Map Your Progress

Looking for a life hack to help you reach a goal? Check this out.

I love sharing resources as well as ideas with you. This time I have a GREAT one!

Map Your Progress is a new initiative to help you accomplish your goals by coloring your progress.

You may remember the old thermometer posters that were sometimes used to show the amount of money raised for a project. This is like that, but much more personal and much more creative.

It all started when Californian Amy Jones got a clear message from her accountant that it was time to clean up her financial mess. She had carried debt on credit cards for much too long, and it was time to pay them off. (Funny how easy it is to put charges on a credit card and so hard to get it off!)

As a tool to help her stay focused and encouraged, Amy decided to turn her knack for doodling (in boring meetings and conference calls) into something practical to help her abolish her debt.

Using an unused canvas that was laying around, she drew swirls to represent specific increments ($100). Then each time she paid that much towards debt, she would color in the appropriate number of swirls. Brilliant!

After a few months, the drawing actually built up Amy’s confidence. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, she actually believed she could eliminate her debt. And she did it, more than $26,000 worth! Wow.

I used a similar technique in the past to mark off chapters of the bible I read in a year. But this is way more fun than little boxes. This is creative! And it’s something you can keep in front of you all the time.

What is your goal? To save for something you need or want? To pay off debt? Lose weight? Count down an event? Go to the gym? Get through school?

You can purchase a drawing from Amy or create your own. All sorts of drawings are available, with different numbers of swirls. Pick one that fits your goal, or make your own.

I need this to accomplish a big goal I have, so I’m going to make one of these. It will be prominently placed somewhere in my home when I can see it all the time. It will surely serve as both a motivation (to get it colored in) and an encouragement (as I make progress).

Amy shares my passion to help make your life better. Check out her site, MapYourProgress.com for ideas, patterns and even a great blog.