Zebra Mildliners - Review

Lot's of people contact me on a daily basis to ask me about my favourite supplies and what pens, markers etc. I'm using to create my spreads in my bullet journal. I've created a page of my favourite resources where I talk about all my favourite things. But I've decided to create some blog posts where I review and showcase my favourite supplies individually. In today's post I'll review my current favourite highlighters - the Zebra Mildliners.

The Zebra Mildliners are water-based highlighters made in Japan. They are double sided with a broad and a fine tip.

The broad tip is 3mm thick and the fine tip is 1mm thick. 

What makes them different from other highlighters are the colours, which are softer and not so much 'neon' as the usual highlighters are. They come in packs of 5 and there are 4 different collections: Pastel, Cool, Warm and Rare.

I currently have two of the collections - the Cool and the Warm one. But I'm planning on buying the other two collections very soon. :)

The Cool Collection has the following colours: Green, Blue, Grey, Violet and Red.

The Warm Collection has the following colours: Smoke Blue, Magenta, Gold, Vermillion and Brown.

Both collections have some amazing colours that are vibrant but 'in your face' bright, and I use them daily to create my weekly spreads. The grey from the Cool Collection is the one I'm using all the time to create the shading in my doodles.

Paper test

The Mildliners are write pretty well on the paper and are quite juicy, so expect some extra product at the end of your lines once you lift up the pen. Just dub it with a clean finger and avoid touching the page for 1-2 secs until it dries completely.

I've used them in my Leuchtturm1917 and my Jane's Agenda. In Leuchtturm1917 there is some ghosting, while in Jane's Agenda there's nothing on the back page!

Leuchtturm1917 swatches

Jane's Agenda Swatches

Also, because they are water based and quite liquid, make sure that before you use them to highlight something you've written, that the pen has dried completely.

The ways I use them

Apart from the obvious use of the highlighters, which is to underline or highlight in your books or notes while you're studying, you can also use them to add colour in your spreads in no time. Here are some examples of how I use them to create my weeklies and other spreads in my bullet journal.

They are very good to colour code and make your headers in your bullet journal. 

I also use them as a base for my drawings and doodles. They work very well with coloured pencils and help you get nice results with vibrant colours in no time.

The Zebra Mildliners have quickly become a cult favourite in the bullet journal community and you can see why! I absolutely love them and I totally recommend them. You can purchase them from this website with free international shipping. Use the code christina77star to get a 10% discount.

Have you used the Zebra Mildliners before? What are your thoughts about them?

18 before 2018

Goal setting is a very important part of my life. It keeps me focused and it gives me purpose. After doing the 17 Before 2017 goal setting last year, I decided to repeat it this year as well. It is a concept that I've seen in Kara's and Lisa's blogs. It is an end of the year goal-setting challenge, where you look back at what you've accomplished during the year so far, and see what needs to be done before the end of the year. So, if you want to finish 2017 strong, what better way but to create 18 goals to accomplish in the time that's left (no pressure there!)

Even though I didn't manage to finish all of my 17 before 2017 goals, I loved the concept because it put me in the right frame of mind. After going through all the sections of my life and what needs to be done, I've managed to narrow it down to 18 goals that I'd love to finish before the end of the year. I tried to keep things under perspective, but to also be more daring and ask more from myself. 

In this blog post, I'm going to share with you all my goals that I want to achieve before the end of 2017. So, let's get started!

#1. Clean Diet

For the past 3 years, I've been taking care of myself and my body, being extra careful of what I eat and drink. However, the past 3-4 months I just let go and didn't really care of what foods I consume. That has resulted in me feeling sluggish and, as you'll see in goal #2, for the kilos to just pile up. This is my chance to start fresh, and take care more of my body. My clean diet means that I eat as much fresh produce as possible, avoiding dairy, soft drinks, meat and sugar. I allow myself to eat fish, but most of my diet is based on veggies and fruit. I've already started this  way of eating since September 4th, and I'm already seeing the difference in my body. :)

#2. Lose 8kg by Christmas

I admit it.... I had too many desserts and enjoyed some amazing food during this summer. That resulted in me putting on some weight that I'm just not comfortable with. I really want to start the new year feeling fresh and confident, so I want to make sure that I reach my desired weight by then. The plan is to follow my 'clean diet' and make sure that I eat the right portions. Of course, this goes hand in hand with goal #3.

