Happy Sunday! So, I don't know how January usually goes for you, but my Januaries are typically full of STRESS and SCHOOL and TRYING TO DO EVERYTHING BUT FAILING and AAAAAHHHH Sorry, did that get overly dramatic? ;) Anyways, January 2020 wasn't much different than usual. BUT I did discover some new fandoms/music/other stuff that I'm super excited to talk about. Hmmm, so...Read More
Stop comparing yourself to other people. They're at a different stage of their art than you. Don't worry - you'll get there eventually. I hear this all the time from bloggers, YouTubers - you name it. It's posted all around the Internet and mentioned frequently in pep talks of all kinds. It's so easy to hear and think, "Yeah, of course I won't...Read More
Happy Sunday! In 2020, one of my unofficial goals is to start plowing through the loooooong list of tags I've racked up through my 1.75 years of blogging. Whoops. XD A while back, the amazing Bree @ The Long Voyage tagged me for her original tag, the Never Have I Ever Tag (Writer Edition). It looked really fun, so here we are, about...Read More
Bullet Journal Spread Ideas // ranging from "necessary" to purely entertaining
Notebook Fun January 05, 2020
Happy Sunday! And HAPPY 2020!!!!
*bad joke incoming*
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Wow, I haven't written a blog post since last decade. Crazy, right?
*booing*
Ahem. As I was saying, it's a new year, and with it comes, for some of us, NEW BULLET JOURNAL SPREADS!
I originally wanted to do a "How to Bullet Journal" post, but there are already so many of those out there. Instead, I decided to do a post on different types of spreads you can put in your journal!
If you're planning on starting a bullet journal, don't worry - I'll point out the basic spreads to use before going on to more . . . shall we say, unique spreads. XD And the necessary spreads kind of turned into a how-to post of their own.
Anyways, let's just jump right in. This intro is long enough.
First off, to clarify - when I say spread, I just mean a page in your journal dedicated to a specific topic. It's nothing fancy, it's nothing elaborate (unless you want it to be) - it's just a page or two. XD
And ALL of these spreads can be modified to suit your needs! There's no "right" way to do any of them - it's entirely up to you. Don't feel limited. :)
So, our first "necessary" spread to mention is the . . .
This sounds complicated, but the only thing that's complicated is writing out allllll the little numbers.
Basically, a future log is where you write down all the important dates for the year. This way, if you hear of an event happening in six months that you want to remember, you have a place to jot it down.
You honestly don't even need the little calendars to go along with it. I just like the visual.
As the title suggests, a monthly calendar is where you write down all the important events for the month. You transfer all the dates of that month from your future log to here (just so you don't forget they exist) and add in any new dates that come up.
You can also add a "motivational" quote or two - or just a stupid quote. Whatever works. XD
You guessed it - this is for all the daily tasks that you need to accomplish. This is the spread that you'll use most often (obviously).
There's a ton of different ways you can do these logs. Here are a few:
This one is ugly as all-get-out, but it's good for summertime.
This is a good combination of time-blocking and just listing tasks. (I only stopped because coloring in all the blocks was time-consuming.)
For more daily log inspiration, I highly recommend YouTube. XD
Okay, so that's all of the "necessary" spreads you would need. Now for the fun stuff! (This is where it gets good.)
Doing a title page at the beginning of each month in your bullet journal looks really nice. I also do one at the beginning of each year. They don't need to be Extra - I just write the name of the month and a quote or aesthetic below it, and it works just fine.
(please ignore the fact that I spelled pixels wrong)
I tried this in 2019, and it's pretty cool. Basically, at the end of every day, you fill out a square with a color corresponding to your mood. At the end of the year, you can look back and see when you were the most stressed or the most happy. And it only takes thirty seconds out of each day to complete!
(I should add, though, that drawing out that graph? NOT FUN. It took FOREVER and I was continually in fear of smudging. Beginning bullet journalers, be advised. XD)
I got this idea from Keturah a while back and loved it so much that I still do it. However, I've stopped dedicating a page to it - now I just write it in the corresponding daily log.
Every day, you write down one good thing that happened, no matter how insignificant. It's like a quick, positive journal entry.
Highlights from my own reasons to smile:
If you want to form a habit of learning a language every day, journaling, or something else, than habit trackers are the spread for the job! I've drawn in mini-calendars for each habit and colored in the corresponding box for each day that I've done the habit.
However, you can modify this to whatever works. I've tried graphs before. You could also do lists, doodles . . . whatever you come up with!
That's what a brainstorm page is for. Don't be aesthetic. The messiness IS aesthetic.
(so I have no idea what I'm saying at this point but it's fine)
I accidentally drew the spread upside down, and when I realized that, I got ticked.
So . . . yeah. Moving on. XD
Because let's face it - not everything is going to work for you. This "RM Memories" spread seemed like a good idea, but I never filled it out.
Which is fine, honestly. Sure, it's a little annoying, but I learned from that. From now on, I'll just write memories down in blog posts or in a diary. :)
Don't stress about not completing something or messing up something. I didn't complete my Year In Pixels, I don't cross off every single checkbox for the day, and I definitely don't do my habits every single day. But none of us are perfect.
In fact, to remind myself of this, I wrote this on my 2020 title page:
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So those are just a few spreads that you can use for bullet journaling! If you want inspiration for some different spreads or designs, here are a few YouTubers I HIGHLY recommend:
AmandaRachLee (if you want plenty of doodles + monthly playlist spreads!)
studyquill (for simple, school-related spreads)
TheCoffeeMonsterzCO (for stickers! lots of them! and pretty intense daily logs)
DORMI (a Korean bujo-er who does really simple, easy spreads)
And of course, there's a huge bullet journal community on Pinterest as well. XD
I wish you luck in whatever journal or planner you use! And have a productive 2020! (because seriously, I have been 100% unproductive) (if anyone needs a productivity accountability partner, HIT ME UP and maybe we can work together!)
