Bullet Journal: My August Set Up
August is almost here, and you know what that means? New Bullet Journal Set up! Even though I was away on holidays, I wanted to make sure I was ready for August, so I've created this set up since mid July! And finally I can share it with you ;)
I have changed some things around, and I'm trying out some new spreads for this month. But I still tried to keep it simple with the minimum page spreads.
August is almost here, and you know what that means? New Bullet Journal Set up! Even though I was away on holidays, I wanted to make sure I was ready for August, so I've created this set up since mid July! And finally I can share it with you ;)
I have changed some things around, and I'm trying out some new spreads for this month. But I still tried to keep it simple with the minimum page spreads.
I've decided to go back to my trusty calendar view of the month. I find that I like this spread better. I can see at a glance everything that's happening this month. And I really like my cherries ;)
The next thing I added is a new spread I'm trying out inspired by the lovely Ursala at @honeyrozes. It's a way to assess your life and plan your month. On the left-side page I rate 6 different areas of my life on a scale of 1-10: Relationships, Fun & Recreation, Health & Fitness, Spirituality, Work, and Creativity. Then in the 6 lists below I write down things I can do to improve those areas in my life. I really liked this idea. It keeps you focused and you take actual steps to improve those areas of your life.
On the next page, I added my general to-do list for the month. I also separated the month in weeks - like I did in July - but I chose a different way to portray them. (Check my July Set Uphere). In this section I will spread all the things related to this month from my to-do list, my birthday/nameday calendar, my calendex, as well as my brain dump, along this 4 week period.
The next spread is the August Highlights spread, that I started in the previous month. This layout was inspired by @my.life.in.a.bullet . I decided to have the days vertically on the two pages, so that all the days fit, and kept a colourful theme.
I also left space for the #doodlewithusinaugust challenge, but I haven't created a banner yet, because I want to incorporate it in the drawing later. Are you taking part in the challenge?
This is my bullet journal set up for August. I'm really pleased with the way it looks and what I've included for this month, and I can't wait to start writing on these pages!
What new did you add in your August's Set Up?
Bullet Journal Habit Tracker Ideas
One of the most popular things with bullet journaling is trackers. You can track almost anything you want for any given space of time. You can use them to track from your daily activities and tasks, to your savings and weight loss.
But why do you need to use trackers?
- To track things that you want to encourage and motivate yourself to do on a more regular basis.
- To track how often you do things
- To keep an eye on your progress with various projects/tasks.
When I first started bullet journaling back in March, I followed Kara's example and created a page that was dedicated to all the things I wanted to track during my month.
One of the most popular things with bullet journaling is trackers. You can track almost anything you want for any given space of time. You can use them to track from your daily activities and tasks, to your savings and weight loss.
But why do you need to use trackers?
- To track things that you want to encourage and motivate yourself to do on a more regular basis.
- To track how often you do things
- To keep an eye on your progress with various projects/tasks.
When I first started bullet journaling back in March, I followed Kara's example and created a page that was dedicated to all the things I wanted to track during my month.
However, as you can see from the picture above, it didn't work for me. I kept on forgeting to go back to that page on a daily basis, in order to fill in the little squares. So, even though I was doing those things most of the days, I wasn't taking note of that.
Then I decided to move my tracker in my monthly spread, so that I see it more often and therefore remember to fill it in.
I have to admit that I did better than the first one, but still I kept on forgeting to fill it in!
So then I decided to narrow it down to 3 things that I really wanted to track. I believed that I was being overwhelmed with the amount of habits I wanted to track and therefore I wasn't motivated enough to actually keep track of them.
This way worked way better than the previous months! It just shows that if something doesn't work for you in the beginning, you might have to do some adjustments to it. ;)
Taking a look around in the social media there is so much inspiration from other bullet journalists. There's so many different ways that you can track down any number of things.
You can track down one habit for the whole year like ModernMissJournaling did with her spending or how TinyRayOfSunshine did with her running.
Or you can track lots of tasks for each month of the year like jen_plans
You can have one table to track lots of different habits, like BohoBerry.