#3. Join the Gym

I'm very lucky to have a mini gym in my basement, where I keep my treadmill and all my weights and mats in order to do the exercises I want. And even though this is very convenient for me, however I don't get the motivation I need to be more consistent and focused on my exercise. Therefore I've decided to join the gym, where I can take more classes and ask for a more professional help with my exercise routine.

#4. Arrange a spa day for me

It's been so long since I've pampered myself...! I think it is very important to treat ourselves from time to time and that's why I put this in my goals - to make sure that I make time for me! 

#5. Read 45 books in 2017

This year I set a goal to read 77 books within 2017. However, I've been very busy and I can clearly see that I won't be reaching that goal. So, I've decided to put things into perspective and set up a more realistic goal for me. I have already read 31 books so far, and I'm planning to read 45 by the end of 2017. I'm sure this is a more achievable goal and that I'll be able to make it. 

#6. Save and buy a new phone 

I've had my phone for 5 years now and I can see that it's not working as good as it should. Plus, with all the time I spend on social media I need a phone with a bigger screen. I'm hoping to save up and buy an iPhone 7 by the of the year. That'll be my Christmas present to myself :)

#7. Do more things that scare me

I'm so used to be locked up into myself, feeling secure in my daily routine. I want to be more daring and add some adventure into my life. I've already started this summer taking small steps towards this direction by saying 'yes' more to invitations and events. I need to go with the flow and allow myself to do more things that scare me.

#8. Re-decorate the living room and the kithcen

I've already done half of the living room and I'm slowly slowly getting the things I need for the kitchen. It's very important to feel home proud and to take care of your house. As a friend of mine used to say to me, 'the way your house looks and feels reflects the way you act and the way you think'.  

#9. Print Photos

Since everything in our lives is digital, I was going through my pictures and I realised that I have more than 10.000 pictures on my laptop and only 3-4 printed in frames!!! So, by the end of this year I'd like to print more pictures and add them around my house, in order to remind myself of precious moments.

#10. Paint kids' bedrooms

As my kids are growing older, they are now having a say about their room decor. It'll be nice to freshen up their rooms, and add some new colours. I'd like them to take part in this project and help along. It should be fun!

#11. Plan Christmas Holidays

Last year I planned to spend our New Year in London and it was an amazing experience. I thoroughly enjoyed going away and I liked the time we all spent together as a family. So, I would like to do the same this year and plan something special for the holidays. I haven't decided yet where to go, but I'm sure I'll come up with something good ;)

#12. Keep in touch with my family more

Since I've moved to Cyprus, I had to say goodbye to all my family and friends. And even though I miss them, I neglect lots of times to keep in touch with them. I'd like to make an effort and call or Skype them more often.

#13. Be more social

Working from home can really make you anti-social while you're all wrapped up in your home environment. Add to this me being extremely shy and then you have a hermit crab! I need to make more friends and go out more. Finding a new hobby, joining the gym etc. will possibly give me the chance to meet more people and make new friends. I also have to make the effort to go out more with my existing friends.

#14. Start making YouTube videos again

I'll admit that I'm not very good at filming and editing. And because I encountered some difficulties the last times I tried to make some videos, I decided to stop all together. But I have so many things and ideas that I want to share with you, that I want to try harder and start creating more YouTube videos. 

#15. Finish my 'big project' by Christmas

This is a top secret project that I've been thinking and planning for a while now, and I'd like to finish it before Christmas. Hopefully, my nerves and self-doubt won't prevent me from actually making it happen. :)

#16. Design and create Christmas products for my Etsy Shop

So many ideas and so little time! I want to be ready with all the Christmas products from now. I know how quick time goes by, and I don't want to find myself in the position that I don't have the time to finish all the Christmas projects. So, I want to start now!

