New Bullet Journal Flip Through (+ Video)
Today I'll share with you the pages and spreads that I've created in my second bullet journal until now. This time I've chosen a bright orange Leuchtturm1917 in A5 with dotted grid. (You can see my first bullet journal here). I started my second bullet journal in the beginning of September and I've managed to transfer most of my favourite spreads in it by now.
Today I'll share with you the pages and spreads that I've created in my second bullet journal until now. This time I've chosen a bright orange Leuchtturm1917 in A5 with dotted grid. (You can see my first bullet journal here). I started my second bullet journal in the beginning of September and I've managed to transfer most of my favourite spreads in it by now.
Watch the Video here!
Moving to a new bullet journal can be a bit of a pain with all the spreads you have to recreate. However, I quite liked it, because this time I got to choose which spreads to add, put them in the beginning of the journal, so that I can have easier access to them (having all the important spreads in the beginning, rather than having them spread in different places in the journal), and put them in the order that I liked.
I also got to make any changes that I thought were necessary and change the layout or the way I decorated the pages. All in all I'm really happy with the result and I love all the pages that I've recreated.
So, let's get started!
The first page after the index pages was a page that I wanted to decorate with a nice phrase or a quote. There is a phrase that I picked up from Pam Grout's book "E-Cubed: Nine More Energy Experiments That Prove Manifesting Magic and Miracles Is Your Full-Time Gig" that I say every morning, and that is 'Something amazing is going to happen today' I really wanted to include this in my bullet journal, so I created this page and I love it because it's the first thing I see when I open my bullet journal.
In the next page I wanted to include my Word of the Year and my Mission Statement, but I wanted to do something a bit different than before. I got inspired by Nicole and her lovely air-balloon drawings and created the above page, which is definitely one of my favourites.
I always include a page of Useful Numbers for me but also for my kids. They know that in a case of emergency they can go to this page and call the number they need.
I simplified my Key completely. Now I only use a dot for everything. I only use more specific symbols for bithdays and anniversaries. I found that using various different symbols for your activities can be a bit confusing some times, and I also thought that it made my pages a bit messy. The Colour Code has all the colours that I use for my dailies and for my time management bar, and it has stayed the same.
I wanted a Year at a Glance spread. In my previous journal I created this spread in 4 pages, but this time I wanted to condense everything in only 2 pages. I really like how it turned out. This is the page I use to note down holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, various events and school related days. Now I can see how my schedule is looking for the next 12 months.
* There is a printable version of the above 2-page Year at a Glance spread for 2018. You can find it here.
In the next spread I created my Future Log where I note down all the appointments, events and other important dates. I have a full blog post dedicated to this one if you want more information about it. So, having these two spreads together is really functional, because I can see straight away what I have to do in each month.
Then I created my Level 10 Life / Level 10 Goals spread, which I've changed up a bit. I talked about it thoroughly in this post if you want to check it out. But it's basically an assessment of your life as it is now in 10 different areas. Then you set up your goals in each one of those areas and you establish the ways and habits that will help you get there. I loved it when I read about it in Hal Elrod's book 'The Miracle Morning' and it has helped me a lot in my goal setting.
The next two spreads are about the books I want to read and the books that I have read during 2016. On the first page I'll write previous publications that I really want to read - my top picks from my wishlist. Then I have new publications per month and lastly I note down all the books I've read in 2016. By the way, a little update about my reading goal that I mentioned in the '17 before 2017' post. I had to changed it because it was completely unreasonable.... There was no way could have read 20 books by the end of the year, especially with my schedule as it is now. So now, my reading goal is 60 books in 2016 which is definitely more achievable..
Moving further, the next spread is about my Planning Routine. This is the only spread that I didn't change a thing. I literally copied it from my first journal.
The next page is my Housework Schedule. This is the basic weekly schedule that I tend to follow. Of course, I can change things around depending on the things I need to do each week.
My Menu Planning is almost the same. I changed the banner at the top a bit, but generally I followed the same layout as my previous one. I need to add more food ideas for each category. It's a very helpful page if you're stuck each week and you don't know what to cook!
My Supermarket List looks neater and cleaner. Again I changed the banner at the top and rearranged the items a bit, but all in all it's the same spread. Very functional and practical.
Lastly, I also recreated a spread for my Vegetable List. Basically the same - just changed the top part a bit. The rest of the pages I've already shared them with you. You can look back in my September and October set ups to see how I prepared my bullet journal for each month.
So, there you have it. My new bullet journal set up. Which spreads do you recreate when you change journals?