Or you can have single tables to track each one, like spddmn and BreeeBerry
You can track your sleep patterns (breeeberry)
You can track your financial goals like honeyrozes
You can track the episodes you've watched from your favourite series like bujo_planner
You can track your water intake per day like idobelieveincommas
You can even track your moods like passioncarnets!
Even though I had a mixed relationship with habit trackers in the beginning, I now love their functionality and how they can motivate someone and keep them focused and on track. What do you track in your bullet journal?
>>If you want to see my favourite Resources that I use every day with my Bullet Journal, click here to find out what I love to use.
How to deal with Mistakes in your Bullet Journal
Imagine this. It's the beginning of the month and you are starting your new set up in your bullet journal. You've been planning for days what you'll include this time and how you are going to decorate it. You are so excited and can't wait to put your thoughts and ideas on paper. You spend all your afternoon creating and drawing. In the end you are so proud of your new set up, that you have to show it to your husband. And his reaction is: 'It looks amazing babe, but I think you got the month wrong!' ARRHHHH! Frustration beyond words!!!! That's exactly what happened to me while creating my July set up.
Imagine this. It's the beginning of the month and you are starting your new set up in your bullet journal. You've been planning for days what you'll include this time and how you are going to decorate it. You are so excited and can't wait to put your thoughts and ideas on paper. You spend all your afternoon creating and drawing. In the end you are so proud of your new set up, that you have to show it to your husband. And his reaction is: 'It looks amazing babe, but I think you got the month wrong!' ARRHHHH! Frustration beyond words!!!! That's exactly what happened to me while creating my July set up.
When you are bullet journaling, mistakes are bound to happen no matter how much you try to make everything perfect. And that's fine because you're only human. Me personaly, I've made all kinds of mistakes in my bujo - wrong date, wrong day, drew a line too big, typos (loads of them!), miscalculated the size of the table I wanted to draw - the list goes on and on!
So, how do you deal with those mistakes? Here are some of the ways I use that help me keep my sanity intact!
1. Try to correct the mistake (like specific letters or numbers) as subtly as possible.
This is for simple typo mistakes that you can quickly rectify by writing on top of them the correct letter/number, so that it doesn't show as much.
2. Oops! It's Tuesday!
Most of the times, when I make a mistake of a word (like writing the wrong day as shown above), I will just add an arrow and the correct word. I think this way, it looks cute and you get the desired effect without ruining the page or the desing.
3. Use the page for something else.
If you're lucky and quite inventive, then you can rectify your mistake by utilising the page for something else. For example, if you've created a table but you made a mistake with the dimensions and it doesn't work for what you were planning to do, then you can still use it to add for example quotes in the little boxes. That way you can still use the page and make it look good at the same time.
4. Correction Fluid
If nothing else works, good old Tipp-Ex comes to the rescue!!!
5. Cover them up!
There are lots of ways you can cover your mistake and make the page look nice and cute.
You can use washi tape. These little colourful tapes have saved loads of my pages in my journal. They add an instant splash of colour and cover up things pretty neatly.
Any type of stickers or mini post-it notes that can cover any mishaps that might have happened on your page. You can even print quotes or various designs (ie. mandala) on sticker paper and cover the whole page if you have to! I really like the ones by Kara on Etsy.
Apart though from covering up your mistakes, there are some ways that can help you to prevent them in the first place. You can use pencil instead of pen. I know some people might find this solution a bit over the top, but if you find that something as simple as that helps you, then why not?
Another solution is to pre-design everything in pencil and once you are satisfied with the result, then you can go over with a pen. It might take a bit more time than usual, but having an almost perfect page in the end, makes it worth it. I do this all the time, especially when it's a big and complicated spread.
You can use coloured pencils for your drawings instead of markers. I use them all the time in my bullet journal, and I really like that they give me the option to erase something that I don't like without ruining the design or the page.
You can also use those erasable pens and highlighters. They make your life so much easier! They come in various colours as well, so you can still create colourful spreads and lists. My favourite one is the Pilot Frixion Ball 0.7.
