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Smiling Shelves

How I Bullet Journal

7/13/2017

7 Comments

 
I discovered bullet journaling just over a year ago, and I knew immediately it was something I needed. I am now a stay-at-home mom, but previous to that, I taught for ten years. That meant I had a schedule and a routine, and sticky notes all over my desk to keep track of my to-do list. When I stopped teaching, I lost that built-in organization. Enter bullet journaling to save the day!

If you're not familiar with bullet journaling, you can check out the official website here. There are some standards, but basically you create the organizational system that works for you. Over the months, I've played around with my weekly and monthly setups, and I'm pretty happy with what I'm working with now. I love seeing the bullet journals of people who spend hours creating their spreads, but I am not that person. I spend about an hour and a half at the beginning of the month setting the whole month up, and then I'm good to go. I do like fun pens and pretty colors, but I keep things pretty simple. Without my bullet journal, I would only get a fraction of things done that I am able to get done now.

​In honor of completing one year of bullet journaling, I thought I would share how I set up a typical month.
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This is my monthly spread. It's a lot simpler than it was when I started out! The calendar on top gives me an overview of events for the month. The to-do list are bigger projects I want to complete during the month, and I refer back to it when I'm setting up my weekly spread.
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This is my daily tracker. I used to have a whole grid and about 15 items I was trying to accomplish each day. Eventually I realized I was coloring in squares just so I wouldn't break my streak, even if I hadn't quite accomplished the goal that day. Kind of takes away the point. So in June, I switched the this style. If I complete the goal that day, I color the number. If I don't, oh well. At least I'm honest now. :)
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This is my weekly spread. On each day, I write events happening that day, as well as my to-do list for the day. The bottom section is for meal planning and areas to clean during my Ten Minute Tidy time. The facing page is blank. Each night, I write down several things that happened during the day that I want to remember (usually cute stuff my kid did).
So that's how I keep myself sane and organized! Anyone else out there keep a bullet journal? What works for you?
7 Comments
Tanya Patrice link
7/13/2017 06:36:45 pm

I use a bullet journal - but for work. for home, I tried, but just don't have enough to put in it.

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Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
7/16/2017 02:55:25 pm

Bullet journals would be perfect for work. I can only imagine how much more organized a teacher I would have been if I had discovered this years ago! :)

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Kim (Sophisticated Dorkiness) link
7/17/2017 05:26:49 pm

I've been bullet journaling for about a year and a half now, and I'm sort of obsessed with seeing how other people do it. My spreads are pretty minimal too, but I like incorporating colored pens to spice things up. I love your tracker -- I want to try something like that for next month.

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Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
7/30/2017 03:43:54 pm

I love seeing how others set up their bullet journals as well. There are just so many different ways to do it that you can always find something new to try.

My colored pens collection has grown exponentially since I started bullet journaling. What can I say? Color makes everything better! :)

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Christine @Buckling Bookshelves link
7/18/2017 09:08:15 pm

Ah, finally a simple bullet journal! Any others I've seen just make me want to run for the hills they are so complex and artistic and oh so unattainable. I still don't think this is for me at this stage in life, but I do like the idea of a daily tracker. (And I think I need to start a 10 minute tidy habit! I feel like the house gets out of control really fast with a toddler around!)

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Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
7/30/2017 03:46:37 pm

I know what you mean - there are some really crazy ones out there! I feel like I would never get anything done if I had to design every page that fancy. The ten minute tidy thing has helped me stay on top of the clutter for sure. My bathrooms have never been this clean. ;)

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Jenna @ Falling Letters link
7/31/2017 10:44:52 pm

I had heard of bullet journalling, but I didn't realize it was an actual system! I like the simplicity of the pages you've shared here.

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    My name is Julie, and I own a lot of books. As in, they are stacked on the floor because I've run out of room on the shelves. And those shelves? There are so many books on them that they smile -- not sag; smile. This blog will cover book reviews and all manner of other bookish things.

    You can contact me at julie@smilingshelves.com.

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