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Collaboration: Free Brush Letter Practice Guide for your Bullet Journal
For today's post I collaborated with the lovely Olivia from RandomOlive. I've talked in a previous post about my obsession with handlettering, so when Olivia asked me to share a Free Brush Letter Practice Guide on my blog I was over the moon!
When I had to think of the phrases or words I'd like to have in this Free Printable, I knew I had to make it relevant to my bullet journaling. So, I've chosen titles that are very often used in various spreads like: gratitude log, monthly focus, future log, habit tracker and monthly challenges. The idea is to practice (and then practice some more!) in order to be able to recreate these titles in your bullet journal. :)
I decided to use my Tombow Dual Brush pens in order to practice my hand lettering. I know Olivia uses paint brushes and paint (and I love it!), but I think they are not that practical for a bullet journal, so I prefer using my Tombow markers instead.
The trick is to hold the marker in a 45 degree angle. I also hold it quite far up - that helps with the thick downward strokes.
If you like this, Olivia also has a Practice Guide for the days and months, which I think can be really usefull for your dailies and monthlies. You can make them look pretty and colourful in no time ;)
Lastly, if one of your goals is to better your brush lettering and hand lettering, then maybe you should check the Comprehensive Brush Letter Practic Guide out. It promises to turn you into a pro in 45 days! Olivia even gives you a schedule to stay on track. Perfect!
Download your FREE Brush Letter Practice Guide:
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Brush Lettering Practice Guide
This practice guide has everything you need to practice and improve your brush lettering skills. In formats both for printing and for your iPad.
What do you think of brush lettering? Have you tried practicing it?
Goal Setting Program - 10-Step Formula to Achieve your Goals
I'm on a mission to achieve as many goals as I can before 2016 (take a look at my post '17 before 2017') and I'm already planning ahead for 2017 (with 'Your Best Year 2017' by Lisa Jacobs). Therefore, I'm always looking for ways, formulas and techiniques that will bring me closer to my dreams. While I was reading Edwene Gaines' book 'The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity', I came across her 10-step formula for successful achievement, that I'd like to share with you today.
Those 10 Steps are as follows:
- In a notebook dedicated to your goal setting programme, write down all of your desires, no matter how large or small.
- Choose your most important desires and list them in order of importance to you. Be very specific.
- Consider what changes you might need to make in order to achieve your goals.
- Choose the date by which you desire to achieve each goal.
- Read your list of goals at least three times every morning and every night.
- Imagine yourself achieving each goal.
- Act as if you have already achieved your goals. Believe that you receive.
- Don't tell others. Keep your goals private.
- Cross off the goals as they are achieved and continue to add new ones.
- Remember, the Universe's highest law is LOVE.
I had some issues with #8 of the list. For me it's important to share your goals and dreams with your family, friends and the people you love. But that's exactly what Edwene Gaines means. She mentions that you can share your goals with people that you can trust and who are going to encourage and support you. But you should not tell the people that might judge you, discourage you and make you doubt yourself.
'Desire is the onward impulse of the ever evolving soul.'
Charles Fillmore
Even though I've heard or read all of the above at some point in my life, putting everything in a list with strategic steps makes it easier for me to take action. And even though I've been writing my goals and I tried to visualise them from time to time, I've just left it at that and expected things to just happen! Well not any more! Now I'm planning for the future taking conscious and deliberate steps towards my goals.
What is your winning formula for achieving your goals? Have you tried any of the above?
Bullet Journal: My November Set Up
I know I've been saying the same thing every month, but seriously it feels like October just flew by! Maybe it's because October was a very exciting month for me (both personally and professionally). But also, as we're getting closer to Christmas (can you believe that it's only 54 days till Xmas??), the days get busier and time just seems to fly.
I know I've been saying the same thing every month, but seriously it feels like October just flew by! Maybe it's because October was a very exciting month for me (both personally and professionally). But also, as we're getting closer to Christmas (can you believe that it's only 54 days till Xmas??), the days get busier and time just seems to fly.
I've (FINALLY!) made my first YouTube video, and I'm really excited about that. I'm still learning about editing and all that new and interesting stuff! I hope you like the video and you'll give it a thumbs up :)
PS: I don't know why, but in the video I sound like a robot. I swear I speak normally in real life!
As always, at the end of the month I prepare my montly set up in my bullet journal. I did some changes this month, that hopefully will help me stay more focused in order to achieve my goals.