And lastly but not least, you need to learn to embrace your mistakes. They make your journal even more special, because they show you that you learn from them. Everything you create, right or wrong, is part of who you are and you should accept it. That way, even if you make any mistakes, they won't make your bullet journal journey any less enjoyable.
How do you deal with mistakes in your bullet journal? Please let me know in the comments below ;)
Bullet Journal: My July Set Up
July is here and I'm so excited cause this is the month that me and my family are going away for a few days! Oh, I can't wait! I really need some time off :) Since, this is my 'holiday' month, I'm keeping things very, very simple. I've created minimun spreads, and I'm planning to create only a few more during this month as well.
July is here and I'm so excited cause this is the month that me and my family are going away for a few days! Oh, I can't wait! I really need some time off :) Since, this is my 'holiday' month, I'm keeping things very, very simple. I've created minimun spreads, and I'm planning to create only a few more during this month as well.
I'm doing my month at a glance a bit differently this time. I created a small monthly view, where I highlight specific days, like birthdays and holidays etc. And at the bottom, I've created a to-do list, which is more like a brain dump type of space. Here I write everything that i need to do this month. There is no order - I just write down anything that comes to mind.
In the next page, I've separated the month in weeks. Here, I'll take the things that I've writen in my to-do list, and I'm going to allocate them in specific time frames in the four weeks. I also note down again birthdays and other special days that I want to remember, and I'm being more specific. I really like this spread. I got inspired by the amazing
for this one!
As you can see, there are no trackers, no goals or anything else like that. Just giving myself some time off.
I've also decided to skip the gratitude log for this month, and instead I'm going to have a monthly highlights spread where I'll write the best bits of each day. I got this idea from the lovely Christine
. I think it's an excellent idea, and I can't wait to fill this spread with special moments and memories from this month!
While I was creating my July set up, I had some music on and I was thoroughly enjoying myself creating. After I finished it, I felt so good about it, that I had to show my husband to get his opinion. His answer was: "It looks amazing babe, but I think you got the month wrong!" ARRHHH!!! Of course, I had to make a mistake - again!!!! Typical! Oh well, what can you do? I still think it looks great! For the font I used for the title I got inspired by the very talented
.
The last spread I added in this month's set up was of course the
#doodlewithusinjuly
Instagram challenge that me and
have created. I really enjoyed myself doodling away during June, and I couldn't wait to start with the July theme as well! If you'd like to take part, you can check
that has all the information you need. ;)
Even though it's pretty simple, I really like July's set up! Did you add anything new in your monthly set up? And how do you deal with the mistakes you make in your bullet journal?
150 Collection and List Ideas for your Bullet Journal
One of the things that I love about Bullet Journaling is the fact that is so versatile and that you can make it your own, by creating any type of collection or list you want. Since this March, that I've started bullet journaling, I have created many collections and various spreads to help me with my planning, to visualise my goals and to keep track of things. But I thought it would be nice to create a list of all the possible ideas of lists and collections I could create in my Bullet Journal, in order to take it further from the basics.
The following list was created from a research I did online, from Instagram and Pinterest inspiration, as well as from lists and collections I've already created myself. And today I'm going to share it with you.
One of the things that I love about Bullet Journaling is the fact that is so versatile and that you can make it your own, by creating any type of collection or list you want. Since this March, that I've started bullet journaling, I have created many collections and various spreads to help me with my planning, to visualise my goals and to keep track of things. But I thought it would be nice to create a list of all the possible ideas of lists and collections I could create in my Bullet Journal, in order to take it further from the basics.
The following list was created from a research I did online, from Instagram and Pinterest inspiration, as well as from lists and collections I've already created myself. And today I'm going to share it with you.
I've also created a FREE printable version of this list for you :)
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If you have any lists or collections that you've created in your bullet journal that I haven't included in the list above, please let me know in the comments below so that I can add it. ;)
Bullet Journal: My June Set Up
With June being just around the corner, I have already finished my June set up in my bullet journal, and I'm going to share that with you today. There's been some changes, some additions plus I've also decided to remove some layouts as well. I'm pretty happy with the way things turned out and hopefully they'll work perfectly during the month.
