How I Use My Bullet Journal + Inspiration Ideas
This post is for all the organisation freaks like me - but not only.
This year, I have started using a bullet journal. Yes, a bullet journal! I think you either love the idea or you don't, and when they first started being around, I thought bullet journals were too much work, needed too much creativity and skill (that I didn't have) and I really thought I would never find a use for them. Fast forward a few years - and a lot of improvement in my organisational skills! - here I am, sharing with you how you can make use of a bullet journal to keep yourself on track.
This post is both for the people who journal and would like some new ideas and inspirations, but also for the sceptics, to show them that all your to-do lists and post-it notes can just be put all together in a well-handy bullet journal! Let's get to it!
MY BULLET JOURNAL SPREADS
You can use a bullet journal to keep track of almost anything you'd like: your expenses, your workouts, your appointments, your blog and social media stats, your meals... The good thing about it is that it really is a personal agenda, because you make it yourself and adapt it for your own needs.
Personally, my spreads are pretty consistent every month: I have a monthly spread that I use as a main page each month, then I have a spread for each week of the month. This is where I put down appointments, events, birthdays, and so on. I also use the daily squares to put down any progress I make towards a goal: in February, one of my goals was to eat veggies every single day. Thus, in my weekly spreads, I wrote down which veggies I ate every day. It made me feel proud, looking back, on how I have achieved my goal every single day with little steps!
For each month, I also have a workout calendar, with a fun motivational quote, as well as a mood tracker, a habit tracker and a monthly highlights double page. On the habit tracker, I track down this like my reading, stretching, healthy eating days, etc. On the monthly highlights, I write down all the positive things that have happened to me that month, along with photographs, cinema tickets, museum tickets, and so on. Bear in mind that the bullet journal is a diary you should look back on, pour your life and goals onto, and use as your little life assistant, basically - that is, to make the most of all the time and effort it takes to make!
TRACKING MY HABITS AND GOALS IN MY BULLET JOURNAL
Over
the recent years, I've wanted to keep track of how I feel, what my
goals are, and other things that show I have grown, changed and
learned about myself through time. For that, I set up monthly goals
in my bullet journal, and review them every month: have I reached my
goal? What do I need to do, in the next months, to keep up with it or
go a step forward? This has been particularly helpful with the
writing of my novel. My tip is to pick up two or three goals only,
that are small, manageable and most importantly, goals that you can track
whenever you need to know where you're at. Another goal I had was to
eat healthier. This I broke down into a simple challenge for a whole
month: to eat some veggies every single day. On my habit tracker, I
coloured a square for every day of the month that I ate veggies. This
helped me see easily whether I had made
some progress on my goal or not.
In a bullet journal, you
can really make the most of pairing your goals with habit tracker,
because creating habits will basically get you to your goals - and
even beyond!
MY CULTURAL INVENTORY - FILMS, BOOKS, ETC.
In
my bullet journal, I also have a page where I write down all the
films I've watched (which, in hindsight, is not many!) and a page
where I have drawn bookshelves and where I add the titles and authors
of all the books I've read. With these pages, you can get very creative: you could create a double page with mini-versions of all your favourite artworks, a page dedicated to the museums you've seen, or the exhibitions you've been to. You can also create playlists for your different moods and different times of the year - this can tell you so much about how you feel at certain points of your life. Bullet journals are made to be creative, so this is your change to break free from the to-do list, agenda aspect of bullet journals - and create something very personal and fun.
USING BULLET JOURNALING TO DEVELOP YOUR CREATIVITY
One
thing I want to end on regarding bullet journaling: you don't need to
be an artist to enjoy it! For years, I thought bullet journals were
not for me because I'm not very good at drawing, nor have a good
artistic imagination. And yet I decided to give it a go and made it
work. You can even find some ready-made bullet journals now, with
labelled pages which you just have to fill in and use how you need
to.
You
also don't need fancy pens and equipment to have a pretty journal: I
only use thin coloured pens in there, I draw and write everything
with that one set of pens and everything looks lovely. There is a lot
of inspiration for spreads, themes and pages online shared by awesome
creators - all of which you can use and change up to make your own.
