New Year, New Bullet Journal

Every New Year's Eve, we make promises to ourselves. Promises for the new year to come that usually involve losing weight, becoming a better person, working out more, or saving up more money. The new year is all about new beginnings and a fresh start, which is why the new year is the perfect time to start a bullet journal (or to start a new one if you're an avid bullet journalist). If you aren't sure how to set up a bullet journal, you can check out thefollowing article to get a feel for how the bullet journal is normally laid out.

For now, we will be talking about the specifics of a bullet journal set-up for the new year. This will include topics such as writing out your goals for the new year, creating a yearly spread, and even some optional spreads and pages to add to your bullet journal.

The Cover Page

It's always a good idea to start your new year set-up with a cover page. If you're someone who owns many bullet journals (especially if they are the same color), flipping to the cover page of the bullet journal will help you easily identify which year that bullet journal is, and allow you to pick up the right journal. It also allows those who are more artistically-inclined to draw a beautiful cover page to start off the new year with a bang.

The cover page can be colorful and artistic, or it can be minimalistic with just the year on the page. There is no right or wrong way to do the cover page of your bullet journal.

Tip: If you choose to add color to your cover page, try to pick a color scheme and theme to stick to throughout your set-up to tie the spreads together.

The Yearly Spread

The yearly spread offers a quick glance at the months of the year. This spread can either be a one-page or two-page spread, depending on your preferences, but needs to be carefully planned out in order to avoid mistakes and mishaps when writing the dates.

If you're are doing a one-page spread, divide your page into twelve equal boxes. Next, you can either title each box sequentially in a horizontal fashion or a vertical fashion.

If you decide to do a two-page spread, divide each page into six boxes and proceed in the same way as the one-page spread when it comes to titling your boxes.

An option for your yearly spread is writing out the days of the week underneath the name of the month before writing in the days. This allows for easier planning when writing out the dates and for future planning when it comes to using your bullet journal.

Tip: Start off in pencil to plan out your yearly spread and minimize the chances of mistakes.

The Goals and Resolutions Page

With the new year, many of us create goals and resolutions that we want to stick to in the new year. While some of these goals can be generic goals like losing weight or working out more, others have more interesting goals, like going camping for the first time or learning how to ski. The goals and resolutions page is the perfect place to write down your goals and resolutions that you want to achieve in the new year.

In case you're having a hard time finding some goals and resolutions, here is a list of a few goals and resolutions to inspire you:

• Lose X pounds by the end of the year: Do you find yourself carrying a few extra pounds that you've been wanting to lose for the last little while? Why not try to lose them by the end of the year?
• Lose X pounds by This Date: Do you have an important event in the new year and need to lose a few extra pounds for the event? Why not try to set yourself a goal of losing the weight by a specific date?
• Exercise X times a week: Do you find yourself not getting enough exercise and wanting to change that? Why not try and create a simple exercise plan you can do at home (if you can't afford to sign up at a gym) or sign up to a gym and work with a personal trainer?
• Eat healthier/Eat less junk food: Do you find that your eating habits aren't the greatest? Why not try to eat healthier or avoid eating as much junk food as you did in the previous year?
• Donate to a charity: Do you want to find a way to give back to the community? Why not donate to a local charity to help those in need?
• Volunteer in your community: Do you want to find a way to give back to your community but don't have the money to give to a charity? Why not volunteer?
• Be more accepting of others: Do you want to improve yourself and be a more accepting and open-minded person? Why not try to accept others differences even when you don't approve of them?
• Be more creative: Do you want to learn how to draw/paint/sculpt/etc...? Why not try and be more creative during the new year and pick up a new creative hobby?
• Try a new activity: Do you want to be more adventurous? Why not try out a new activity that you've never done before? Why not get your friends to join you and make an adventure out of it?

The goals and resolutions page is typically a one-page spread with the title "Goals"or "New Year's Resolutions" at the top of the page. Then, you can either group the goals and resolutions into categories or make it into a list, with small explanations of what the goals and resolutions are. After you've written down your goals and resolutions, you can choose to decorate the page or you can keep a minimalist approach.

Now that we've covered the three important spreads for a New Year's set-up, we can delve into optional spreads and pages that you can add into your set-up.

The Level 10 Life Page

The Level 10 Life spread is a spread that allows you to evaluate your life in 10 different aspects, on a scale from one to ten. It can be a great addition to a New Year's set-up since it works well in conjunction with goals and resolutions that you've set yourself.

The Level 10 Life spread evaluates the following ten areas of focus in your life:

• Career and Business: Full-time job goals, part-time job goals, growing business goals, starting a business, etc...
• Family and Friends: Relationships between parents, siblings, grandparents, best friends, coworkers, etc...
• Finances: Spending habits, savings, income goals, expenses, etc...
• Fun and Recreation: Extracurricular activities, recreational activities, games, etc...
• Giving and Contribution: Volunteer work, donations, gift-giving, etc...
• Health and Fitness: Weight management, strength, endurance, etc...
• Marriage (Relationship): Love, couples activities, etc...
• Personal Development: Time management skills, productivity, personality, etc...
• Physical Environment: Home environment, work environment, etc...
• Spirituality: Meditation, faith, spiritual connection, etc...

If you find that one or more of these doesn't quite work for you, you can replace them with other areas of focus such as:

• Arts: Artistic hobbies, picking up a new artistic hobby, etc...
• Mental Health and Wellness: Improving and stabilizing mood, reducing irritability, sleep management, etc...
• School and Studies: Grades, R-Scores, GPA, study habits, etc...
• Stress: Stress levels, stress management skills, etc...

