Hello everyone!
Today I am going to tell you about a planning system that completely changed the game for me, and since I found out about it I got obsessed. The bullet journal is basically a personalized planner, and the only thing you need is a notebook and a pen. Allow me to teach you the basics!
Today I am going to tell you about a planning system that completely changed the game for me, and since I found out about it I got obsessed. The bullet journal is basically a personalized planner, and the only thing you need is a notebook and a pen. Allow me to teach you the basics!
The bullet journal is a way to have all of your thoughts in one place in a way that's organized and works for your daily life.
To start, you are going to need a notebook, preferably with numbered pages! Because otherwise numbering the pages is going to take a lot of time! (I'm speaking from experience). Now you are ready to go, let me explain how it works!
You'll want to make an Index, which is going to help you find the pages you created way faster. Title at least 4 pages 'INDEX' because believe me, you will need it! After that you can create a future log
To start, you are going to need a notebook, preferably with numbered pages! Because otherwise numbering the pages is going to take a lot of time! (I'm speaking from experience). Now you are ready to go, let me explain how it works!
You'll want to make an Index, which is going to help you find the pages you created way faster. Title at least 4 pages 'INDEX' because believe me, you will need it! After that you can create a future log
The future log is basically a complete overview of the year. Title 4 Pages 'Future Log' and divide all of them in 3 even parts, so you have one for every month.
This the basic layout, but off course you can make it as basic and simple or as crazy and artistic as you want! Thats the fun of it all!
Check the page numbers on your future log (or write the page numbers in) and add them to the Index for easy reference! Here you can write any mayor appointments, birthdays, holidays, ETC.!
Now, this is where te fun starts. It's time to create your system and figure out what works the best for you!
For me, I always starts with a 'Monthly' page. Just title it with the month you wanna log, and add the numbers for each day!
Now, this is where te fun starts. It's time to create your system and figure out what works the best for you!
For me, I always starts with a 'Monthly' page. Just title it with the month you wanna log, and add the numbers for each day!
This allows me to be a little more specific with my appointments. And again, there are so many ways of doing this and laying it out! Do some research online or just change it up until it's perfect for you! I put some mayor taks I wanna complete in this month as well, so I don't lose track of them. Again, number the pages and add them to the index!
Then there is the heart and soul of a bullet journal, the Daily Spreads! There are a lot of people that like to use weekly spreads, but I learned that didn't work for me. But you should try it, because it might be perfect for you! These daily spreads are very helpful for making to do list and mapping out your day, this is how it works!
There are different keys that the inventor of the Bullet Journal set up to make this nice and organized
Then there is the heart and soul of a bullet journal, the Daily Spreads! There are a lot of people that like to use weekly spreads, but I learned that didn't work for me. But you should try it, because it might be perfect for you! These daily spreads are very helpful for making to do list and mapping out your day, this is how it works!
There are different keys that the inventor of the Bullet Journal set up to make this nice and organized
Put the day and date you wanna log, and start mapping out your day! Put a dot for every task you have to do that day, complete that task? Change the dot into a X! Do you have any appointments that day? mark them with a O and put the time/place/occasion. Fill the O in when you are done with the appointment or just put an X through it just like with the tasks. Any notes you wanna take that day, mark them with a - Etc.
Did an appointment/task get canceled that day? Cross it out. Did an appointment/task get moved (yay procrastination squad) you can put a < to signify that you moved the task to the future or monthly log. Use a > to signify that you are moving it to the next day.
It's very easy once you get into it and it is very organized since you can spot all the events/notes etc on a page in no time!
Again, this is very easy to customize. You can do it super minimalistic, just like the way I started doing it!
Did an appointment/task get canceled that day? Cross it out. Did an appointment/task get moved (yay procrastination squad) you can put a < to signify that you moved the task to the future or monthly log. Use a > to signify that you are moving it to the next day.
It's very easy once you get into it and it is very organized since you can spot all the events/notes etc on a page in no time!
Again, this is very easy to customize. You can do it super minimalistic, just like the way I started doing it!
I started customizing my daily spreads because I wasn't satisfied with how it looked & I wanted it to contain more information about that day, So I after a couple of months, after I was comfortable with the system, I added the weather and a timeline to map out my day even more!
You can flip back to your future and monthly log to see appointments and task you had already planned and add them in your daily so for once you don't forget to do the laundry this week, or water those poor plants you really needed at the time.
Once you get comfortable and familiar with this system, you can expand! A popular spread to add to your journal is the habit tracker (I know I misspelled it in my journal. Just bare with me here). This is a useful tool to teach yourself some habits or just to track them. Are you a bad parent to your plants? Add 'Water plants' to your habit tracker to see when you last watered them and to constantly be reminded to take care of them. I use medication, so I am tracking that as well. The amount of times I have asked myself 'Did I take my meds today.....?' was getting ridiculous, and now I can double-check it in my journal!
I added a graph to display my everyday mood, as well as my diet and my sleep. I rate them daily ( I did badly on my diet this weekend. Whoops!) so I have a nice overview at the end of the month.
Once you get comfortable and familiar with this system, you can expand! A popular spread to add to your journal is the habit tracker (I know I misspelled it in my journal. Just bare with me here). This is a useful tool to teach yourself some habits or just to track them. Are you a bad parent to your plants? Add 'Water plants' to your habit tracker to see when you last watered them and to constantly be reminded to take care of them. I use medication, so I am tracking that as well. The amount of times I have asked myself 'Did I take my meds today.....?' was getting ridiculous, and now I can double-check it in my journal!
I added a graph to display my everyday mood, as well as my diet and my sleep. I rate them daily ( I did badly on my diet this weekend. Whoops!) so I have a nice overview at the end of the month.
I love to read as well, and I always forget the books I get suggested. So I made a 'Books to read' page as well! This way I don't forget any cool books I get suggested and when I finish them, I add the date. This way I can tell when I last read that specific book.
You can do this with loads of things! You wanna track your expenses? Go for it! Make notes of video/blog ideas, where you traveled, anything you can think of! Just research online and I am sure you are going to find spreads and layouts that work perfectly for you and make your life easier.
Do you have any questions about this system, or would you like a more in-dept post about my personal journal? Send me an Email or leave a comment!
Happy planning!
XOXO Brenda
Do you have any questions about this system, or would you like a more in-dept post about my personal journal? Send me an Email or leave a comment!
Happy planning!
XOXO Brenda