#17. Revamp my wardrobe

Doing some strategic buys can really help you joosh up your wardrobe and make you feel more confident in your clothes. I've already made my list and I want to slowly slowly start buying all the things that I want. Also, during November I'll go through all my clothes and give away the ones that I'm not wearing, in order to make room for the new additions :)

#18. Plan my best year yet - 2018

I want to go through 'Your Best Year 2017' book by Lisa Jacobs again and plan my best year for 2018. Plan all the projects and things I want to accomplish, and make sure I'm ready to start from the 1st of January.

What goals do you want to achieve before the end of 2017? What will you do to finish the year strong? Let me know in the comments below.

Bullet Journal Spread Ideas for School

September is already here and that means for a lot of you that the holidays are over, and that you have to go back to school. This was my favourite time of the year, back when I was still going to school.  😊 I loved getting ready, buying all the new stationary and generally planning and organising myself for the new school year...! Now I get all excited by getting my two kids ready for school. However, I don't think they feel the same way like I did...! 😬

Bullet journaling can be a great way to organise yourself for school (college, university etc.) and stay focused throughout the year. You can choose to have a separate bullet journal dedicated only for your school needs and keep another one for your personal life. Or you can have one for both. It's really up to you. No matter which way you choose though, I think the main thing is to keep only one to-do list for both. That way you have everything you need to do on one page and there's no way to miss or forget something you need to do. 

There are some basic spreads in a bullet journal that can be re-purposed for your school needs. For example, all the different ways you can future plan that I mention in this blog post, can be used to plan your semesters and your assignments. Your weekly spreads can help you stay on top of what you need to do each week, and your dailies will help you focused on your to-do lists and what you need to study.

Don't forget that colour coding is essential when you have multiple subjects and assignments, so this blog post should help you with that. Also, when you bullet journal index is your best friend. Make sure you archive all your entries so that you can easily find them when needed. 

If you are starting a new journal from scratch, that's perfect because you can set it up the way it suits you from the very beginning. Make a list of all the spreads you want to include. Start planning your new bujo and make sure you include all the important pages in the beginning, so that you can access them more easily.

In the next section of this blog post I'll share with you some really nice spreads for school, that some fellow bullet journalists have created and shared online. I hope you find inspiration and create your own spreads in your bullet journal. So, let's get started.

Future Planning

@beginner_bullet_journal

@teacherwithaplan

@focusign

@plantosucceed

@maryj13

@christina77star

Semester Schedule

@lauriewrites

@lauriewrites

@bujo.diaries

@pridebulletjournal

@haleyjournals

Weekly Schedule

@bujogel

* I can't seem to find where I've taken this picture from... If anyone knows please let me know in the comments so that I can give credit. 

@feefee_bujo

@feefee_bujo

@penpapersoul

passion themed life

Exam Study Plans

@julzeliza

@quietlythrilled

@kate_henning

@fickly_fern

There are some really cool ways to use your bullet journal for school and I hope you've found this blog post helpful and inspiring. If you have other spreads that you're using in your bullet journal in order to plan your school assignments, exams etc., please share with us in the comments below. :)

Bullet Journal: My September Set Up

Hello there! 

I'm finally back from my summer vacations! I had such a nice time in Greece, saw my family and friends and spent lots of time by the sea. But now I'm back, and I'm ready to plan the rest of the year and finish as many projects as possible. I've already set up my bullet journal for September with a few new additions that I'd like to share with you. So, let's get started!

On the first page of my September set up we find the little penguin, who is ready to go back to school! 

Moving on, the next page has my goals and to-do list for the month. This is one of my most useful and functional pages. This month I'm going to focus on me, my kids, my blog and my home (that needs some TLC for sure!). This page helps me focus and not forget to finish the things I need to do during the month. The 'Next Month' Section at the bottom is very helpful as well, because I write down everything I want to remember to do for next month.

I've decided to use this format for my month at a glance calendar. I find that my brain works better when I have things laid out this way in front of me. And, yes I know..... it's not October....! I almost cried when I finished it and realised my mistake... But what can you do? 

The next page is spread that Wendy mentioned in the comments in last month's set up post.

