My Bullet Journaling

Keeping My Life Organized

I've been using a bullet journal for organizing my life (work and personal) for a few years now. I really enjoy it. It keeps me more organized and is a little bit of a creative outlet too.

If you've never used a bullet journal, there are tons of youtube videos showing various styles, techniques, and uses for them. I think you have to find what works for you. I use Moleskin journals because i like the quality. I also prefer a dot journal, instead of lined or blank pages.  I started out with the soft covers, which were a little cheaper, but now I use the hard-sided covers because I like to paint the covers myself.

Below is my current journal that I started a couple weeks ago. It will last me approximately 6-8 months, so I don't mind the extra few dollars spent for the more-expensive journal.  I've been practicing my ocean/beach painting and doodling, so I went went that theme for this journal. The cover was originally black. With the cold Iowa winter on its way, it's a perfect reminder to me of warmer climes.  I used Dylusions paints, a little white marker along the sand, and a tiny bit of Stickles to make the water sparkle at the sand line. I used a mixture of blues and greens.

Here are a few examples of how I personally use my journal:

I started this journal in the middle of the month, so I just made a partial monthly page. I usually doodle the title of the month and try to theme the whole page around the season. I put birthdays, holidays, work events, and everything else on my monthly calendar. (I've blocked out a few things here with a tag and a pen that I don't want shared with everyone on the Internet.)  Throughout my journal, I try to use black pen for everything personal (birthdays, appointments, events, reminders, etc.); blue pen for anything work related (deadlines, work birthdays, reminders, meetings, etc.); and

red for anything creative (reminders of projects I need to work on, deadlines for commissioned items, creative events or classes, etc.)

This page keeps track of anything going out of my bank account--it could be automatic withdrawals for bills, transfers from accounts to savings, or anything that I need reminded about. When I see something has cleared my bank account, I check the box for that bill for that month. I covered my entries, but you can see along the left hand column is the day of the month I expect that money to be moved. With all the auto withdrawals, it's just a handy way for me to keep up with what I have coming in and out during the month.

I'm obsessed with earning travel points and free hotel nights and flight miles. Here's where I keep track of all the programs we're enrolled in (like Hilton Honors and Delta).  

Here are some blank journal pages for October. Lately, I've liked using this kind of line and banner for the date and day of the week. This was October, so I made the banners ragged and spooky. I usually give a whole page to each work day and only half a page for Saturday and Sunday.

Here's a glimpse of a journal page in use. You can see the different colors I used. I put a square by each entry, and fill it in when the task is complete. An arrow indicates the task was moved to the future. At the bottom I've started a grocery list. I usually put birthdays and appointments and times at the top of the page by the banner. I draw a little birthday hat beside birthdays and a little clock beside appointments.

Since I've started my doodling obsession, there are a lot of miscellaneous doodles throughout the pages. 

Thanks for taking a look at my journal. It has kept me more organized--enough that I've kept it up for over two years now. My book is full of other lists (Christmas presents, habits, an index, a year ahead calendar for appointments and reminders up to 12 months away, savings plans, book lists, etc.). If you're interested at all, again, I encourage you t take a look at the youtube videos available.