The first change was in the month at a glance spread. I didn't find the previous spread practical, so I changed it to this one. My issue with the one I used in October was that there was not enough space to add more that one things per day. It seems that I enjoy this month's spread more already. I think my brain functions better in squares :)
I've changed my monthly focus spread too. This time I'm very specific in the tasks I want to tackle and more organised in the actions I need to take for each one. I've narrowed it down to 10 goals for November, and I've writen next to each one what needs to be done.
The next page I've separated it into 4 rows, one for each week of November. These will act as a funnel, so that I can allocate the steps and tasks for each goal to one of the 4 weeks. That way, when I'm doing my weekly spread, I can visit this page and see exactly what I need to do in the next 7 days.
The only thing that's stayed the same this month is my gratitude log that I continue to add in every monthly spread.
So, this is how my November Set Up looks up until now in my bullet journal. Have you done yours yet? Did you make any changes this month?
PS: Let me know what other videos you'd like me to make next :)
Instagram Challenge #doodlewithusinnovember
October is almost finished and I'm excited to announce our Instagram Challenge for the month of November! It's the #doodlewithusinnovember Instagram Challenge created by me and Alexandra (from @alexandra_plans).
It's going to be 30 days of doodles that will hopefully get you to be creative and have fun! The theme of November's Prompts is 'I'm Grateful for...', and I'm really excited about this theme!!!
Because of the nature of the theme, this month we are not doing the big comprehensive picture. Instead, we are going back to the original design with 30 squares, one per prompt. So, in the end of the month we'll have 30 things/people/ideas that we're grateful about! :)
You can download a free printout with the daily prompts here.
- Follow me (Christina) @christina77star and Alexandra @alexandra_plans over on Instagram.
- Download the prompts below.
- Draw something according to the day's prompt, take a photo of it, and share it with us on Instagram.
- Don't forget to add the hashtag #doodlewithusinnovember and spread the word.
- Everyone is welcome!
Complaint Free: A 21-Day Challenge
While reading Edwene Gaines's book "The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity: A Simple Guide to Unlimited Abundance", I came up to the chapter where she was talking about the 21-day challenge she set for herself in order to stop complaining and criticising. I admit I was intrigued. The more I read, the more I was excited to try this. So today, I'd like to share with you the new challenge I'm setting myself up for the next 21 days.
How does it work?
You make the commitment that for 21 days you will not gossip, criticize or complain to others or to yourself. Nothing negative said at all for 21 days. No matter what happens during that time, you should not complain. If you slip and say something negative, you'll just have to forgive yourself and then start all over again for another 21 days. So, as Edwene says in her book "on the 20th day you must be very, very careful!"What is a complaint?
According to the dictionary, it is when we express pain, grief and discontent. It is a statement that something is unsatisfactory or unacceptable.However it should not be confused with being neutral and just stating facts.
'Complaining is not to be confused with informing someone of a mistake or deficiency so that it can be put right. And to refrain from complaining doesn't necessarily mean putting up with bad service, quality or behaviour. There is no ego in telling the waiter your soup is cold and needs to be heated up, if you stick to the facts and you're always neutral.'
Eckhart Tolle
Why do we complain?
There are 5 reasons that explain our tendency to complain. People usually do it because they want to:1. Get attention
2. Remove Responsibility
3. Inspire Envy
4. Power
5. Excuse Poor Performance
Why 21 days?
It was found that it takes 21 days for someone to form a new habit. Some might argue that this is wrong and that it actually takes more days than that, but I'm happy to try for 21 days and make sure I continue to do the same after that.What is wrong with complaining?
Well, if you like to complain, then by all means go right ahead. However, when you complain, you keep being focused on the problem and not the solution. It can damage your health, be destructive to your relationships and limit your career success. When you stop complaining, you remove all the negativity around you and you are happier.Will Bowen has written the book "A Complaint Free World". He handed out purple bracelets to inspire people to give up complaining and his ideas have exploded around the world with 6.2 million bracelets being shipped to 106 countries. (You can get the purple bracelet from his website)
I loved watching his video and listening to him explaining what the whole concept is all about and how to actually do it. So, I've decided to do this for the next 21 days starting from today.
I made myself a nice spread in my bullet journal to track my progress with a calendar of 21 days to tick off as I go along. I don't have a purple bracelet, but I have a nice black one that'll work just fine. I'm ready for this!
17 before 2017
After reading Lisa's and Kara's posts and of course after starting to read the 'Your Best Year 2017' book, I'm all pumped up and ready to finish 2016 strong. And what better way but to create 17 goals to accomplish in the time that's left (no pressure there!)