This spread is titled 'I did it'. As Wendy mentions in her comment, this is a spread  'where each day I jot down something I accomplished that was maybe a challenge or out of my comfort zone--anything from standing up for myself to baking a pie'. I loved the idea of this page so much, that I've decided to include it in this month's set up. I'm a very shy and insecure person, and I very rarely do things out of my comfort zone. So, I hope that this page will push me to be a bit more daring!

The next page is my gratitude page, but with a twist. It's called the 'Gratitude Jar', and I saw this idea in Tracey's website. It's a different way of keeping a gratitude journal and I love the way the page turned out. I'm also currently reading 'Thank and Grow Rich' by Pam Grout, which is very relevant to this page. :)

The monthly Brain Dump page is a life saviour! I literally dump anything there, from notes to post-its...! This will definitely be a repeated monthly page for sure.

Also, my Workout Log page worked out perfectly last month, so I decided to keep the same format this month too. I love that I can see at a glance how many days I've exercised during the month, and what I did on each one :)

The last spread is my weekly spread. I've decided to use this colourful layout, because it's very functional and easy to do :)

So, there you have it. One more month is set up in my Bullet Journal. What new spreads have you implemented in this month's set up? Which spreads to you use repeatedly each month? Let me know in the comments below.

I wish everyone has a wonderful and very productive September :)

Instagram Challenge: #doodlewithusinseptember2017

Once again I'm excited to announce our Instagram Challenge for the month of August! It's the #doodlewithusinseptember2017 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 September's prompts is 'Stationary'. This theme is perfect for this time of the year and I seriously can't wait to start drawing!

As we did before, all the doodles are part of one big comprehensive picture. Imagine each day to be one piece of the puzzle. So, at the end of the month you will have one big doodle picture! :)

If you decide to follow this way, you'll have to create a table with 5x6 boxes and you shouldn't add the days on the top. You can also make the boxes and dates in pencil, if you don't want the lines to obscure the end result. It's totally up to you.

Of course, if you prefer to draw the doodles in the traditional way, that's absolutely fine as well. The important thing is to have fun!

You can also download a free printout with the daily prompts here.

If you want to join us then:

• 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 #doodlewithusinseptember2017 and spread the word.
• Everyone is welcome! 

We're excited to see what you'll share! 

Thank you for joining in!

How to organise your Finances in your Bullet Journal

Today I'll be sharing with you how I use my bullet journal to track my finances. For a long time I wasn't very organised with tracking my money and I couldn't seem to get my finances in order. I guess it had also to do with the fact that I couldn't find any financial layout that would work for me and my needs. But, the amazing thing with bullet journaling is that you can create your own spreads. So, that gave me the incentive to start tracking my income and expenses, and today I'll share with you some of the ways that I use my bullet journal to keep my finances organised. 

I started creating a very basic spread in my bullet journal where I'd track my income and my expenses per month. Each spread would track two months, so I was creating this spread every other month, which was handy :)

However I wanted to track more things in my bullet journal, like my savings, profits etc. So, I went ahead and created a second spread, which I've been using every single month for the past 5 months and I love it! It is very functional and has all the elements that I want.

Balances

On the left hand page I would track my balances at any given time. Each time I would add something on my income or expenses section, I would check my balance on my accounts to see how much money I have left. This has proven a lifesaver in many instances, where I was expecting some money, but it didn't appear in my bank account on time, and I had some other expenses scheduled to be paid at the same time as well. 

Month End Totals

I also like to track at the end of each month my total income, expenses and profit as well as my savings. This gives me a clear view of how my month went and then I can make adjustments or change things around for the next month, if needed.

Recurring Expenses

This has also been a very functional part of my financial spread. I write all my recurring expenses for each month, the date that the money usually is paid and the amount, which for obvious reasons I left out of this picture. But usually the amount of money that is normally paid from my accounts is written next to the date.

On the right hand page I create two lists where I note down analytically my income and my expenses as they happen. I love how simple but analytical these lists are, and I can see at a glance how I spent my money each month, and my income sources as well.

