids love this!

Vision Board

In the picture above, I didn’t have a specific vision board. Usually, I get a card and glue things on it for my vision board. In previous years this has included things from all areas of my life from career and finance to health and things I want in my home. I share how I do it below.

For 2018, I was focused on court proceedings, our health and our finances. As such, I chose not to put my usual travel, car and home pictures up. Instead, I have a few images which mean something to me.

Early 2019, I was confident I would get custody (I did) and created a board more focused on travel. See image further down.

Now in 2022, I have full custody of my kids, we did some travel etc until the world closed and I am about to have another baby. My life is so different and there are numerous changes happening in the next few months so it has been a little difficult getting focused on what I want.

Motivational Quotes

I have quotes on my motivation wall, my mirrors in my bedroom and bathroom plus around our home. They’re changed regularly and often prompt conversations with friends, family and my kids. I use them as affirmations at times too. In 2018, I had:

Health Quotes

“The most valuable secret of vitality is found in your own body.”
“Slay your health goals!”
“Let exercise be your stress relief, not food.”

Other Quotes

“Be fearlessly authentic!”
“Stay true to yourself.”
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.” ~ Winston Churchill.
“Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.” ~Charles R. Kettering.
“Money serves my highest good.”

Our goals

I have all our goals written down and printed out. They outline what we want to achieve and how we will do it. A copy of our family goals is stuck on our pantry door too.

How to Create a Vision Board

A vision board is essentially a visual representation of what you want in your life. Over the years, I’ve had many and it has been amazing what I have achieved or received.

Having that visual reminder helps me stay focused and it helps my subconscious find opportunities. My dream car, travel, experiences, diving qualifications and more have all been put on there and achieved.

Know Your Goals and Why

How do you want your life to look and why? What is important to you, what dreams and goals do you have?

You don’t know to know how they will happen or have a full plan on how you will get your dream car. Simply know what you want at this stage.

Spend Time With Images

My preference is to grab a stack of magazines, go through them and rip out what inspires me or what I want. This is not environmentally friendly or frugal though. Mentally, it has worked the best for me.

Another option is to go digital. Search specifically for what you want, create a digital vision board, use it as your background and screensaver on devices and print it out for your wall. You can also print out exactly what you want by searching for it specifically instead.

Be clear on what you want with these images. Don’t settle for near enough, really feel and get the right image for your vision board.

Put it Where you Will see it

As mentioned, you can make it the screensaver and background of devices, print copies to put on your wall etc. My preference is to do it all but the one for my wall is created through a mixture of magazine images and printed images.

I put it on my bedroom wall and make it part of the whole motivation wall as above.