With June being just around the corner, I have already finished my June set up in my bullet journal, and I'm going to share that with you today. There's been some changes, some additions plus I've also decided to remove some layouts as well. I'm pretty happy with the way things turned out and hopefully they'll work perfectly during the month.
The first page is a drawing I did to welcome June! I love the colours and the way it looks. It makes me happy and these colours put me right into the summer vibe. Inspired by @blackberryjelly.
The first change I did for this month's set up was with my monthly layout. If you remember before, I always used the month at a glance grid with the boxes. I noticed that I was not using that page as much as I wanted to, and therefore decided to turn it into a one page layout following the original bullet journal monthly log method. Here I'll be noting down imporant dates and events.
My Tasks, Goals and Notes for next month have their own page now and I like the way it looks. Plus I added a calendar view of July with the most important dates to keep in mind.
Another change I've done, was with my gratitude log. I've decided to have one entry per day instead of two, and therefore the gratitude log now sits comfortably in one page. The reason behind this is, because I am having another journal for my daily gratitude moments, and therefore I decided to write only one of those moments (or a summary of those if needed) in my bullet journal.
Of course I have my memories page, that I started last month and I love how it turned out. So, I had to add it again for June.
One more new thing added in June's set up is the Quotes pages. I made a quotes page for my birthday and I really liked how it looked, so I decided to make it a habbit and write one quote every day.
I got inspired by @logthatlife and made little boxes for each one of the days. Can't wait to start writing the quotes I read :)
Earlier this week I announced the prompts for the June's Instagram Challenge that me and Alexandra (@alexandra_plans) created. The theme for June is 'Under the Sea'. Make sure you use the hashtag #doodlewithusinjune everytime you upload your images :) This is my set up for this month's challenge. No dates or numbers and the 7x7 boxes are done in pencil. For more information about the challenge, as well as the reason why I set the layout this way, click here.
Due to some health issues, I have to eat meat for at least a month. So, I've decided to do the Whole30 Challenge. I'm already on day 14 and I really like it so far, even though it took me a while to get used to it and face some psychological issues, since I've been a vegan for so long. I am keeping a food log in order to keep track of what I'm eating.
Lastly, my weekly spread for the first week of June had some changes too. I've added a weather forecast for the whole week, because I can't be bothered to check the weather every day. Frankly, here in Cyprus there is not a lot of change from day to day as far as the weather is concerned - it's HOT! Also, my trackers found a home here, and hopefully I will be actually tracking the things I want this week! I also managed to squeeze in my goals and tasks for this week, my meal planning as well as to have space for notes and the things I need to remember for next month. I've created a printable version of this Weekly Spread to share with you. That way, you can print it and start using it before you apply it in your bullet journal, to see if you like this way of planning and if it suits your needs.
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If you've noticed, I've completely removed everything that had to do with work or with my blog. The reason for this is because I've decided (finally!) to have a completely separate bullet journal for that. I'm using a Moleskine Cahier notebook in Lilac with a square grid and I love it because it's thinner and has bigger pages, which I really want. If you'd like me to show you how I set up this bullet journal as well, please let me know in the comments below.
For more inspiration about weekly spreads, don't forget to check this post.
So, there you have it! This is how I set up my bullet journal for June, and I'm really excited to start the new month. What have you changed or done anything differently for June?
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Here are my favourite Resources that I use every day with my Bullet Journal. Click to find out what I love to use.
25 Weekly Spread Ideas for your Bullet Journal
One of the best things of bullet journaling for me is the fact that you can change any layout to suit your needs. You can create your own totally from scratch, or you can get inspired from all the amazing fellow bullet journalists online. You can see how they do things and then try to take that layout and make it your own.
I have to admit that I am a weekly spread fanatic! I constantly look around for new ideas and I am actually collecting pictures of weekly spreads that I tend to go through them any time I feel like changing my current weekly spread around.