This spread is so functional for me and so easy to create, especially since I started using my Budget Stickers! You can find them at my Etsy Store.

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Budget Stickers

Printable Kit

Click To Buy

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One more spread that I use for my finances is the one you can see above, where I track all my affiliation income. I basically create a sideways spread where I draw a column for each month, and on the far left column I note down all the companies/websites that I'm affiliated with. Then each month, I'd write next to each affiliate how much income I got for that month.

This is very useful to see where most of my affiliate income comes from each month, and to know on which affiliate I should focus more.

If you're interested in learning how to monetise your blog and boost your Amazon Commissions, then check this blog post out.

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Here are some financial spreads for your bullet journal from some talented fellow bullet journalists, for you to get inspired:

@brandi_journals

@craftyenginerd

The Petite Planner

@thatbujokid

Boho Berry

@that_journal

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I hope all the above has given you some inspiration for your financial spreads. How do you use your bullet journal to track your finances? Let me know in the comments below.

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Budget Planning

Printable Kit

Click To Buy

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Jane's Agenda - Review

I was lucky enough to be contacted by Jane from Jane's Agenda to review one of their notebooks, and of course I said yes! As a bullet journalist I'm always keen on checking out dotted grid notebooks and Jane's Agenda has been on my list for some time now. For the purposes of the review, and for you to have a better understanding of this notebook, I'll be comparing it to the Leuchtturm1917 that I've been using for a while now.

So, let's jump right in the review :)

The notebook arrived within 20 days (which is pretty good for Cyprus!!) in a lovely parcel all wrapped up in that bright fuchsia paper that put a smile on my face right away.

The notebook was very nicely protected and wrapped in bubble wrap. (Don't you just love bursting those bubbles??? I find it so therapeutic!). The pages were all set up for me with the discs, so I only had to add the front and back covers. 

I've chosen the design 'Nerdy Cats' in a Junior size (which is 5.5 x 8.5 inches) and comes with 8 Punches. I thought that the cats were adorable and I instantly fell in love with this design. But there's loads of other designs for you to choose from on their website. 

The covers are laminated with heavy weight 10 mil laminate and have rounded corners, which I really like. I have to say that they do feel quite sturdy. 

I also got to personalise the notebook a bit, by adding my name on the cover, which I thought was a nice touch. I've noticed that other designs had different fonts.

There is also a black elastic band that's a bit thinner than the one you find at the Leuchtturm1917 notebooks, and it doesn't feel as strong. 

You can also choose the binding, between a discbound or spiral style. I went ahead and chose the discs, because I'm not a big fan of the spiral notebooks. For the junior size you get 8 black plastic discs. 

You can also choose the style of the paper - between dots, lines or graph. All styles are 0.20 inches apart, which for the dotted style is exactly the same that you find in the Leuchtturm1917 notebooks. The pages are bright white, instead of that cream tone that the Leuchtturm1917 have. I seem to prefer this one better, to tell you the truth, because I find that the cream shade can affect the way the colours look some times. So, I really like that. 

Also the quality of the paper is very good. It is a 32lb bond heavy weight paper (120 gsm, also known as 80lb text weight). That is so much better that the Leuchtturm1917 one that comes in 80 gsm.

You can also choose the number of pages you want. You have a choice between 140 and 250. I decided to go with 250, because I wanted the notebook to be nice and full, and I'm really glad that I did.  

I like that when you open the notebook, the front cover design appears on the back of the front and the back cover as well, instead of it being blank. And I have to admit that I'm very surprised with the quality of it and how easy the pages turn on the discs. This is something that bothered me with some of the other disc bound notebooks that I've tried before, where the pages got stuck a bit when you were turning them.

The next test would be to actually try the pages. In all my notebooks I create a test page at the back, in order to see how the paper reacts with various pens. 

I've decided to test my Zebra Mildliners and some of my Tombow Dual Brush Markers. I love how vibrant the colours look against the white paper, and I have to tell you the markers were gliding on the it. I love it!

This is the back of the page, where you can see.... absolutely nothing! Impressed!!!!

