Seeing as we're rearing to the end of 2020, I want to share how I’ve kept myself organized and creative for a few years now. I’ve been a self-proclaimed, type-A, planner fanatic for as long as I can remember- my favorite thing in middle school was the agendas they’d pass out at the beginning of each new school year. As I transitioned from high school to college, I found that I had a lot more to keep track of through my days, weeks, and months, and a run-of-the-mill planner wasn’t supplying me with enough space to pencil in all of my responsibilities.
I discovered the bullet journal fad in 2017 or 2018 and was overwhelmed because all of the ones I’d seen on pinterest and other social media were so creative, artistic, and intimidating. Like, how do these people draw like that? Who’s handwriting actually looks like that? Surely not mine. But, I was inspired by how creative you could be with your planning space and the decoration you could add to a blank book.
How to: An Overview
Throughout the years, I’ve kept many different forms of a bullet journal. My first started in a lined notebook from Marshalls, and I just created a guide for each day, making sure to include any activities I had, homework to do, work times, and physical and mental health goals for the day. After that book I decided to undertake a standard dotted bullet journal, filled to the brim with pictures and graphics and stickers and anything else I felt like adding. From there I researched digital bullet journalling and fell in love with the portability and accessibility of it. Having my school books, lecture notes, studying apps, AND my planner all in one place was a dream - it kept my bag light and made it so much easier to track every task I had. I now am using a standard bullet journal again, but I’ve tried my best to keep a balance of creativity and practicality throughout, so it is a bit more minimalistic, but I still get excited to pick monthly themes and create a new planning scape each week.
To start creating your own planner, I suggest beginning with some research. Which kind of planner do you want? Do you enjoy or loathe the idea of doodling and handwriting every week? Do you prefer having a colorful planner or sticking to the black and white basics? I found Pinterest and Youtube so helpful when I was doing my own research- there are so many amazing people who walk you step by step through their entire planning process and post their results for inspiration. Go from there and gather your supplies. These differ with the method of journaling you’ve decided to do- for pen and paper journaling, I would suggest getting some new stationary and markers that make you excited to draw and practice your handwriting in every color in the rainbow. But if you’ve decided digital bullet journaling is more your speed, be sure you have a tablet, laptop, or phone on which you can download planning apps, and have enough space to create an actually helpful planner- also you'll need a stylus of some sort if you’re planning to draw.
Creatives - this is your opportunity to channel your creativity into productivity
A standard bullet journal comes with blank, dotted pages, and is the perfect place to ensure you get a creative outlet in your life- because we ALL need one, whatever that looks like for you. I loved my creative bullet journal because I got to spend an hour or so every week watching a movie or listening to my favorite music and just letting myself create whatever I felt like. I found printing pictures off the internet took the pressure off of me- because lets be honest, NO ONE can draw as good as they think they can, and the perfectionist in me couldn't handle that. Each month, I would scour through Pinterest and make a board of all the images I wanted to include in my journal that month. For example, for January of this year I did a “fortune teller” theme and found pictures that matched that; for December I always look for snowy city scapes and beautifully decorated trees. Once I’ve created a board I'm happy with, I print all my photos out- I used an HP Sprocket printer, which prints pictures out from your phone onto sticky paper, but a standard printer works just as great. From there, I’d sit down with all my images, and usually some neutral toned construction paper and torn out book pages - sorry book lovers, they went to a good cause. I’d lay out all my images and paper scraps around the pages and glue them down once I was happy.
A monthly journal layout can look however you want it to, but I was always sure to include some sort of general month overview, four weekly layouts, a gratitude log, and a mood tracker if I was feeling crazy. I also found that printing out pictures of your favorite memories of the month creates a sort of scrapbook feel and is so fun to look back at when you need a reminder of how great life can be.
Tech Savvies - This Will be Your Favorite!
After having multiple paper planners, I decided I wanted to look into digital bullet journalling. I downloaded an app called GoodNotes5, which unfortunately you have to pay for in the app store, but it has quickly become my favorite app for all digital note taking: class notes, bullet journaling, old fashioned journalling, you name it. To create a digital bullet journal that looks like a book with open pages, I used the “shapes” tool on apple’s “Keynote” app, and layered multiple square shapes with rounded edges on top of each other, sure to include a shadow under each new shape, to create the “open book” look. You’ll need a stylus of some sort if you plan on drawing anything within your journal, but it isn't absolutely pertinent. I followed the same steps in this journal: thinking of a monthly theme, collecting my pictures from Pinterest, and laying them out until I was happy with the result. The only difference being there’s not paper involved, and saving the planet a couple trees too! I really enjoyed my digital planner because it was so convenient to have all of my school supplies, planner, and journal all in one place, instead of lugging around multiple books and planners, my laptop and my iPad. This is the bullet journal for those of you who find yourself overwhelmed by messing up the pages in a book, or concerned about your carbon footprint- the digital pages are so easy to change, order differently, and keep forever.
I’m creative, but not that creative, and productive, but not that productive.
Me too girl. I found with my creative bullet journal, I was putting so many pictures and doodles and stickers and cute quotes and things on the pages that I would be left with the smallest little sliver of space to actually, you know, use the planner what it’s for. I decided I loved the physical creativity of a paper bullet journal, but the practicality and space to plan of my digital bullet journal, so this semester I've created a happy medium between the two. In my newest bullet journal I’ve ditched the picture print outs and paper scraps, but kept my monthly themes. I start each month with an overview calendar, and create a weekly spread with more than enough room to plan every hour of my day meticulously, but I also make sure the start of each month has a cute mood tracker and a quote page that match my theme. I use a “dutch door” technique when creating my weekly spread, where you cut every other page in half vertically to allow for more planning space. So far this has been one of my favorite ways to bullet journal, but knowing me that could change by next semester.
Quick Tips and Tricks
Supplies matter, but don’t break the bank.
Journals from the dollar spot at target and on sale at Marshalls work just as good as more expensive ones.
Crayola washable markers are some of my favorites to use, they’re cheap, get the job done, and come in packs of like fifty. Brush tip markers are nice for calligraphy and other hand writing styles, but not a necessity, they can be expensive, and tend to require some practice and finesse
Writing out your plans, goals, and “have-tos” for the week on a sticky note or scrap piece of paper if helpful to ensure you leave an adequate amount of space in your journal for tasks. If you have two task heavy days in a week, maybe put those two on one page and the rest of the week on another. Take as many pages and as much time as you need when creating your journal spreads, because it’s important to include everything necessary
Have fun! Be creative! Discover new ways to get productive in your life. Bullet journaling is awesome, but if you put too much pressure on yourself to make it impeccable, you turn something that is supposed to relieve stress into another contributor of stress- take a breath and let yourself mess up.
A bullet journal is the perfect place to plan, get creative, and make something you’re proud of. For me, it's so important to be able to be creative, but remain focused on my tasks throughout the week. My favorite dotted journal is by the brand “Scribbles that Matter,” and if I’m being honest it’s solely for how thick the pages are- no marker bleed through, hello!!