So, in this post I'll share with you both my personal and work related goals that I'd like to achieve by the end of 2016. Let's do this!
#1. Start training for my 10K run.
I've decided to take part once again to the Limassol Marathon that's taking place on the 19th of March 2017. I'm quite out of shape at the moment. I've been walking and swimming almost every day for the past 3 months, but I haven't run for a while now. My plan is to do the 5K Runner app. first and then to move on to the 5K to 10K app. If I start this week, then I can finish the first app on time and run for 5K before Christmas, which is my goal. Then I'll have enough time to train more in the new year.
#2. Clean Diet.
I've noticed that I've been having lots of cravings lately for sweet treats and I keep on messing my diet with silly foods. I just need to be more aware of what I'm eating, look at the labels for the ingredients and find natural, better for you alternatives to satisfy my appetite. I've currently bought the book 'Eat Smart' by Niomi Smart and I love it. My goal is to make it a habit of eating like this and lose at least 2kgs by Xmas.
#3. Go for a bike ride with all the family by the sea front.
Since the weather is still really nice here in Cyprus, I should take this opportunity and go for a ride with our bikes by the sea front with my kids and my husband. My kids learned to ride their bikes without stabilizers recently and they're very excited about it. So, this would be a great idea to plan a fun day by the sea for the 4 of us. I just need to buy them safety helmets and we're good to go. I should make arrangements to do it before the end of October.
#4. Decorate my living room.
I've been meaning to do this for such a long time and I keep on postponing it. But I think it would be nice to decorate the living room and have everything nicely done before Xmas. I'm thinking of a cozy and warm decor with lots of Moroccan vibes, where I can add colour with accessories and pillows. I've created a board in my Pinterest account that I've already started to add inspiration photos. Now I need to set my budget, make a list of what's needed and do my market research.#5. Revamp my wardrobe.
I plan to do this every year, but I just never do. I keep clothes that I haven't worn for years, and quite frankly I don't think I'll wear again, so I really need to do this. I have to separate the things I want to keep for sentimental value and store them in the attic, the things I don't want any more and arrange to give them to charity and lastly the things I want to keep. Then, I'll write down a list with all the items I need to buy and go shopping! (that's the fun part!). Again Pinterest comes to the rescue - my go to place to find inspiration for the style I want to have and nice and cute outfit combinations ideas.
#6. Family Excursions.
I want to plan 2-3 fun excursions with the family. It's the perfect time to spend quality time together, visit new places and go on hikes or nature trails. I'm already planning the first one for the 27th of October, where we'll get to visit some villages, walk by the river and have a pic nic. Hopefully everyone will have lots of fun and the river won't be that cold! If it snows up in the mountains, I'd like to take the kids for another excursion to play with the snow before the end of the year.#7. Invite friends over for dinner.
I want to cook a 3 course meal from scratch by myself and invite some friends for dinner. That thought is a bit scary, cause I'm not the world's best cook but I really want to give it a try and be the best hostess I can!
#8. Read 70 books in 2016.
So many books, so little time! I've already read 52 books so far and I'm sure I can reach my target of 70 books before the end of the year. If you'd like to see my reading challenge, find me on Goodreads.#9. Plan ahead for Christmas.
I want to plan Xmas properly this year for the family, with lots of activities and things to do for the kids. I want to make it a time to remember, create new traditions and amazing memories for them. I already have lots of ideas, but of course I'm planning to create a list in my Bullet Journal to make sure I don't forget anything! How do you make Xmas special for your family? Let me know in the comments below ;)#10. Travel to London for the New Year.
We've already booked the tickets and have arranged for accomodation. But there's so many things I want to do when we're in London that I really need to start planning right away! Everyone is very excited and I can't wait to fly back to London. It's been too long...#11. Take an Illustrator course.
Lately I have a lot of ideas of things I want to do and create, and lots of times I've realised that I need to use the Illustrator for them. I'm quite good with Photoshop, but I haven't used Illustrator, so I'd like to take a course to get myself acquainted with this software and start using it for my future projects. I also need to subscribe to Adobe Creative Cloud.#12. Reach 5000 Subscribers
When I started blogging, I never thought that I would get that many subscribers! Actually, when I started my Newsletter, I seriously didn't think that anyone would be interested in what I was offering, and I remember having second thoughts about it. But when people started joining in and subscribing, I was over the moon! Right now I have over 2800 subscribers and I'd love to reach 5000 by the end of the year!If you haven't joined my Newsletter yet, now it's the perfect time to do it! ;)
#13. Write an ebook.
