Keeping Organized: Bullet Journal Style

Hello Dearest Dreamers!

I hope this post finds you well! 

I've been planning extensively for a very long time, because I know that if I don't write things down then I am more then likely to forget what I wanted to do. I've tried a lot of different systems over the years before coming upon Bullet Journaling, which I found fascinating.

A planning system that I could design for myself based on what I needed? None of that extra crap that I would never use? Sign me up!

The first thing I did was the same thing I always go, look it up on YouTube! I could check Pinterest, but I prefer video flip throughs honestly (although I can appreciate a detailed blog post as well). That one comes later when I have a basic knowledge of what I am doing. 

1. The notebook:

I used to do scrap-journaling in Moleskine notebooks, so I was familiar with grid notebooks and it was a no brainer. I grabbed a black notebook and got started. I had heard of the Leuchtturm1917 but I didn't want to spend money on it yet because I wasn't sure how it was going to work out for me. 

After some time in the Moleskine, I gave in and bought a Leuchtturm1917 and I LOVE IT! I bought my first one in the Aqua color and my current one is Grey. I considered getting a dot grid but I decided to stick with the regular grid style because I like having the lines and grids. I like that it has two bookmarks as well as an elastic band to keep it closed (helpful when it starts to bulk up). I also appreciate that the pages are already numbered! I'm lazy and hate numbering pages myself.

PLEASE NOTE: ((I wish I could underline that but sadly it's not a function of SquareSpace right now)) It doesn't matter what notebook you use. If you're just getting started and you aren't sure if this is for you, just start in a cheap notebook! You don't have to go buy an expensive notebook (I do feel like the Leuchtturm1917 is a little expensive but I also feel like it is very much worth it now that I've been doing this for a while). Some people just do this in a regular old composition notebook and are perfectly happy with that (they do have a graph paper notebook if I remember that would work pretty well).

This one is covered with music related stickers from the bands that I've met through my husband's band (and a Meinl sticker from a box of cymbals my husband bought recently). A few more stickers have been added since this photo was taken. They've al…

This one is covered with music related stickers from the bands that I've met through my husband's band (and a Meinl sticker from a box of cymbals my husband bought recently). A few more stickers have been added since this photo was taken. They've also been added to the inside covers as well.... can you tell I like my music?

2. Getting Started

For me, getting started is always the hardest part! I was so inspired and I didn't know what I wanted to include and what I didn't want to include. Can I not just do it all? No Jenn..... no you can't... cuz otherwise, you'll never get anything done. I decided on a few things that I would find most helpful:

* Key
* Monthly Set up (calendar, goals, etc.)
* Weekly Set Up (it's helpful for me to see big things coming up that week so I can plan ahead)
* Daily Log: I need to be able to track my to-do lists on the daily. 

It may seem a little overwhelming and like a lot of redundancy, but I realized at a young age that if I want to remember it, I have to write it down. I also might want to write it down in several places (like the monthly log, weekly set up, and my daily pages) just so I remember. Although I will say, that at least if I write it down once in my bullet journal, I know that it's there, which makes me feel a little bit better. 

3. The Key

Everyone does their key a little bit differently, including the icons that they use as signifiers. People also don't color code the same way. So don't look at mine and think that you need all these colors. You don't. I do.

Everyone does their key a little bit differently, including the icons that they use as signifiers. 

People also don't color code the same way. So don't look at mine and think that you need all these colors. You don't. I do.

As you can see, I have a lot of stuff going on in my life, hence all the different color coding on my key. My brain works best when I am immediately able to identify whatever it is I am looking for.

* Black: This is anything that I need to do for myself. Errands to run, stuff for my office, things I want to do, notes to myself.
* Light Blue: Because my husband is in the military, I do my best to keep track of his schedule (when he goes to the field, picking up his uniform from the dry cleaners, etc). Yes, I realize that he is a grown ass man and should be able to do all of this himself. He's human. He forgets things. This way, if he forgets something, he knows that I have it written down in my planner. It helps us both because it's a lot less fighting! I also keep track of dinner plans, date's, and things that we do together (like when we bought our first couch that I can't wait to be delivered)
* Magenta: This is anything relating to school. When my classes are, what we did in class, what assignments are do, and anything like that. Seriously... I forget things.

You get the idea from there, right? With all these different colors, I know that if I am looking for anything to do with my husband's band, then I need to look for the purple color. This includes shows, things I need to order for merch, and stuff like that.

A little ridiculous? Probably. Do I care? Nope, because it's what works best for me.

4. Collections

I adore both of these collections. If you want to know more about them, make sure you click on the images. It should take you to the link in which I found them!

The very first collection in my bullet journal? It's a Future Log. I took 4 pages and split each into 3 sections for the 12 months of the year. This is where I log any birthday's/holidays, appointments, events, or things like that. And yes, they are all color coded as well. I've also included spreads like a social media tracker, a Calendex, and the cleaning schedule pictured above. 

The beauty of collections is that they are whatever you want them to be. They can be as minimalistic or as detailed, as decorated or as plain as you want them to be.

Not artistic? Not to worry! 

This is a pretty minimalistic spread I found via Pinterest. Click on the image to be taken to the Instagram page where I found this.

This is a pretty minimalistic spread I found via Pinterest. Click on the image to be taken to the Instagram page where I found this.

This is the beauty of the bullet journal. It is what you want it to be, not what other people tell you that it should be. This system was designed to be completely customizable and that is why it is so popular. 

What do you think? Do you bullet journal? Drop me a link to your IG or your YouTube channel where you share your bujo because I love being inspired by other people!!!

Thank you for stopping by! Be on the lookout for more bullet journal posts to come!