For you to understand how good this is, take a look at my pen test page in my current Leuchtturm1917 notebook. (image below)

And now look at the back of that page:

I hope that you can see the difference and that you are as excited as I am!

The Junior size disc bound notebook from Jane's Agenda with 250 dot grid pages retails at $35.95 + shipping.

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Now let's see the pros and cons of the discbound Jane's agenda compared to the Leuchtturm1917 notebook.

Pros

• You can change the order of the spreads without ruining the notebook or having to start over. (Very VERY good for those of you that are scared of making mistakes and ruining your notebooks)
• You can keep the same spreads and just change the daily / weekly / monthly pages as you go along.
• You can create sections with collections and therefore have a more organised notebook.
• You can add various styles of pages (doted, lined etc.) in the same notebook.
• You can print your own pages.
• You can use the quality of paper you want.
• It is more economical, as you don't have to buy a new notebook every time, you just need to add new pages.
• You might need to buy a punch to create the holes on the pages you want to add.

Cons

• The size of the paper is a bit smaller. (even though you can print your own pages and still fit in 145 x 210 mm pages like the Leuchtturm1917 has).
• Cylinders in the middle. That has been my biggest negative of the disc bound system. That is because, you can't create a continuous two-page spread. (even though you can take the two facing pages out of the notebook, place them on a table and create the spread on them before adding them back in, but still you don't get the same result) 
• No numbered pages. 
• No index
• Can be a bit flimsy, because of the nature of the binding.
• No rounded corners on the pages.
• The metal eyelets that are used on the back cover to hold the elastic ribbon in place are protruding a bit.
• No page markers 
• No back pocket

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All in all I am really REALLY pleased with the quality and style of the Jane's Agenda notebook and I literally can't wait to start creating in it. I've also tried some of the pens that I use daily in it and oh my, they just glide on the pages. Beautiful! I am planning to transfer my blogging bullet journal in this notebook and of course I'll share with you the whole set up once I'm done.

Visit Jane's Agenda Website and use the code CHRISTINA10 to get 10% off. This is valid for one use per customer.

Have you used a disc bound notebook before? What are your thoughts? Have you tried any of the notebooks from Jane's Agenda? Let me know in the comments below :)

Q & A - Your Questions Answered (part 2)

This is the second part of the Q&A series, where I'll be answering all the questions you've send me from my Newsletter. You can find part 1 with all the questions from Instagram here.

So, again get comfortable and let's get started!

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Mairead What do you think of Etsy so far for selling your products? I am creating stencils (from high quality acrylic) for bullet journalling and am not sure how to market them?

Openning my Etsy shop was one of the best decisions ever! I get to be creative, create a bit of income for myself and at the same time help people to organise and add colour in their bullet journal with my stickers and layouts. Etsy takes care of all the administration things and since all of my products are digital, it really runs on an autopilot - which is awesome for me! Also, there is such a big market out there and Etsy promotes my products on it's own, which is also a plus. However, I still have to market them myself as well, through my social media and my blog, to bring even more people to my shop. But all in all, Etsy makes it so easy to set up a shop and start selling. I'd highly recommend that you give it a go. And your product sounds perfect for Etsy as well. 

I was thinking of creating a blog post where I'll share with you tips and advice on setting up your shop on Etsy and ways to promote your product. If that's something that would interest you, let me know in the comments below. :)

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Visit my Etsy Store

BUT FRIST, CAN I GIVE YOU A 20% DISCOUNT COUPON?

GET YOUR COUPON

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Caitlin Hi, as you know, back to school season is coming up for many of us and I am thinking of setting up a school bullet journal. I would like to keep it separate from my home/personal bujo which means starting from scratch again. Do you have any tips or ideas of what pages I should include and also I really don't want to end up forgetting about my home bullet journal!! Thanks so much!! 

As I've mentioned in the first part of the Q & A, I am planning to do a whole blog post on how to use your bullet journal for school. That post should be up very soon. I totally agree with having a bullet journal specifically for your school, and keeping your home bullet journal separate. The way to not neglect either one, is to use each one to organise and plan those two separate parts of your life, but to choose only one to have your daily spreads. So, your dailies should be combining the to-dos for both your personal and school life. You can use colour coding to separate them. 

