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Monday, January 30, 2017

My 2017 Bullet Journal

Well, since everyone and their grandmother is bullet journalling these days, it was only a matter of time that I started it too as I am nothing if not a complete lemming. I test drove bullet journalling at the end of last year to see if it was right for me and it was immediately apparent to my list-maker, planning-obsessed sensibilities that it was.

I like bullet journalling because, a) it combines a planner and a notebook into one cohesive unit, b) you can individualize the planner to your liking, and c) it is in analog rather than in digital, and I find that putting pen to paper helps me organize my life in a way that computers never quite could.

Because I always love seeing other people's pictures of their bullet journals (I am so nosy) and because a few people have asked me to share some spreads from my journal, I will post some pics below from my Leuchtturm1917 Dotted Hardcover Notebook (A5), in royal blue, for anyone interested.

Full disclaimer though: none of these ideas are my own; they are all taken from other people's posts on pinterest, instagram, etc. I am not particularly artistic or creative like a lot of people in the bullet journal community, so I often look to others for inspiration. Wherever possible, I've tried to find the source of my inspiration and post them here.

Typical Bullet Journal key. Design blatantly stolen from @thevintagewren

2017 Year at a Glance. So I can keep track of important events coming up.

Weight Loss Goals. Gone are the days when I can just eat whatever I want... thankfully I am (pathetically) motivated by colouring in little boxes so this works for me. Based off @bulletjournalweightloss

Budget Goals (again colouring in boxes). I would like to save at least $1,000 a month... Kind of easier said than done at the moment as work has dried up for me so we're living off one income for two people. But I am a firm believer that the best goals in life are the most challenging ones. Based off S. Warrington.

Chore Schedule. I am a recent new homeowner and I am more motivated than ever to take good care of my living space, so I'm giving this chore schedule a try and it seems to be working pretty well for me so far. I'm not much of a doodler, but when I put together this page, I ended up with three big blank spaces so I randomly scribbled in some cleaning items. Based off TinkerTeacherMakerMom

Graphic Novels TBR. I have quite a few regular (boring) list pages (movies to see, wish list items to buy, home improvement projects to do, etc.), and the above is just an example of that. This list of graphic novels to read is based off of the recommendations that people gave me when I asked for some last year.

Monthly Spread. I prefer a boxed monthly spread to the standard list monthly spread that the bullet journal founder recommends, with a list of the major tasks that I want to get done on the right.

Monthly Tracker and Gratitude Log. Trackers are a good way to keep track of habits you are trying to maintain. And because one of my new year's resolutions was to be more thankful, I have decided to write down one thing I am grateful for every day this year. Based off BohoBerry.

Weekly Spread. Because I'm not working at the moment, my days aren't very structured so I don't feel as though I have a need for bullet journal dailies. Instead, I just do weeklies. I like to plan out general and home tasks I want to get done during the week (based off my main monthly task list), plan out my meals (so I know what to buy at the grocery store and what and when to defrost), and to list my chores for the week (based off my chore schedule above).

Et voila: a peak into my 2017 bullet journal featuring no original spreads of my own, but still great ideas to keep organized. I hope this post has given you the semblance that I've got my sh*t together in life, even if that is certainly not the case.

Do you bullet journal? If you do, I'd love to see some pics of your spreads so link me up!

21 comments :

  1. Ooh, your bullet journal is so tidy and you have such neat handwriting! I like that weight loss tracker you shared -- totally going to copy it, too. And I do a gratitude list as well (on the advice of a therapist), and it really does help on those bad days when it seems like the world is falling to pieces.

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    1. Aw thanks :) And yes, I agree about the gratitude log!

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  2. I love seeing other people's bullet journals! Yours is so creative and awesome, I love it! Your weekly spread is amazing, I can never think of all the things I need to do. I think the January tracker is a great idea as well, I might use that one. I unfortunately can't even draw a stickman without it looking horrific, so my bullet journal is very basic. It does the job though, and helps me keep organised!

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    1. Thanks Liz! And I would say mine is more basic than artistic compared to a lot of other people's postings online, but it doesn't need to be fancy if it gets the job done!

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  3. Very impressive! I wish you luck with organizing and accomplishing your goals.

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  4. I'm drooling!!! I love bullet journaling- I just use mine for lists at the moment (and mostly for the blog). I love how visual it is, and that you can use all the pens! Haha. Yours is beautiful. I am actually kind of thrilled you are into bullet journaling.

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  5. Your doodles are so cute! Way better than I could do. I love looking at other people's bullet journals. I just have a planner but I'm enjoying working on that - I even got some page clips and stickers this weekend to use. I think your journal looks great, and I'm glad it's working well for you!

    -lauren

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    1. Heh, well I totally stole even the doodles from other inspirations, tbh. Thanks Lauren!

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  6. Oooh, I love your bullet journal, Eilidh!! I've been wanting to get into bullet journalling, but haven't bitten the "bullet" yet (pun definitely intended ;D). And I love the variation of templates you've used. They seem to work great together!! I may have to use your inspiration to get myself started, too. ;D

    Thanks for sharing!

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  7. Thank you so much for sharing your bullet journal my friend! ♥ I definitely want to get started myself but I feel overwhelmed by it all. Like: where do I start? What should be on my first page(s)? Oh and the big one: I hate my handwriting PLUS I am a perfectionist. That means I'm never happy with how I write LOL! Sigh. You might very well inspire me to try at least ;)

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    1. Aw, well I would definitely recommend checking out the original bullet journal website where the creator of the idea lays out the basic ideas. From there, I would recommend just going for it, trying it out in any old journal really, seeing if the basics work for you. That's what I did and once I realized it was a good system for me, I upgraded to a fancy journal and started getting more "creative" (really by taking ideas from other people). As for handwriting, bullet journals are a great way to practice hand lettering ( I don't know about you, but my handwriting has really fallen by the wayside since finishing school). There are even challenges that you can take up to help practice your hand lettering little by little every day. If you do end up trying out bullet journalling, I would love to see some pics of your spreads!

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  8. That's lovely, Aylee!!
    I don't think I could do it, I gave up on keeping my reading lists 3 years ago or something, I couldn't keep track like that of the other stuff.
    My only schedule is the one I keep of when I leave assignments and when I gotta ask for them, otherwise, I clueless.

    So yeah, I'm so pretty impressed!

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  9. I think I'm the last hold out. I get anxiety just looking at other people's journals lol Anything past a few post-it notes stresses me out. It's just another thing I *need* to do and it feels more like pressure to me.

    But they sure are pretty!

    I tend to buy all the stickers and tape but use it for other things instead. Ha!

    Karen @For What It's Worth

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    1. haha, it's not for everyone! I for one get super excited each time a new month comes around so that I can plan out my month, but I know not everyone feels that way.

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  10. Beautiful! Personally, I can't work with goal tracking methods that occur on paper instead of electronically, but your pictures make me want to!

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  11. What a fabulous idea! I understand needing to put pen to paper for some things. I keep my own paper calendar (as well as a digital one). But, I haven't heard a ton about bullet journals yet. My inner librarian organizer self is so intrigued and inspired. I may have to start something similar. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  12. Ohh, gorgeous post Aylee :D Thank you for sharing about this. <3 I love looking at bullet journals. So interesting. You are awesome :)

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