Part of a plan of trying to get slightly more organised in 2019 was getting into using a planner. But I knew from experience that I generally forget to use my planners and they end up lying forgotten in my bag, rarely looked at. So I was looking around for something a bit more to my liking. That was when I came across the concept of Bullet Journals, and it seemed perfect to me. The fact that it is so personal, you can keep whatever you want or need in it, and that can change over time, really spoke to me. So, I spent most of January looking around for things that I wanted to incorporate into my own Bullet Journal and finding inspiration. And now, as February rolls around, I have it set up to use. The set up is in no way final, but it is functional, and I am looking forward to seeing it grow.
The Journal itself
For my very first Bullet Journal, I decided to go with the Leuchtturm1917 Bullet Journal Edition, since it seemed like a good beginner journal. It has an index, a Key page, three bookmarks, and several pages of basic instructions in the back. I quite like the notebook itself, but I will probably get the regular version next time. I personally didn’t like the look of the Key page, and ended up using a glue stick to glue it together with the next page to hide it (I am planning on decorating that page soon, I have the design decided already). I probably won’t use a key that much anyway, because I’m not organised enough at this point. Likewise, I am very unlikely to use a colour code, because I tend to just use the colour I feel like using at the moment.
Anyway, enough rambling. Let’s take a look at how my very first Bullet Journal is coming along.
2019 at a glance…
I have been looking around a lot for a layout that I liked, and found myself coming back to this one. There is room around the boxes for those days when I feel like doodling, but still have plenty of room for notes on every month. I chose to combine the calendar and my future log into one because it made sense to me.
Birthdays!
Let it be said, I am in no way an artist, but at least I tried? I originally wanted to use presents for all 12 months, but I ran out of ideas for the last five and ended up just doodling whatever for those… But who cares really, it keeps all relevant birthdays on one page within easy access, something that I sorely need. I am terrible at remembering birthdays, so this is going to be a great help. And I can always think of a better design for the next one 😉
4theWords Tracker
I use this amazing website called 4theWords to help me keep up my writing habit, and I wanted to include a tracker for that in my Bullet Journal. It helps me see at a glance how I’ve been doing lately, with green for all days I have managed to complete a ‘streak-day’ of 444 words, and orange for the days when I break my streak. Having this easily view-able helps to keep me motivated even when not logged into the website. (Also, if you’re a writer and a gamer, do check the site out, it is awesome.)
Work Schedule
Next up is another thing that is really helpful to have easily accessible; my work schedule. I work on a six-week schedule, and it helps a lot when putting my work hours into my weekly spreads to have the full schedule within the journal itself. I also reserved a page for my summer schedule when that rolls around because it is usually quite different from the rest of the year. I also noted down my planned vacation weeks for easy access.
Regular expenses
Something that has been tripping me up on occasion, is all the small monthly expenses that are pulled automatically from my credit card, such as Netflix, Spotify and YouTube Premium. I have on more than one occasion forgotten to have the money for those on the correct account at the correct time because I usually don’t keep much money on my card account. This spread is used to keep track of all those recurring things and helps me keep a better eye on my finances. I might expand it with a savings tracker or shopping tracker at a later point, I haven’t decided yet.
February Monthly Spread
Let’s get into the planner part of this, shall we? This is my monthly spread for February. It is very basic at the moment, but that is subject to change, if not with this one then with later spreads. At this stage, it consists of a slightly larger calendar of the month, marked with week numbers as well as the corresponding week on my work schedule to make it easy to keep track, and boxes to keep track of birthdays, appointments and events. It also holds a to-do list and plenty of empty space in case I think of something else I want to place there.
Weekly spreads
I have opted out of having daily spreads because let’s be real, I don’t have enough stuff to keep track of daily. A weekly spread works well for me, and this is the design I decided on for February. I still haven’t decided what to use the extra space for (apart from doodling which I will likely be doing retroactively when the mood strikes me) but I have considered a coffee tracker (to keep an eye on how many cups of coffee I drink during a week, which is most likely far too many). We’ll see what I come up with on that front.
Books to read in 2019
I have always been an avid reader, and I have a huge list of books that I have been meaning to read but haven’t gotten around to (not everything has been added yet). While I do use Goodreads to keep track, this way I always have my reading list with me, complete with the ability to add to it if I find something interesting when away from home. I have included a few books on this list that are re-reads of books that I remember enjoying but the majority are first-time reads that I am really looking forward to.
Coming up
My Bullet Journal journey has only just begun, and I am not even close to done. I have more things to add as I go along, such as things to help me keep track of this blog, and spaces for jotting down ideas when I am on the move. I will also be adding doodles and quotes as I go along, as well as anything else I can think of.
Rounding this up I would love to hear any suggestions on how I can make this journal even more functional, and any tips from more seasoned journallers. Also, feel free to show me your spreads for February, I would love to see them!
Have a wonderful day and stay crazy!
Luna Sky