-Nicole <3
*bad joke incoming*
3
2
1
Wow, I haven't written a blog post since last decade. Crazy, right?
*booing*
Ahem. As I was saying, it's a new year, and with it comes, for some of us, NEW BULLET JOURNAL SPREADS!
I originally wanted to do a "How to Bullet Journal" post, but there are already so many of those out there. Instead, I decided to do a post on different types of spreads you can put in your journal!
If you're planning on starting a bullet journal, don't worry - I'll point out the basic spreads to use before going on to more . . . shall we say, unique spreads. XD And the necessary spreads kind of turned into a how-to post of their own.
Anyways, let's just jump right in. This intro is long enough.
First off, to clarify - when I say spread, I just mean a page in your journal dedicated to a specific topic. It's nothing fancy, it's nothing elaborate (unless you want it to be) - it's just a page or two. XD
And ALL of these spreads can be modified to suit your needs! There's no "right" way to do any of them - it's entirely up to you. Don't feel limited. :)
So, our first "necessary" spread to mention is the . . .
FUTURE LOG
This sounds complicated, but the only thing that's complicated is writing out allllll the little numbers.
Basically, a future log is where you write down all the important dates for the year. This way, if you hear of an event happening in six months that you want to remember, you have a place to jot it down.
You honestly don't even need the little calendars to go along with it. I just like the visual.
MONTHLY CALENDAR
As the title suggests, a monthly calendar is where you write down all the important events for the month. You transfer all the dates of that month from your future log to here (just so you don't forget they exist) and add in any new dates that come up.
You can also add a "motivational" quote or two - or just a stupid quote. Whatever works. XD
DAILY LOG
You guessed it - this is for all the daily tasks that you need to accomplish. This is the spread that you'll use most often (obviously).
There's a ton of different ways you can do these logs. Here are a few:
This one looks pretty complicated - that's because it is. There's a reason I stopped using this one. I'm just proud of the quote. XD
For more daily log inspiration, I highly recommend YouTube. XD
Okay, so that's all of the "necessary" spreads you would need. Now for the fun stuff! (This is where it gets good.)
TITLE PAGES
Doing a title page at the beginning of each month in your bullet journal looks really nice. I also do one at the beginning of each year. They don't need to be Extra - I just write the name of the month and a quote or aesthetic below it, and it works just fine.
YEAR IN PIXELS
I tried this in 2019, and it's pretty cool. Basically, at the end of every day, you fill out a square with a color corresponding to your mood. At the end of the year, you can look back and see when you were the most stressed or the most happy. And it only takes thirty seconds out of each day to complete!
(I should add, though, that drawing out that graph? NOT FUN. It took FOREVER and I was continually in fear of smudging. Beginning bullet journalers, be advised. XD)
REASON TO SMILE
I got this idea from Keturah a while back and loved it so much that I still do it. However, I've stopped dedicating a page to it - now I just write it in the corresponding daily log.
Every day, you write down one good thing that happened, no matter how insignificant. It's like a quick, positive journal entry.
Highlights from my own reasons to smile:
5 more library books #noregrets
More TwoSetViolin (I only have a SLIGHT problem)
Fangirl moment w/ Family Video girl over Tom Holland
only slightly dying and I'm not dead yet - back-to-back XD
Vacuuming my room at 9:30 at night - I promise I'm responsible ;)
HABIT TRACKER
If you want to form a habit of learning a language every day, journaling, or something else, than habit trackers are the spread for the job! I've drawn in mini-calendars for each habit and colored in the corresponding box for each day that I've done the habit.
However, you can modify this to whatever works. I've tried graphs before. You could also do lists, doodles . . . whatever you come up with!
BRAINSTORMING SPREADS
I can't provide an image for this because SPOILERS for secret projects, but you can just turn a page into a hurricane of random notes that will most likely disturb all who look upon it.That's what a brainstorm page is for. Don't be aesthetic. The messiness IS aesthetic.
(so I have no idea what I'm saying at this point but it's fine)
SPREADS THAT ARE JUST COMPLETE AND UTTER FAILURES
I accidentally drew the spread upside down, and when I realized that, I got ticked.
So . . . yeah. Moving on. XD
SPREADS THAT YOU MEAN TO FILL OUT BUT NEVER DO
Because let's face it - not everything is going to work for you. This "RM Memories" spread seemed like a good idea, but I never filled it out.
Which is fine, honestly. Sure, it's a little annoying, but I learned from that. From now on, I'll just write memories down in blog posts or in a diary. :)
Don't stress about not completing something or messing up something. I didn't complete my Year In Pixels, I don't cross off every single checkbox for the day, and I definitely don't do my habits every single day. But none of us are perfect.
In fact, to remind myself of this, I wrote this on my 2020 title page:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So those are just a few spreads that you can use for bullet journaling! If you want inspiration for some different spreads or designs, here are a few YouTubers I HIGHLY recommend:
AmandaRachLee (if you want plenty of doodles + monthly playlist spreads!)
studyquill (for simple, school-related spreads)
TheCoffeeMonsterzCO (for stickers! lots of them! and pretty intense daily logs)
DORMI (a Korean bujo-er who does really simple, easy spreads)
And of course, there's a huge bullet journal community on Pinterest as well. XD
I wish you luck in whatever journal or planner you use! And have a productive 2020! (because seriously, I have been 100% unproductive) (if anyone needs a productivity accountability partner, HIT ME UP and maybe we can work together!)
-Nicole <3
Which of these spreads is your favorite? Do you bullet journal? Do you have a favorite bullet journal YouTuber? Let's talk!