The Level 10 Life spread is usually a two-page spread that involves one page having a chart or wheel that depicts your rating of the 10 areas of focus, on a scale from one to 10, and the other page has a breakdown of goals you'd like to achieve to increase the rating of each of your areas of focus.

The first page can either be done in a wheel method or be broken down into 10, tend block high columns. This should be done in a way that suits you best and is more aesthetically pleasing to you. Then, evaluate each area of focus and give yourself a rating out of ten and fill in each column or section that corresponds with that area of focus. Be sure to be honest with yourself, and to evaluate yourself based on multiple aspects about that area of focus and not just one specific component.

On the opposite page, divide the page into ten different sections and title each section with an area of focus. In each area of focus write down at least two things you will try to do to improve your rating on in that area of focus. While some areas may be easy to fill in, others will be much harder, which is why I'm giving you a list of three for each area of focus to get you started.

Arts

• Pick up a new hobby
• Try drawing/writing/sculpting/etc... at least once a week
• Start an artistic project and finish it

Career and Business

• Earn X in passive income
• Start a business/blog/YouTube channel/etc...
• Work towards getting a promotion

Family and Friends

• Call a family member at least once a week
• Spend more time with friends
• Organize or attend a family event

Finances

• Put X amount in my savings per paycheck
• Avoid unnecessary spending
• Reduce the amount I spend on non-essential purchases

Fun and Recreation

• Go rock-climbing
• Try a new board game with friends
• Try a new sport

Health and Fitness

• Manage my weight
• Start exercising more
• Eat out less

Marriage (Relationship)

• Go on a date once a month
• Have a romantic weekend away
• Say 'I love you' more

Mental Health and Wellness

• Manage my mood swings
• Work on my coping skills
• Practice grounding techniques

Personal Development

• Try to read for at least 10 minutes once a day
• Try to be more productive at work/home/school
• Learn better time management skills

Physical Environment

• Put up a new piece of artwork
• Rearrange the furniture
• Organize a closet or drawer

School and Studies

• Maintain good grades
• Improve my R-Score/GPA
• Improve my study habits

Spirituality

• Meditate at least once per day
• Learn about different types of meditation practices
• Practice yoga

Stress

• Learn stress management skills
• Learn to not stress over the little things
• Learn to let things go

The Year in Pixels Page

The year in pixels page is a great way to have an overview of what your mood was like over the year. In can also be a good way for those of us with mood disorders to keep track of how our mood has changed and evolved over the months.

The spread is typically a one-page spread and has the title "My Year in Pixels" at the top of the page. Down the side of the page write down the numbers one to 31 and then write the first letter of each month across the top and create a grid so you can color in each square. Next is to choose which moods you wish to use and to assign them a color. You can keep to a basic mood set-up, or go with a more elaborate mood set-up; whichever suits your fancy.

Here is an explanation of the simplistic style:

• Happy: In a very good mood. Delighted, Joyful, Cheerful, Elated.
• Content: In a good mood. Comfortable, Fulfilled.
• Neutral: Neither in a good mood nor a bad mood. Normal, Indifferent.
• Down: In a low mood. Blue, Low.
• Sad: In a bad mood. Depressed, Crestfallen, Miserable.

Here is an explanation of the elaborate style:

• Angry: having a strong feeling of or showing annoyance, displeasure, or hostility.
• Anxious: experiencing worry, unease, or nervousness.
• Bored: feeling weary because one is unoccupied or lacks interest in one's current activity.
• Creative: relating to or involving the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work.
• Depressed: in a state of general unhappiness or despondency.
• Energetic: showing or involving great activity or vitality.
• Excited: very enthusiastic and eager.
• Exhausted: drained of one's physical or mental resources; very tired.
• Frustrated: the feeling of being upset or annoyed, especially because of inability to change or achieve something.
• Hypomanic: mood state characterized by persistent disinhibition and elevation
• Indifferent: having no particular interest or sympathy; unconcerned.
• Irritable: having or showing a tendency to be easily annoyed or made angry.
• Lonely: sad because one has no friends or company.
• Manic: showing wild and apparently deranged excitement and energy.
• Motivated: stimulated interest in or enthusiasm for doing something.
• Relaxed: free from tension and anxiety; at ease.
• Stressed: subjected to pressure or tension.

No matter which style you choose to follow, keep in mind that each mood will have to have its own corresponding color in order to differentiate it when you are looking at your spread.

The Wish List Pge

We often look at wish lists as being something that is reserved for the holidays and birthdays. But that isn't always the case, especially if you're buying the item for yourself. The wish list page is a page you can use to write down all the gifts you want to buy yourself throughout the year and the corresponding prices.

The wish list spread is typically a one-page spread, with the title Wish List at the top. The page is then divided into two columns, one for the description of the product, and one for the price. Once you've obtained the product you can simply cross it off the list.

This list will also come in handy when someone asks you "What do you want for Christmas/your birthday?"

Putting it All Together

Now that you have an idea of some layouts and spreads to add to your new bullet journal for the new year, you can add in the rest of the necessities from the "Bullet Journaling Basics" article such as the future log, and your January cover page, monthly and weekly spreads, and any trackers and pages you wish to add to your bullet journal. Once you've completed the New Year set-up and your January set-up, you're ready for the New Year and for your new bullet journal.

If you're someone who enjoys adding color schemes and creative doodles to your bullet journal, you can add extra pages into your bullet journals such as quote pages and doodle pages to make your bullet journal a little more personalized and fun.

In the end, this bullet journal should be done in a way that works for you and should be fun and relaxing to do. Have fun with it and don't be afraid to experiment with different layouts and spreads while setting up your bullet journal.