Bullet Journaling
BuJo
Bullet journaling (sometimes called BuJo) is something I was introduced to when I was in therapy years ago. It is a book with dots on each page. They are in a grid format and very faint on each page. What you do with this book is up to you. The dots are to help you create all sorts of meaningful pages. I split my bullet journal up into months at the front of the book and then do one off pages at the back.
Pick A Theme
My favourite thing to do first is pick a theme for the month I am planning. This could be anything from bees to woodland to winter wonderland. The theme carries on for every page that I create that month.
Title Page
The first page I create is a title page for the month we are heading in to, sometimes with a quote, sometimes not. It’s where the colours and the artwork are on show. I then create the pages I want to use for that month. Most months are quite similar except for December. I fill December with extra pages for gift ideas, festive films to watch, food to prepare etc. There are loads of ideas online.
Page Ideas
Typically in a month I will create a calendar, a tracker of habits that I want to work on, a “Thoughts” page, a mood tracker, a shopping list and a To Do list. At the back of my book I have created a page with my children’s school holidays on it as they are at different times to each other. At the back I’ve also created a page with details of our summer holiday so I don’t need to search through five emails to find the key details I’ll need for car hire, flight times etc. I use the pages at the back of the book for one off projects, things that aren’t assigned to a particular month. It makes them easier to find.
Design
On my “Thoughts” page I log things that've happened that you can look back on and remember. Little things like bumping into an old friend. Things that would be in your calendar but special moments or little wins along the way.
My habits page has lots of mini calendars. Just the numbers in week format. Circling each date as you achieve each habit. In the past I've had making my bed as a habit. Also drinking enough water. Cleaning the kitchen worktops. It literally can be for anything you are trying to achieve more often.
My mood tracker does exactly that. Lots of little pictures with the calendar dates next to them and a colour coded key for your feelings. Each day, colour the picture in for how you felt that day.
In planning these pages you can be as creative or not as you like. Planning gives you an intention for the month ahead but the creative process lets your mind stop whirring/talking and it's easy to get lost in the moment.
It's Up To You
Looking back through previous months gives me motivation for carrying on doodling as there are so many things I would have forgotten without it. It has helped me through the rough times but has also reminded me that I was braver than I remember or strategies I used to get through tricky times. Mood trackers have shown that times can get better. They can show a trend at certain times of the month or year that are trickier than others.
I find it a great tool for looking forward. On the first of the month I start to use those pages I've created and start to create the next month ahead. The aim is to doodle the month ahead. You've always got the current month plus working on the month ahead.
But really bullet journaling is whatever you want it to be. It is your choice. Your creative space to express yourself and get out of it what you need. It is a way to look back on the differences you have made to your life and the person you are.