August Bullet Journal Roundabout (2017)

Me Time

What is a Bullet Journal?

Bullet Journal is an organization system where you personalized, customized how you do the layouts, checklist, dates, entries, and more. Developed by Ryder Caroll, I started my bullet journal because my planner for 2017, the Belle de Jour planner got soaked in water. I have a spare combination notebook I got from Landmark and I started my year all over again.

Bullet Journal_Cover_dishysammy

Why Bullet Journal?

At first I just wanted to make trackers, specifically for weight loss and budget so I have a small notebook where I do it. Since it is purely customizable I find it relaxing when I get to doodle my pages. It also became my excuse in buying colorful pens, stencils, and stickers.

I didn’t want to redo the entire weeks from my damaged planner. All I copied was the calendar so I can look back the events and special notes I had since January. I started the new system, June. I played with layout, trackers, and other details every month. I never posted it because it was too ugly for me.

How to start a Bullet Journal?

It is really simple, all you need is the following:

  • Notebook (Plain, dotted, grid) / a planner / binder
  • Pens
  • Ruler

Add ons:

  • Stamps
  • Washi Tapes
  • Stickers
  • Shakers

Parts of a Bullet Journal

Bullet Journal is composed of several pages:

  • Index – Serves as your table of contents
  • Keys – serves as your marker or note indicators
  • Yearly Overview – a monthly grid of important events, holidays, and birthdays
  • Monthly Overview – detailed information on the events occurring in that month
  • Weekly / Daily Spread – detailed to do’s or task
  • Special Pages – these are the trackers either for work, habit, monitoring sheet for sleep, spending, movies, TV shows, and so forth

I get my inspiration from Pinterest and the planner community. I was surprised that a lot of people were actually into journaling, not just bullet journal, but also creative journaling. I fell into the hybrid of bullet journaling, creative planning, diary, and note taking. From three separate notebooks, since what I got is thick, I stick to one notebook have it all there.

Creative Journaling in Bullet Journal

The stress reliever of all the tasks you need to carry out. It is relaxing to design your monthly and weekly spreads before a chaos of deadlines fill it in.

Take a look at my August roundabout and hopefully you may find inspiration. Disclaimer, I am trying hard to be creative, but I stick to color labels and symbols cause it works for me.

Bullet Journal Idea_Month Cover

My August theme was dream catcher, I just quit work and I want to chase my dreams. You see with Bullet Journal you can be as crazy as you could get. Practice your doodle skills each month.

Bullet Journal_Month Spread Idea

After three months of getting into different layouts and inclusions, this layout became my regular.

  • Date
  • Events
  • Birthdays
  • Gratitude Log
  • Key

There were months that I added so much trackers for meals, fitness, and habit that I ended up not using. So I decided not to use them in the meantime to save a page.

Bullet Journal_Month Spread_ Ideas

I also allocated a spread for important tasks/projects that I need to do in the month. I have household chores, blog chores, and the 60th birthday planning of my dad in law. I strike them off once I finish them.

Bullet Journal Weekly Spread Ideas

I go crazy in my weekly spreads. I have the following:

  • Headers – Week number, month dates, and a quote
  • Week’s to do – which I break down daily
  • My husband’s lunch – so I can keep track of it and avoid repeating it
  • Daily events – which includes a movie date, a chore, my newly bought items, and other stuff

Every week I play with the design, stick to the theme if possible, adjust the spacing if I need to.

Why choose a bullet journal?

Despite having apps on productivity and online calendars nothing beats having a notebook where you can actually jot down stuff inside your head. It makes you remember the things you have written and again, relax. You can unleash your creativity, meet your goals, and cherish memories when you keep a journal.

By the way, my best friend Ferry of FERRYWRITES will have a Creative Journaling workshop this coming September 23 at the Wander Space on Maginhawa Street, Quezon City. She’ll show her pretty PLANNERS because she has a lot and give you some starter kit for your own journal. Sign up here! There is a reasonable fee worth of snacks and kit so it is definitely worth it.

Creative Journaling Workshop_The Wander Space QC

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I love writing it. Please comment below if you want me to share my succeeding pages.

 

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