I am so excited to get started on my bullet journal for 2018! I started to feel like it was time to start over once I started to have plans for January and February, and no where to put the notes! If you have not heard of a bullet journal, there are so many ways to create one, but the basics can be found right here. Check out the quick video tutorial. It will help understand all of this a lot better. Essentially though, a bullet journal, or bujo for short, is a combination planner, journal, sketchbook, organizer, etc., all in one. Sounds like fun right? Well, I think it sounds fantastic, and I have been using one for the past year, with a twist, in that I cheat and use a 7 ring binder like the one here. (This is not an affiliate link, I actually use this brand- slightly different color, but it is pretty darn close.) This allows me to pull out pages, because it gets fat the way I do it; I use thick drawing paper for my calendar layouts, and writing paper for my notes. I write out a lot of notes at work when I am working with my interns, and by being able to pull out those note pages at the end of the semester, I can store the pages in their files for my record keeping purpose. And then I am just left with the fun stuff that I want to remember, which is different from a traditional bullet journal, in that everything stays in one place. There are so many ways to make them your own, and there is just something fun about taking at least one moment each day to check what you need to get done, or to doodle, or to plan. I love how this woman plans out her journal- it is simply beautiful, and you can see her video here– I especially like the Polaroid pages at the end.
For the start of this year, I brought out and cut down my drawing paper, and created a bunch of pages to start my first layouts. Much like you saw in the above videos, I have broken down the important parts that work for me, and that is what I am going to focus on for this year. Using this thick paper, I can paint, or draw, or collage and just do whatever I want without the ink or paint bleeding through to the next page. Who needs that?
I started with a title page, but even then couldn’t decide what needs to be on the front, lol! But it have my vision board there, right at the beginning to provide me with guidance and inspiration whenever I need it! 
Remember when we made Vision boards together? Check it out here for a reminder!
You will notice that I have my calendar right next to it for the year, and that helps me remember important dates. There is a key at the top of the page so I know which are birthdays, and which important dates are holidays.
With bullet journaling, you don’t have you monthly or weekly calendars all printed up ahead of time that you can flip to for future planning, so at the front of my bullet journals, I make a section for future dates. This is nice because if someone tells me that in May I have to visit someone special, then I put that note in this section under May, and when it is time to create the May calendar, I will reference this page for future dates, and all of my May calendar items are ready to be added to the calendar.
This functions more appropriately for a traditional bullet journal because in there, you just start whatever you are needing for the day on the next available sheet. You don’t skip pages and leave a spot for the calendar, or try to guess where you will need that and write it in ahead of time. That would leave a lot of unused pages. In my book, since I have the 7 ring binder system, I can actually move things around, so I could technically make my calendar layouts ahead of time. But I like to live in the moment (or procrastinate, depending on if you are a glass half full/half empty type of person), so I create my calendar pages when I need them. Check out my January-June future plan page,
and now check out my January calendar!
It all matches up. And since it is now January, anything that comes up for later in the month last minute, can be added directly to the calendar. February items will still go on the future planning log!
One thing that most bullet journals include are page numbers and an index. You might like that for you, but I found that didn’t work for me. But what does work in my book is that I color code everything, and I keep a key of symbols.
In my book, if I am writing on my future plan or on my calendar, I try to use the correct color that coordinates with my code system. This way, if I am looking on my calendar for my work items, they stand out in blue, and are easily seen amongst the personal things that need done. This is the real reason why I bought this pen,
and it lives in my art supply stash that I talked about here. I also use colored gel pens. Those are pretty nice too.
Another thing that I have found helpful in my bullet journal, is that I use templates. You can make some too! For each week, I like to write out my agenda, and again, I use my color code system so that I can take a quick glance and know what it is that I need to do for which part of my life. But I lose some creativity when I am trying to get the info all down quickly, so I have made a quick template that gives me a shape that functions well, and gives me guides to make my lines.
I used a heavier weight card stock, cut to a shape that fits my pages, and then added notches along the side that will help me know where to draw my lines from one side of the page to the other. I just trace around it, then use the folded edge for the straight lines across. It lives in the back pocket of the binder when I don’t need it. I can always switch it up if I find I have time to be a bit more creative, like in these examples, but if I am in a hurry, I know this will work well for me too! Simple but efficient. I have one for my month calendar, and one for my weekly calendar. See how I cut notches so that I know where to draw my lines? Super efficient.
As you can see, this is the January calendar layout that is finished above! I just added some words, numbers, washi tape for the 8th row and called that “reminders”. You can call that whatever you like.
When I get to a new month, I do have a standard 4 page layout that I generally use, which can easily be modified, or could be made up ahead of time. First page of the layout is the to-do list.
Second page (which is the back of the first page as if you are reading a book) is the first half of the calendar. Third page is the second half of the calendar and is a new sheet of paper,
and then the fourth page is my first weeks weekly layout like this:
Again, I used a template for that page, and you can see there is a bunch of color coded items already there! You will also notice, that the next page is blank, and this is where the journaling starts. I sometimes begin my week with a good brain dumping session, in which i just sit down and let it all flow out of my brain. All the things that I generally ruminate over in my sleep that I don’t want to forget, I write it all out, stream of conscious-style onto the page. I then go back and read what I wrote, and while I am reading, I get out my color coded pens and start to underline the tasks based on their category “I have to pick up new dance tights for the girls” will get underlined in pink, “don’t forget to do evaluations” will get underlined in blue. These will then get put onto my to-do list for the month- color coded, of course- with a box next to each item that I will fill in as I finish them. Or if they don’t get done this month, it will get migrated over to next month, and that is okay too! I find when I use my bullet journal, especially at work, I get to a point where I don’t even need to sit down as often and brain dump, because it is already in my journal! That is a good feeling. No wasted worry there! When I am taking notes at work, or in a meeting, if it is a task that will need to go on my to-do list, or my reading list, I just put a box next to it, and then at the end of the day, I will put them all on the correct list, either to-do, movies/tv to watch, books to read, or my ideas page. It is refreshing to finally have a system that I USE!
I hope this was helpful! If there are things that you do in your bullet journal, comment below. Everyone has such great ideas and ways to use their journals, it is so fun to learn from others!