How To: Bullet Journals

Today I will be talking about bullet journals. If you don’t know what they are, they are essentially an aesthetically pleasing way to keep track of many different aspects of daily life. They are becoming more and more popular, and I have recently thought of starting one of my own, so I thought I would do a little research. Here's what I found!

1...Customizing Your Bullet Journal

Before you start filling the pages of your journal, there is one major thing that you need to consider.

What kind of notebook will you be using?

Typically, bullet journals are done on spiral notebooks with dotted graph paper (as pictured) because their are no harsh lines to interfere with any graphs/graphics you may draw, and the dots make it easier to draw precise shapes.

Even though most people go with grid paper notebooks, that doesn't mean you have to. After all, it is your journal!

Key of Contents

Another thing to think about is a key of contents. This will be especially handy if you plan on creating a monthly calendar in your bullet journal. It is recommended to use simple and distinct shapes to avoid any confusion between them. A personal favorite of mine is shown to the left where you can see the squares used to dictate "to do," "in-progress," and "complete." Using keys like this would make keeping track of deadlines for things such as assignments much easier.

Keys can also be handy for symbols to keep track of moods, goals, etc.

Templates

If you're looking for inspiration on exactly how to organize your bullet journal, templates can be a great help! Simply searching the phrases "Bullet journal templates" or "BUJO templates" will yield lots of unique results! You can also narrow down the search by making it more specific, like border templates for example.

Calligraphy

Many people will spruce up their bullet journals with unique fonts, or calligraphy. There are many ways to accomplish this. Special tools, like fountain pens can be used, or holding a pencil differently/shading in different parts of letters can also create a unique font. There are also books you can purchase online to help you practice calligraphy.

Different Mediums

Using different mediums, like pen, marker and paint together can help to create depth in your bullet journal, as well as offer some relaxation while you customize it. Shading, small splashes of color and shapes can really help to pull a journal together, making it very visually pleasing!

Stickers

Another fun way to customize your bullet journal is with stickers! a personal favorite of mine are 3D stickers, but use whatever works for you! The scrapbook section of any craft-store will have many aesthetically pleasing sticker packs to choose from. Unique and interesting sticker packages can also be purchased online.

2. Now We Get Into The Fun Stuff.. Content!

Now that you know the exciting ways that you can customize your bullet journal, you can start figuring out what kind of content you want to put in it!

Reading List

Some people like to use bullet journals to keep track of the books they want to read, and how many they have already read. There are many templates that can do this, but a personal favorite of mine is drawing a bookshelf and labeling the books with your "to-read list." After this, you can color in each book you read until you end up with a finished bookshelf!

Calendars

Creating a personalized calendar is a great way to keep track of all of the tasks that need to be completed each day, week or month. You can personalize one as shown here to include birthdays, goals and a to-do list for example, or just use up more space and make a bigger calendar and then write inside the boxes. Some people also keep track of productive days, happy days, etc.

Health Goals

Another great thing to use your bullet journal for is keeping track of things such as amount of water/coffee drank each day, or amount of fruit/vegetable portions eaten each day. This will help to achieve any health goal you have in a very pleasing way. I have also seen pages that track miles/kilometers walked, hours of rest achieved each night, etc.

Yet Another Fitness Use

The satisfaction of a full page of progress can help to give you the drive to pursue personal fitness goals! By starting out with something small, like 100 miles in 100 days, you are able to ease into the life of fitness and keep track of your progress very easily!

After viewing all of the useful tips in this article, I hope it has given you some inspiration to start a unique bullet journal of your very own!