Bullet Journal: My Base Setup

Howdy! If you are new to the concept of the bullet journal, it’s really quite cool. Bullet journaling is a way of keeping a journal and planner that you create. I began using the bullet journal system last year. I found it really helpful to essentially design your own planner. The blank slate allows for complete customization. With a planner you have to fit it’s parameters. It also lets you combine a journal and planner instead of having two separate notebooks to haul around.

This is what I consider my base setup, or the essentials that I know I will use throughout the year. As the year goes on I will probably add more custom pages to fit my needs but for now these are the things that I think anyone could benefit from having in their journal. I will more than likely update you guys later on things that I’ve added in later in the year. I’ll also let you guys know what’s working and what isn’t!

Of course the key to any good organizational system is knowing where everything is. The built in Table of Contents is one of the features that I led me to choose the Leuchtturm1917. This notebook is a favorite amongst bullet journalers(is that a word?). It’s pages are conveniently numbered and you can get dotted or lined pages.

So I simply wrote out, in pencil, the order I wanted my projects in. After I’d marked out the pages and made sure they were in the order I liked, I went ahead and filled out the journal pages. Once the pages were in ink I went back and put them in ink on the table of contents. I didn’t originally write in ink in case I moved some pages around.

2017 Goals

*Certain things have been removed for privacy reasons* These are my broad stroke goals for the year. They include all of the major categories I would like to complete something in such as my blog or hobbies or my health. For example, because these are broad stroke goals in health I have improve health, versus a particular way I plan to improve my health. The reason I do this is because most of them are seen on the next page in more detail, and the ones that aren’t I know what I need to get done.

18 before 18

*Certain things have been removed for privacy reasons* The 18 before 18 is 18 things I would like to get accomplished before 2018. To me this is just a more creative and fun way to implement yearly goals. These are the more specific goals. So in my LEARN section of my 2017 Goals I have French and ASL, which I’ve been halfway studying for about a year now without much serious effort. However, on my 18 before 18 I have have a full conversation in French and ASL. This is my specific end goal. This is also really cool because every year you get to add a goal and challenge yourself to do more than the year before.

Year At A Glance & Year’s Events

This is pretty self explanatory. The Year at a Glance just allows me to see all the dates and days of the week in one place. The yearly events allows me to write down upcoming events for months I haven’t planned out yet.

Bills

This is how Mychal and I keep track of our monthly bills. For obvious reasons I have blocked the amounts we pay. Across the top we have segmented it with a place for the name of the bill, the amount that is paid on the bill, the due date for the bill, and which check we tend to pay it on (This has changed a bit. We used to pay certain bills on certain checks, but we’ve changed our system. I will discuss it later in an upcoming finance post.) Then, we have a place for each month of the year.

It’s a simple system that allows us to look and plan ahead when necessary and to just have it all in one place. In the month boxes we have the dates of the checks we will receive. January’s paydays fell on the 13th and 27th. Whenever we planned to pay a bill, that date went into that box for that month. We simply just cross the bill out for the month once it has been paid.

Savings & Debt

This system is relatively simple. We decided what we want to save for this year, how much we want to save and what the order of importance was for us. Then I simply made graphs for each one with each box representing a set amount of money. That way I know once I’ve filled one box I’ve accumulated X amount of dollars.

We did the same thing for our debts. This format, however, tacks the amount paid off instead of the amount saved. For consistency, the box amounts are equal to what we set for savings.

Birthdays

I used this same chart last year and unfortunately I can’t find the original inspiration I saw on Pinterest but it’s a simple circle chart that I divided into all 12 months. Then you just list all of the birthdays for family and friends respectively. When I begin a new month in my monthly layout I check for birthdays on this chart and then place them on that month’s calendar.

Health Appointments

This is a lot like the birthday chart where I needed a place to have everything collectively. So here I have each of our types of doctor’s color coded. Then I just made a simple year calendar. When we get appointments it can sometimes be months in advance and since I haven’t created the monthly layout for that month yet, I need somewhere to log it. So, I place it on here and at the beginning of the month when I’m creating my layout I will check for any appointments. I also glance at it toward the end of the month in case I have an appointment at the very beginning of the month so that I’m not blind sided at the beginning of the month.

Wish List

My wish list is probably one of my favorite things I have begun. I tend not to buy things or put off buying things. I strive to live a fairly minimal lifestyle. This means I don’t like just buying arbitrary things that don’t add value to my life. One thing I really struggle with buying is clothing. I just don’t see it as something to spend my money on if I’m not in need.

So, I created this wish list as a means of keeping note of the things that I find myself thinking about over again, or the things I just really want. This is a visual reminder for me that sometimes you need to treat yourself or to keep me from justifying not buying every single thing. My thinking is, if I keep thinking about it, I really want it. When I put it on the list I can plan for it or save up for or just have a visual reminder.

Now, this is how my wish list functions. If you aren’t like me and have to force yourself into buying any and everything you can be a normal human and just use it to list things you want as you think of them! This is also another reason I love the bullet journal. I am able to keep both important and fun things and my planner all in one place.