So, today I thought of sharing with you some amazing weekly spreads that I found, and some that I made myself in order to get you inspired.
One of the best things of bullet journaling for me is the fact that you can change any layout to suit your needs. You can create your own totally from scratch, or you can get inspired from all the amazing fellow bullet journalists online. You can see how they do things and then try to take that layout and make it your own.
I have to admit that I am a weekly spread fanatic! I constantly look around for new ideas and I am actually collecting pictures of weekly spreads that I tend to go through them any time I feel like changing my current weekly spread around.
So, today I thought of sharing with you some amazing weekly spreads that I found, and some that I made myself in order to get you inspired. The first 5 are mine and they are the ones I seem to use the most.
The above 3 spreads are for the weeks where I have a lot to do and I need a more detailed plan, while the following 2 are more for the weeks that there's not many tasks to do. On those weeks I sometimes also skip the daily spreads.
Creative Journaling Course
Step-by-step video lessons that will help you set up and organise your life in your journal.
The following spreads are from some very talented people that I found online, mainly on Instagram. If you want to get inspired, then you should definitely check them out.
- Weekly Spread by Lori@loriluckyhouse
I love, love, LOVE the colours and the use of space! Also, I really like that she has a section for the level 10 each week.
- Weekly Spread by Dee @decadethirty
I really like the simplicity of it. Sometimes you don't have to draw or do anything complicated.
- Weekly Spread by Marissa @choosingbliss
I like how compact that looks and the colours of the dates.
- Weekly Spread by Kara @BohoBerry
Of course there had to be a spread by Kara! This is a more updated weekly spread of the one I got inspired from, for my first two spreads. I like the section for the current projects.
- Weekly Spread by Jessica @prettyprintsandpaper
I love the colourful dates, the colour coordinated bullets and how she uses the space of the two pages.
- Weekly Spread by Ros @bluepapertrail
I like the section for 'This week's top 3' and the bottom section that can be used for tasks that repeat during the week.
- Weekly Spread by Kate @plantosucceed
I am currently obsessed with Kate's account and you should definitely check her out! Everything looks so tidy and neat, and I can't wait to use this layout for my inspiration when setting next weeks spread!
- Weekly Spread by Martina @martyplanner
Similar spread with different sections. Another amazing bullet journalist that I love to get inspired by!
- Weekly Spread by Doaa (I hope I got this right) @doaakhalil5
Just look at the detail and the colours! Love it!
- Weekly Spread by Laura@planningmyday
I love the stamps and step counting section. Everything looks very neat and tidy :)
- Weekly Spread by Svenja @loveandnotes
I love the mood section and the shopping post-it. Very clever!
- Weekly Spread by Ashlyn @nittany_bujo
Look how compact everything looks! I think she managed to fit everything in just one page!
- Weekly Spread by Alexandra @alexandra_plans
Lovely colours and doodles!
- Weekly Spread by Veronika @onki_art
Another colourful spread based on events and tasks.
- Weekly Spread by Mina @cubbifulplans
I love the boxes and the animation after each day! Such a great idea!
- Weekly Spread by Christine @writingbravely
Simple and to the point. I like the way she does her headers and I love her handwriting!
- Weekly Spread by Cristina @prettylistsandcolors
I like that she has the monthly view on the right page and also the brain dump section. :)
- Weekly Spread by Mia Moore@xomiamoore
There is space for everything and I like the pink-black combination.
The last 2 I found them on Pinterest and I don't know exactly who created these spreads. If you know, please let me know in the comments below so that I can give credit. :)
Again I love the shopping list post-it and it also has some of my favourite sections without being crowded.
I like the tasks being separated in two categories and the habits and expenses tracker.
So, there you have it! 25 amazing and creative weekly spreads for you to get inspired from!
For even more inspiration make sure you join my Newsletter in order to get access to the Resources Library!
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Also, don't forget that Instagram and Pinterest are the places for bullet journal inspiration. I have also created an open board on Pinterest for all the fellow bullet journal fans. This board is all about Bullet Journaling: Spreads, Collections, Tips and lots and lots of Inspiration.