I've always wanted to do that, but I kept holding myself back. Well, not any more! I want to plan, schedule and write an ebook before the end of the year. I haven't decided 100% on the title just yet, but once I'm ready I'll let you know more information about it. ;)#14. Start my YouTube channel.
I've tried a few times before to start making videos, but I had some technical difficulties and that made me have second thoughts about it. But I really want to start my YouTube channle, because I can show you so many more things and be more detailed with the way I do things. So, my goal is to upload at least one video by the end of 2016.#15. Start selling in my Etsy Shop
I want to join in the fun and start creating! I have lots of ideas and I'm sure that after I take the Illustrators' course that I mentioned earlier, I'll be able to do so much more! Again the plan is to start and upload at least one listing, taking things one step at a time.#16. Create valuable content for my blog
I want to make sure that I keep on creating and writing content that helps my readers and inspires them to be more creative with their Bullet Journal. But I also want to start making more content about other categories as well, like time management, organisation and planning, goal setting and blogging.
#17. Plan My Best Year 2017
I'm so excited with the 'Your Best Year 2017' book by Lisa Jacobs, that I haven't stopped talking about it! I'm already half way through and really excited for the year ahead! I have so many ideas and Lisa managed to help me with her book and worksheets to put my thoughts in order and plan my next steps towards my goals.
How to make a better to-do list
I like to make to-do lists. They keep me focused, organised and more productive. I prefer using pen and paper for my lists. Call me old school if you like, but I find that my brain functions better this way. I remember things easier and I'm more productive. I also like my to-do lists quite detailed, to make sure I don't forget anything. I'm always on a quest to find the best ways to create the perfect to-do list that will help me achieve my goals and be very productive. Today, I'll share with you some of the ways that I found to work for me.
I like to make to-do lists. They keep me focused, organised and more productive. I prefer using pen and paper for my lists. Call me old school if you like, but I find that my brain functions better this way. I remember things easier and I'm more productive. I also like my to-do lists quite detailed, to make sure I don't forget anything. I'm always on a quest to find the best ways to create the perfect to-do list that will help me achieve my goals and be very productive. Today, I'll share with you some of the ways that I found to work for me.
1. Create a Brain Dump List.
I found that getting everything off my mind and into paper, ensures that I don't forget to do things and it also empties my brain from constantly thinking about those things. You can create one list where you write everything, or you can make more than one list for various categories i.e. for work, housework, personal, family and so on. In the case that you want to create only one list, you can colour code it to separate the tasks this way. Me personally, I have two Brain Dump Lists: one for work, and one for everything else, which I then colour code, in order to make it easier to visually see the tasks that need to be done in each category I've created.
Every month I check my Brain Dump list and I choose 1-5 tasks to tackle on that month. I break each one into smaller more manageable steps and then, I allocate a few steps of each task for each week of the month. So, when I'm writing my daily to-do list, I check my weekly spread and choose what steps/tasks need to be done on that day.
2. Break the big tasks down into smaller more manageable tasks/steps.
You can do that directly on your Brain Dump list, or you can create a separate smaller list for the specific project or task with all the steps that you need to take.
3. Mark the Important tasks.
I break the tasks down into
Urgent if they are important or need to be done as soon as possible, or
Not Urgent if they can be tackled at a later date. What I do, is to place a little red dot next to the important tasks, so that I know straight away which ones I should do first.
4. Start with the most important tasks.
Each day I start by noting down the 3 most important tasks on my list. Again, I do that by placing a little red dot next those tasks. These are the tasks that have to be done no matter what. So, if I only do those 3 and nothing else, I can still consider my day quite productive.
Tackle your most important tasks first and don't waste time on trivial tasks.
5. Time everything.
I write an estimated time next to each task. I use this in conjuction with the time management bar to see when I have enough time during my day to allocate for each particular task.
6. Time yourself.
I find that whenever I use a timer when doing a task, I do it quicker and more efficiently. By timing myself for each task, I can also see if my time estimates that I mentioned above are reasonable. And funnily enough, while doing this exercise I found that I have a completely wrong sense of time and my time estimates were completely off! I also like to use the pomodoro technique.
7. Pick a time every day to write your to-do list for the next day.
I prefer to do this before I go to bed. I tend to spend anything between 10-20 minutes to plan my to-do list for the next day. I go through my future log, my brain dump list and my weekly spread to see what tasks I have to do for the next day.
The above steps / techniques have helped me immensely to plan ahead and to be more productive. Please share in the comments below any tips or tricks you use in order to create your perfect to-do list.
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