Christmas Organizer

This is a simple organizer that allows me to plan who all I need to get gifts for, jot down gift ideas or what I’ve decided to get them and track my spending and budget. I have a printable version of this here for those who want it but don’t want to dedicate a page in their journal.

Kwanzaa Organizer

Everyday of Kwanzaa consists of different principles to learn or to be taught to those around you. This allows me to keep track of what we’re learning that day, activities to coincide with the principles and informative readings to supplement the teachings. The week runs much smoother when you already have the days planned out. Again, I have a printable version here.

Cleaning Schedule and When Did I Last?

I have a cleaning schedule page so that I can make sure I’m completing all the tasks I want to complete. It also lets me keep up with those tasks that I don’t do every day or every week. The “When Did I Last?” page serves a similar purpose. These are things that you have to do routinely but not often enough to remember. Yes, I am aware that this is very Type-A of me. It is also very “I have a horrible memory and my husband has a worse memory” of me.

Weight Tracker and Workout Ideas

This simple visual allows me to see exactly how much weight I’m losing which is always motivating.

As far as the work out page, if you’re anything like me then you get tired of doing the same workouts over and over again. This page gives me ideas to keep my workouts fresh which in turn keeps my body from getting used to what I am doing. It’s also just cool to have a place to jot down interesting workouts I come across.

Meal Ideas & Restaurants To Try

I didn’t include a picture because it’s just a list page. The meal idea page is similar to the workout ideas where it’s a place to reference when I feel my meals are becoming receptive or boring. And it’s a good place to keep future meal ideas that I run across on Pinterest or Instagram.

My restaurants to try page is pretty self explanatory. It’s just a reminder page really.

Projects

This is the place I jot down any home improvement projects that I think of or any DIY I want to do. Like other pages, this just serves as a designated space to have all these related things in one place.

Language Practice

As seen in my goals I am seeking to improve my language skills this year. I have conversational German basics down already and would like to bring my French and American Sign Language up to that level. This is a sort of lesson plan for myself. I will practice each box, one at a time, and once I have mastered it, mark it off. My goal is to have it filled in by the end of the year. As my pace and levels change I will add more lessons into the boxes.

Books To Read & Movies To Watch

Again, these are list pages so I didn’t include pictures. Anyone who likes to read or go to the movies knows that you often have way more on your list than you can tackle at once. This page allows me to not let anything slip through the cracks. If I see a preview I like I can jot it down or a book that catches my attention.

Brainstorm

A lot of people who keep journals often times like to have a space to drop in random uncategorized thoughts. I rarely have just things to note, but I tend to have ideas to pop into my head. So, I created a space for brainstorming or just any ideas that come to me. This includes everything from home projects to blog posts. (Inspired by Rebecca Spooner of hiphomeschoolingblog.com via Pinterest)

Planner

Monthlies

Okay, if you are still reading at this point you get a virtual gold star. I know I’ve covered a bunch of pages so far but here is the most essential part. This is my monthly layout and daily layout. I’d like to make it clear that I change my monthly and day layouts to fit my needs. This is one I’ve been using for about a month. It checks off all the things I need on a daily basis. It’s not cluttered and it’s simple to draw up. It seems to be working for me so far. However, if I need to change it, I will. That is the beautiful part of bullet journaling. I can adjust with my lifestyle.

The monthly layout consists of two pages. On the one side I simply have a line dedicated to each day of the month. When I begin my month I will note events, birthdays and appointments here. So now I have them all in one place. Then, each week when I draw out my daily layout I will insert these events on those days.

On the other page I have a quick-reference calendar and my goals. I have my goals here so that I can keep them in mind throughout the month and keep track of changes. I track my weight, social media numbers and blog numbers. Also, I note what I begin the month with and end the month with so I can see if my month was productive.

Dailies

After my monthly layout I dedicate two pages to every week in the month. I draw out each week at the end of the previous week. You can write out your entire month in advance if you’d like. I personally like having to sit still for a moment and focus on something.

So on the fist page I write out seven vertical boxes for each day of the week. I then divide all of those into three segments. The thing I like about this layout is that If I need to add in more categories, it’s just a matter adding another column. My categories for now are tasks and events for that day, housework or cleaning and blog work for that day.

On the other page I have things that I keep track of thought a week. I have a space for groceries that I run out of that week, so that I can buy them for the following week. I also have a place for meal ideas so that I can minimize that whole “UHHHHH, what am I going to cook” thing I tend to do about three times a day. This also helps me and hubby cut down on eating out as a response to not knowing what we have to eat.

Then, I have a place to write down workout ideas. It’s less regimented than a workout schedule like I used to do. It’s also more fun to just pick a workout and go for it, so for now this is what I’m doing.

Last, I have a habit tracker. Lots of BuJo (Bullet Journal) users keep these. It allows you to just keep track of anything you’re trying to stay consistent with. Some of mine are water intake and exercise frequency.

So like I said, these are the things that I knew I wanted to begin my journal with. Let them serve as inspiration. Or let them serve as a way to know what you don’t want! 🙂 Hopefully, it’s as inspiration. As time goes on, more pages will be added. Some of my layouts may change. Even if not, I will do an update. Hopefully this helps you get a good start if you’re a new planner. Best of luck!