Bullet journals are great if you're looking to organise your life in
a more personal and rewarding way than by using yellow sticky notes
for your to-do lists (... not that there is anything wrong with that,
though!) As a not-so-creative person, my bullet journal is the one
thing that makes me put a little effort into an artistic outlet, and
creating my themes and spreads is actually very relaxing. We are all
creative in certain ways, and you can pour out those skills in your journal and make it one of a kind.
Do you like the idea of bullet journals? Do you keep one yourself?
Lots of love,
Julia x
Lots of love,
Julia x
26 commentaires
These photos are so cute! It's a been a while since I used a bullet journal, I should get back into it and spark up my creativity.
ReplyDeleteThank you Emily! If you're spending a lot of time at home these days, this would be the perfect opportunity to get back into it! xx
DeleteVery original. Thanks for the creativity :)
ReplyDeleteXoXo
- Helena Primeira
- Helena Primeira Youtube
- Primeira Panos
I hope this gives you ideas to try out for yourself! xx
DeleteIt looks great, very creative and cute. Well done for taking the time to do something so nice which surely makes you want to stick to your goals and is a reward in itself. The clouds are fab!
ReplyDeleteThank you Anca for all your kind words! It's definitely much more motivating to write down all my goals and to-dos in a journal like this! xx
DeleteI've never tried a bullet journal before, but they sound like a great way to stay organised xo
ReplyDeleteMakeup Muddle
It is, keeps you on track! xx
DeleteYour bullet journal is so lovely Julia! I absolutely love the mood idea, I would never have thought to do that! Normally I end up making notes on my phone but it would be lovely to get them down in physical form, it's so therapeutic and relaxing :D I love collecting cute stationery, gel pens and stickers, I'm like a five year old, I get a bit too excited haha! :D xx
ReplyDeleteelizabeth ♡ ”Ice Cream” whispers Clara
I can never use my phone for organisation, it has to be physical! Writing it down by hand also makes it much more conscious, you know? Like you are doing it with intention. Try it out Elizabeth! xx
DeleteI think this is such a great idea! I love being organized and writing things down in my journal, so I feel like I'd really enjoy having a bullet journal. You look lovely in these photos xx
ReplyDeleteMy Lovelier Days
Thank you Diana. You seem so creative and reflective, if you had a bullet journal I'm sure it would look beautiful! xx
DeleteI love your sense of organisation, Julia! Tracking your habits and goals in your bullet journal is a great pastime, and I'd imagine even more so now when we're all indoors and looking for things to focus on! :) Have a happy and healthy week!
ReplyDeleteaglassofice.com x
Now is the best time to start a bullet journal, right? Or any other creative activity. Let's get out of our comfort zone, from the comforts of home! Good luck handling the situation Gabrielle, stay safe! xx
DeleteI really like your ideas! Some month ago, I got a bullet journal as a present, but I didn't get the motivation to use it yet. But after some ideas I might plan to finally start it! :)
ReplyDeletehttps://fleursstormingphoenix.blogspot.com/
You should definitely look up loads of ideas to fuel your imagination, and then get started! It's so much fun! xx
DeleteGreat tips and advice I will have to try this!
ReplyDeleteAllie of
www.allienyc.com
I hope you do, Allie! xx
DeleteOoooo I love these spreads! I stopped bullet journaling awhile ago because I didn't have the time, but now I may need to pick it back up again. Hope you stay safe and healthy during this time!
ReplyDelete- Avalon from www.simplyavalon.com
It is true that buller journaling can be quite time consuming. Personally I love doing my spreads on weekend mornings, with breakfast - so relaxing!
DeleteStay healthy as well Avalon! xx
Thank you, Jodie! I am sure you can do the exact same. You should start now!! :) xx
ReplyDeleteThat's one cute journal you got there dear.
ReplyDeleteJessica | notjessfashion.com
Thank you Jessica! xx
DeleteI was thinking of getting a notebook and just write a blog ideas :)
ReplyDeleteLOVE IT!!! i have always wanted to start one but havent . I will now though :)
ReplyDeletehttps://www.shyyshianne.com/ -shyy
Bullet journal looks very interesting. After your post I think that I need one for myself. Thank you for sharing.
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