Bullet Journal thread 3: organise your life!

[Eolian]

For newbies... Bullet Journal is a special method of setting up and using a notebook as a calendar/planner/journal/habit tracker/bunch of lists/record of your achievements/diet log/exercise plan/doodle pad/anything you fancy all in one!

It is all over Pinterest and Instagram, so there's a whole world of inspiration out there. Much of what you'll see there is full of intimidatingly beautiful calligraphy and embellishment but yours doesn't have to be!

Explanation of the set-up to follow. Or you can jump right in by checking out the instructions and video on the Bullet Journal website .

The system can seem a bit strange and complicated at first, but we're here to help. And once you've got the hang of the basics, you can customise the system any way you like.

Oh and if you love beautiful stationery, this is the perfect excuse to indulge!

Anyone still around? I am coming to the end of my first volume of bullet journal and still finding it very useful but am in agonies of indecision over what book to use next.

My current one is a Moleskine, it has been OK, but ink bleeds a bit on it and shows through the pages, also the pages aren't pre-numbered. Anyone got any suggestions? How have people found the Leuchturrms?

I’m hankering to start my 2017 journal. I bought it a while ago. Anyone else?

Doh and I meant 2018 too

Sort of, I was hoping to spin my current one out till the end of the year and start a fresh one then, but I've only got 4 blank pages left now so it's going to have to be sooner. It has worked well for me but I think Ihave got into a bit of a rut, so I might use the opportunity to do somet things differently.

I started my current one in about Oct last year and is definitely going to make it to the end of December. So I was going to start the new book for January. I’m itching to list out my futures log and month planner etc in a spanky new bujo

I’ve changed the way I’ve done things a few times in the year. I’ve also had gaps where I didn’t use it. The general approach though means none of that matters

I'm sitting here with my new one now! My current one will only last until the end of November so the next one will have to start in December. Just trying to figure out what I want in the first few pages & whether I want to stick with just using pencils or if I dare use my fancy fountain pen & risk making mistakes!

How are you planning to start AGnu?

I've always used fountain pens (the colour Pilot disposable ones). My book is full of crossings out, I doubt there's a single page without any. It is functional rather than attractive. I would like to make the next one neater though, use a ruler instead of hand drawn lines etc.

Hope you don't mind me place marking. I've just ordered a journal online and I'm currently reading through the thread to catch up and get some good ideas jotted down in my preliminary journal

Ditto, though I have asked DH for book and pens for Christmas, so will just be preparing mentally and possibly practicing layouts. I've just started using ynab for budget/money management and want to get that habit well established (get over the initial novelty!) Before I introduce a other one!
I tend to be a perfectionist with things like this then get anxious about messing it up. Then I mess it up or forget and give up...

Brassica my first few pages will be:

• 2018 calendar page on the first single page
• Index on the first double page
• Birthdays
• A page full of post-its for shopping lists/notes
• Present ideas (anything anyone mentions throughout the year so I can give the illusion of remembering what people say)
• December pages
• Jan-June future events

I've never got on with the habit-forming things. Just doesn't work for me! I've decided against using a fountain pen. My coloured pencils work perfectly well for me & I'd only get frustrated if I made a mistake & couldn't rub it out! Plus, I like the more muted colours of the pencils. I tried out my fountain pen on the last page of my current BuJo & it just looked so harsh. I'll stick with what I know works for me!

Nice that the thread's woken up again!

whoknows I have a Leuchtturm and can't say that I'm impressed given the cost. The ink can be seen on the reverse of the paper and some inks tend to turn colour - i use black ink and sometimes it takes on a green tinge. If using a biro it would be OK but I can't stand them!

I'm nowhere near filling mine - only started part way through the year and am on mat leave so probably using it less than otherwise. So I'll keep on with the same book.

Mine is very much a working book though. As much as I would love to make it look pretty I just don't have the time. And then I would want to keep the whole thing like a work of art which just isn't sustainable!

I am a real convert now to the concept of having everything in one place. At first I thought it was crazy to have to make your own diary pages. But having a separate diary and notebook never really worked for me.

Could someone please post the link to the video of an American man explaining how to set it up? I have never thrown away my beautiful Filofax and would love to make it work 15 years later for me. What a fantastic thread!

Never mind - Found it - at start of thread!

Oh good - here you are...
I had a problem with my lists - transferring from one book to the next - so I'm now bulleting in an old ring binder / fake filofaxy thing I found in a box while cleaning under the bed (List: cleaning routine and supplies needed)
So I now have an info section with lists for DD, DS, DMil and one for me, book lists (Thanks to 'What we're reading"), birthdays, gifts, inventory, a weekly caldendar (1 week two pages but regrettably only half a column for Sat. and Sund.)
and an empty BJ section I use more or less as intended.

And it really has helped over the year (I got more done, even a few online courses).

My 2018 so far looks like:
Future log - 3 months to a page for birthdays and high level stuff
Each month taking a double page. The first page being the log with all of the dates listed and the opposite page for month tasks.

The after that I’ll probably have things like
A cleaning log/plan for monthly and quarterly jobs
A graph for my weight tracking

Later in the year when it becomes appropriate a plan for my veg box.

Bought some of that tape, but not sure what I’m going to do with it...:

I’ve been browsing Pinterest. I like this mood tracker. Also like the way they’ve shown the body measurements on the health trackers

Hello I found this page via brassica ragz thiswillbe from the lchf threads. I’ve been bullet journaling since the summer, had never heard of them until my dd told me about them but wouldn’t be without it now.

I’ve bought us leuchterm books for Christmas to set up new ones for 2018. Nice job to do over the Christmas break

I knew there would be a bullet journal thread somewhere! I’ve been journalling for about a year, and over time have worked across into smaller books. I now use an A6 size Nuuna book, which I love. I had a Leuchtturm but I’m not a fan of the paper. Scribbles That Matter or Nuuna paper is much better quality. (Nuunas not so good if you like fountain pens though, STM would better for those that do)

I've already bought my 2018 Leucttum but now I like the Scribbles one Paper

Looking forward to starting next years. I'm planning on more project lists as I each year I try to read 50 books and I'd like to watch 50 films too. Also logging Netflix/prime series. And doing some online courses.
I use Washi tape as a top border on each page. This months is a winter theme. And I have lots of gel pens...

Hello! I've just bought a pretty pink Scribbles That Matter notebook and some pretty pens, and I've started planning my new bullet journal. I'm not putting a December monthly spread in, as I don't see the point now, but would it be weird to include a weekly spread for the last week of this year?

Got lovely journal and pretty pens from DH for Christmas (as requested). Excited to get started and will re read the threads and look online for inspiration before starting properly next week.

I've done my first few pages... Index, future log (6 month planner on two page spread), a master to do list, a birthday gifts tracker and a meal planner with removable meals on sticky mini post its (thanks to idea on here).