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!

I love the meal planner!

Do whatever suits you doodle, that's the beauty of the BuJo!

Bullet Journal stencils anyone? Check out amazon. Bought some. Can't draw

Started mine too; contents, key, future log and January monthly spread which didn’t turn out how I’d hoped but trying not to stress about it!

I've just done my monthly and weekly spread ready for tomorrow and I've bloody smudged my doodles. I need to go raid DCs stickers now to cover it up!

I've got my future log (birthdays and major events) and all 12 double page spread monthly logs done.

I've got to transcribe a few lists that are still relevant from 2017.

I want to do one of those thankful logs like a sun shine I've seen. But I'm no good at free hand.

Just done a habit tracker and study time tracker, excited about these as I feel they are really going to make a difference. Anyone else BuJoing today?

I feel a bit sad about leaving my 2017 bujo behind. I'm considering transcribing some of the logs like my weight and measurements so that I don't have to dig out the 2017 bujo to compare. I've got lots of pages in 2017 left but it seems sensible to start a new one for this year with the new month logs etc

What sort of habits have you included ragz?

I was thinking of doing a 2018 challenges page

brassica I'm carrying on my 2017 one as I had loads of pages left.

Rshard I'm thinking of doing a habit tracker too. They tend to focus on healthy living. If you have a google you'll get loads of ideas.

Some ideas: exercise, no sugar, 8 glasses of water, 8 hours' sleep, green smoothie, meditation, no screens after 9pm, no caffeine, 5 portions fruit & veg etc etc.

I'm feeling the sugar overload after Xmas so am going to try and drink a green smoothie every day and get back on the exercise. I've got two kids under 3 so plenty of sleep is not going to happen. But I think I'll try and get in bed at 9pm once a week with a book instead of my phone! And no caffeine is definitely not an option for me!

I've got a mixture on my tracker. Laundry, towels, bedding, no alcohol, 10k steps, hoovering. Very exciting stuff!

Thanks chloe, I’ll have a google. I’m low carbing so could link habits to that - drinking water etc. Also my challenges would goals to exercise more so that would link too. Or would it be repetitive?

My habits are teeth brushing, shower, face care (remove makeup/moisturise), low carb days, study days and exercise. Last two won't be daily but hoping for more each month! I'm not great at the basics of self care, so I really do need motivation for those even though for some people that sounds ridiculous! Will add hitting water target when I work out how much and how to track it.
Study hours is set up in weeks with a ten hour a week target split into 30 min blocks.

I have just added 2018 goals and a house deposit savings tracker (house shaped with a box for every £10 saved - target £2k).

Still planning a housework related one. Things like changing beds and stuff. I'm naturally lazy and untidy so once I've worked out what works best it should help.

Photo. The house didn't turn out right but it works. I'm aiming for minimal prettyfying or it will just hold me back.

May have just added an item to my to do list that I have just done so that I can cross it off and feel less lazy...

One thing I learned last year when I starting bujo-ing is to try to deal with things straight away. Not specifically related to bujo, but still helpful to organising your life. Ie when a letter from arrives that needs a response. Respond as you open it if possible and it's then done

Looks great ragz, I don’t have any household things - perhaps I should?

I’ve done a habit tracker but couldn’t fit it on one page, I’ve done water, no snacking, 10k steps, run and yoga - a mix of daily, couple of days a week and weekly

I am back - tried a ring binder and found it confusing.
I was a lot better with getting things done while using a bujo, beause small stuff got done instantly before writing it down.

I've got the future log and January sorted, two pages each for my DC both starting to work towards final exams this year, two pages for housekeeping including - at last - the 'bin schedules'.
There will be pages for tracking my course work, weight loss, reading lists and unfinished projects (most of those got done last year, yay).

Back in the office today. Cleared the inbox. Sat down nicely 2018 bujo planning. Give me a few hours and I'll be on top of this 2018 stuff!

I've added a decluttering page (40 bags) and a Bootcamp (low carb weight loss) page.
Thanks to BuJo all three DC went to school with clean PE kits today! That's a first...

So I'm newly exploring following a recommendation from @Eolian and have a question... I'm doing my forward log, but do I make up 12 monthly logs now or one and then February when I get there? Thinking of the stuff I know I want to do in these months, but that might clog the future log?

Hey @swimmingdory ! It's lucky you tagged me, because I had no idea this 2016 thread had started back up again - yay! .

Ok, so my future log is a double page divided into 12 sections, one for each month. I draw it up at the beginning when I start my new journal and I write in important birthdays and events/appointments that I already know about for the whole year, plus big things like holidays etc. Mine looks quite busy, because I also put in term/holiday dates for multiple schools.

Meant to say, @swimmingdory - the future log is normally strictly for pre-planned appointments and events, not for 'to do' type stuff. It's there so that you've got a place to put long-term events rather than having to just remember them until your journal reaches tye right point in the year for you to put them in your monthly/weekly pages iyswim.

So happy that the thread has got going again! I'm on my 3rd Bullet Journal atm. I start mine at the beginning of the school year. My last and current ones have been Leuchtturms, which I've generally been very happy with. The Nuunas look beautiful, but it looks to me as though the dots are very close together. I'm really tempted to try the Rhodia Goalbook next time.

I'm currently going with quite a minimalist weekly layout (no box drawing at all), inspired by the stunning Vestiblr on Instagram. Black fountain pen, with the odd little accent in another colour. I've also started adding a 'dear diary' type section in my weekly spread - a little place for how the week's gone etc.

Still planning a housework related one. Things like changing beds and stuff. I'm naturally lazy and untidy so once I've worked out what works best it should help.

Gammeldragz - me too with the lazy and untidy thing! I have a tick list on my weekly spread. It's the same every week __and I never manage to tick everything off--.