@penpapersoul

Some examples of pages you can add are: Future log, Semester Schedule (where you can colour code each class), Information Page (with details on each class/subject), Weekly Schedule, Project Planning etc. I promise I'll have the blog post really soon with lots of ideas and inspiration ;)

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Christina Really need to get start with my bullet journal but with all the inspiration out there still don’t know where to start. I’m trying to do a little drawing each day along with other hobbies and my graphics course but decided need to stop trying to perfect drawings and just do pencil drawing (colouring can be done another day). Looking for page layout / trackers to manage family better including spenditure.

I know that when you first start bullet journaling, you might find yourself being bombarded with various styles and ways of doing things online. That can make you feel a bit overwhelmed and you may not know where to start. Or, all this can scare you and prevent you from starting at all! My advice is to keep things simple and start slowly. You don't have to add everything in your bullet journal straight away. There is no right order, or right and wrong.

I've also created a FREE email course on 'How to set up your Bullet Journal in 5 days', which can really help you to start your bullet journaling adventure.

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How to set up your Bullet Journal

FREE 5-day Email Course

LEARN MORE

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There is a blog post on Trackers where you can get lots of inspiration. 

I'm also finishing a blog post on how to track your finances with your bullet journal, which I think would interest you, so stay tuned ;)

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Maria I’ve just started blogging. I’d like some advice on how to promote my blog. I’ve read that Pinterest is a very important tool, but I don't know how to use it properly. Any advice for new bloggers is welcome!

Blogging can be so much fun, especially when you blog about something that you're passionate about. However, nowadays with the plethora of blogs out there, it's very difficult to stand out from the crowd. So, any help you can get to promote your blog is a plus.

My advice for any blogger is to: 

• create a blog on a specific topic. General blogs that talk about this and then a bit of that don't work any more. The more specific your niche is, the better.
• In the beginning focus more on creating really good content. If you provide valuable information and advice on a topic, then you'll come up in the first pages of google search and more people will find your blog.
• Use keywords - in your blog posts and your images. 
• Choose 2-3 social media and focus on them only. You can't be everywhere at once and to tell you the truth not all social media are good for all niches. For example, my main focus is Instagram and Pinterest. Twitter and Facebook are done on autopilot through the those two social media (you can connect your other social media accounts to them) or through Hootsuite. 

Specifically for Pinterest:

• Take good pictures for each blog post. Make sure they are long ones (best size: 735 pixels x any height you want)
• Add good descriptions under each picture. Pinterest is an image search engine and works as google does. So, make sure you include keywords in your descriptions and link them back to your blog.
• Add 'pin it' button in your blog
• Create specialised boards in your Pinterest account
• Join group boards on similar topics and add your images there too.

I could honestly talk forever on blogging, because it's something that I'm very passionate about! If you'd like me to make more posts on blogging, then let me know in the comments below.

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Sissypl16 i want to ask if your are finishing every notebook or you have unwritten pages ???…and how many books do you have per year???

Yes, I do finish every bullet journal. I don't usually like to leave half used notebooks, unless there's something wrong with them and I don't enjoy using them any more. But so far, yes I've used up all the pages before moving on the the next one. Usually it takes me around 6 months per notebook (I'm using a Leuchtturm1917).

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Mae-Mae Han How/why did you get into blogging? 

I've started blogging in 2008 and back then I was a beauty blogger. I was really passionate about makeup and all things beauty related. Since I had my first kid and I couldn't go to back to work for some time, my blog was my way out :) I kept my blog for a few years and it was quite successful, especially for the greek market. However, when I moved to Cyprus I stopped blogging all together. In 2016 I came across the bullet journaling system and it completely changed the way I was organising and planning my day. It also helped me to be more creative and I really wanted to share what I was doing and learning through this system with the rest of the world. That's why I started blogging again, and I love every minute of it :)

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I'd like to thank again every one that sent me their questions. I really want to help everyone as much as I can, so keep those questions coming!