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!