One Month Bullet Journaling: What I've Learned

If you've been following my blog for a while now, you must have noticed that I have a small addiction as far as my bullet journal is concerned! Put it plainly, I'm obsessed!!!

Before I go on, a quick reminder of what Bullet Journaling is, for anyone that doesn't know:

It's an analog system for the digital age. It helps record the past organise the present and plan for the future. It can be your to-do list, sketchbook, notebook and diary and all the above.

That's how the creator of this system, Ryder Carroll, describes it in his very informative website that you must visit to see all the information and the detailed videos that thoroughly explain his system.

For me, bullet journaling has been an amazing experience so far! I found that it made me be more organized and focused on the tasks that needed to be done. It makes me be more creative and I also find it to be very therapeutic. At the same time, it worsens my addiction for pens and stationery - if that was possible!!!

A PEAK INTO MY BULLET JOURNAL

I'll add here some pictures of a few of the pages that I've created in my bullet journal this month. I can't show everything, but I've made a selection of the ones that I haven't shown before and that I really like. :)

After the 3 index pages the first page you come up to is one of my favourites. It's my word of the year and my mission statement. I like to come back to it and remind myself what my focus should be on this year.

I also decided to add a 'Useful Numbers' page. Moving to a new country means learning everything from scratch, including all the emergency//useful numbers :) It puts my mind at ease to know that I have this page in my bullet journal, plus my kids are old enough now to know what to do in case of an emergency.

A key page is one of the basic pages that you're supposed to add in your bullet journal. It basically shows the symbols and the colours you use in your bullet journal to indicate different things. While I've been using it I realised that some things were not working for me. For example, now for the tasks I prefer to use a dot instead of the box, because I found that all those little boxes made my pages look too crowded. I've also changed some of the colours because they didn't work for what I wanted (especially the turquoise I used for 'work' was bleeding through the pages so it had to be changed ASAP!).

One of my most favourite pages in my bullet journal is my gratitude log. When I started writing it, I wasn't sure what to add to it every day. But pretty quickly I tuned into it and now I can't wait every night to think through of my day and add the two things that I'm most grateful of.

For my first month I also decided to create a doodle a day page, where I would draw something that reminds me of that day. It's been really fun and I love how colourful it looks. 

I have been uploading lots of pictures with the progress of my bullet journal as I'm filling it in, so don't forget to check out my Instagram and Facebook accounts. You can also join my Newsletter!

THINGS THAT I'VE LEARNED

Even though I've been bullet journaling for only a month, some things became apparent to me straight away. 

• Just Start

My bullet journal arrived a bit late in the post and the month had already started. So I was contemplating in the beginning whether to wait for the next month so that I start on the 1st, or not. I'm very happy that I started when I did and my advice to you is to just start! Don't wait. I promise you, you'll love it!

• Keep it Simple

When you first start bullet journaling, you might find yourself in the beginning being bombarded with various styles and ways of doing things. That can make you feel a bit overwhelmed and you might don't know where to start. Just keep things simple and start slowly. You don't have to add everything in your bullet journal straight away. There is no right order. What I did, was that I made a list of the things that I'd like to include in my bullet journal, and I've been adding them as I go along. The basic thing for me was to have a yearly, monthly, weekly and daily spread, so that I don't miss appointments and keep up with my everyday life. The rest can be added slowly. 

• Trial and error

You just have to try and adjust the different methods available to suit your needs. That way you'll figure out what works for you and what doesn't. It's a simple case of trial and error. That's what has happened to me, especially with my weekly spreads. And if nothing works for you the way you want it, then create your own!

• Get Inspired

There is so much inspiration and creativity on line, it's unbelievable! You only have to do a search and you'll be amazed. By far, Instagram and Pinterest are the best places for BJ inspiration! The following IG accounts are some of my favourite: @boho.berry , @passion.themed.life, @maryj13, @tinyrayofsunshine, @therevisionguide, @write_it_on_the_wall, @wundertastischdesign ... and the list goes on!

• Community

There is an amazing bullet journal community out there, ready to welcome you and help you along the way! If you're interested in bullet journaling then you should totally check out the Bullet Journal Junkies group on Facebook. 

• It doesn't have to be perfect

Whether your lines are not straight or you've made a mistake while writing down your daily spread, just don't worry about it! It happens.

You either use Pentel Presto and erase it or just ignore it like I did!

• Have Fun! :)

Enjoy your time while bullet journaling! 

This pretty much sums up my first month with my bullet journal. Can't wait to start setting up for April. ;)