So, if you would like to join the BULLET JOURNAL Inspiration board please follow the steps:
1. Follow Christina (christina77star) on Pinterest
2. Send me an email to christina77star@gmail.com with the subject: 'Pinterest Group Board Request' and include your Pinterest account name or Pinterest email address so that I can invite you.
Here are my favourite Resources that I use every day with my Bullet Journal.
Click to find out what I love to use.
Have a lovely day! :)
Bullet Journal: My May Set Up
April is almost finished and with May just around the corner comes a new monthly set up in my bullet journal. Super excited for May not only because it is my birthday this month, but also because there are some new exciting things already planned that I can't wait to share with you! ;)
At the end of each month I like to see what I've accomplished, how many of my goals and to-do's have been ticked off and where I am now. Then, I can go on and plan my next steps for next month that will bring me closer to my goals. I also like to see what worked with my previous layout in my bullet journal, and to make any necessary changes, add things or keep what has worked. So let's begin.
April is almost finished and with May just around the corner comes a new monthly set up in my bullet journal. Super excited for May not only because it is my birthday this month, but also because there are some new exciting things already planned that I can't wait to share with you! ;)
At the end of each month I like to see what I've accomplished, how many of my goals and to-do's have been ticked off and where I am now. Then, I can go on and plan my next steps for next month that will bring me closer to my goals. I also like to see what worked with my previous layout in my bullet journal, and to make any necessary changes, add things or keep what has worked. So let's begin.
Last month I decided to create two monthly views - one personal and one for my blog - just to separate the two. (For April's set up click here). And it worked really well, so I knew I had to do the same this month. However, there are a few changes, so the setup in both monthly views is slightly different.
Before I go on and talk about my personal monthly view, I'd like to talk about my trackers. I got really disheartened when at the end of the month my trackers looked like this. It seemed that some of the things I wanted to be doing this month, I just could not even start! And that made me think that maybe I am asking too much of myself. Since I want to create some new habits, the best way is to start slowly and take 2-3 things that I want to change and focus on them. Sandra from @wundertastischdesign talked about something similar on Instagram and Rosalie (one of her followers) mentioned a thing called 'implementation intentions'.
'The idea is that you take something out of your daily routine that you do anyway and you use that as a trigger to do something else aka create a new habit. So for example if you've done your morning pages, you start yoga right after that. Make sure it's directly linked and you do it right after. You make an "if-then" goal for yourself.'
Taking all the above into consideration, I've decided this month to narrow my trackers down to only 3. I included something that I'm already doing almost every day (meditation) and two other things that I really want to create a habit and be more consistent (exercise and visualisation). And the key is that I have to do them one after the other. That's why in my personal monthly view I now have only 3 trackers.
The month of May spreads along 6 weeks, so I changed the layout with the days shown vertically so that it all fits nicely. Then I added my to-do's, my goals and any notes I might need to take.
My blog monthly view is almost exactly the same. I've just took off the trackers completely, since I have pages dedicated for each thing I was tracking. I also took off one of the boxes at the bottom, because I didn't need it this month.
Some of the spreads worked perfectly last month like my Blog Post Ideas, Brain Dump, Instagram Ideas, Insta-Plan and of course my Gratitude Log, so I kept them exactly as they were.
Last month I was really ambitious and wanted to take part in 3 challenges! And out of the three I took part in one of the them ONCE! Clearly, I don't have time for all these challenges, so again I decided to take it easy and take part only in one - #DoodleWithUsInMay! Yes, I've created a challenge with the lovely Alexandra and I can't wait to see what everyone will create. For more information about the challenge check this post.
Lastly, I've created a May Memories spread for this month, which doesn't look like anything special right now, but hopefully by the end of the month it will be full of amazing memories and lots of doodles. I really liked the idea when I saw Kara from BohoBerry.com doing it and so, this month I'll do it too!
So, there you have it. That's my set up for the month of May. What changes have you made in yours?