Today we chat about bullet journal ideas and some easy tips for getting started. It’s a great way for creatives to stay organized!
Written by Erin Holmes
My brain, if one would care to wonder, tends to be something akin to a two year old on coffee. It’s creative, messy, never tiring, and sometimes out of control. It also needs an outlet to channel those artistic urges. It needs F.E.M.A. scale aid to help organize those elusive thoughts before they escape to Neverland and I move on to another thought – entirely forgetting the flash of brilliance that could have been key to making me a fortune… or to making tomorrow night’s dinner.
Enter Bullet Journaling. I am the first to admit that I am not ‘faithful’ to journaling, but that’s actually one of the factors that drew me to be intrigued by Bullet Journals.
Why?
Because a Bullet Journal is whatever you need it to be. It’s not a book with a date on each page that begins to pass judgement on you the longer you leave it unattended on your nightstand.
Instead, Bullet Journaling gives you license to be as organized (or disorganized) and as creative as fits your personality.
Related Post: Bible Art Journaling Ideas – Drawing Beautiful Pictures In Your Bible
WHAT IS A BULLET JOURNAL?
A Bullet Journal is a notebook that is blank aside from little dots, or bullets in a grid on each page.
They come in many different shapes, sizes, and styles, so you’re sure to find one that screams your name.
The nature of a Bullet Journal allows you to create the following and so much more.
BULLET JOURNAL IDEAS
- Create Personal Goals
Want to run a 5k? Want to declutter the guest closet? Put these goals down on paper and find some accountability all on your own to accomplish them!
- Menu Planning
If you haven’t given menu planning a shot — boy, are you missing out on this super easy way to streamline your life! Menu planning is as simple as marking down the days of the week on your BuJo and then writing down what you would like to cook on those days. Which leads you into …
- Shopping Lists
Once you’ve done even a few days of menu planning at a time you can begin to draw up a grocery or shopping list of items you need to make those meals happen! Some people like to do this week to week (me!), others are organized enough to do this for an entire MONTH!
- Vision Board Pages
What’s a vision board? Vision boards are your daydreams on paper – big scary goals that you can’t generally accomplish in this course of your day to day routine and often get pushed to the back burner in life. Think anything from going on a cruise or starting your own business! By taking a page or section of your BuJo to write these goals down these heartfelt dreams and even sketch or doodle or list out steps to get you there, you are taking time to focus on these goals. Every time you look at this section, you’ll be reminded of why you’re working hard at your 9-5 or why you’re that SAHM that works so hard to pinch the pennies!
- Personal Tracking
Refer back to the question of ‘want to run a 5k?’ – personal tracking allows you to track your daily run time, length, and consistency where you can see it every day (or as often as you choose). Think of it as a ledger or log of any activity you want to improve or be more consistent in.
- Sketching
Ok, even though the creative side of my personality still enjoys making silly doodles in my BuJo, I’m most definitely not artistically inclined. But if you have any artistic ability you’ll love taking whole pages of your BuJo to express your talent!
- Idea Logging
As I mentioned, I may not be artistic but I am creative by nature. Sometimes I have an idea for a new craft I’d like to try or something I’d love to have my hubby build for our house. But often, and especially in my current pregnant state, the idea is gone before anything can come of it – without any hope of retrieving it out of the recesses of my foggy, sleepy mind!
But with a set place that I can jot down ideas (not the back of a napkin or side of the phone bill) I have a lot more hope of seeing that burst of genius come to fruition at some point!
The possibilities are endless in what you can do with your Bullet Journal! There are so many creative Bullet Journal ideas.
WHERE CAN I FIND THEM?
You can order Bullet Journals right from Amazon (here’s one) or if you’re a ‘see it to believe it’ kind of girl you can find them at any brick and mortar that sells journals.
I recommend you start simple and keep costs low until you’re comfortable and know what you like.
WHAT DO I NEED TO GET STARTED?
Besides the journal itself you should start with some terrific fine tip pens. My favorite ones are by Staedtler, which you can find here.
You also need a 6 inch ruler. This will help you build your layouts with precision. Even if you decide that you prefer to freehand your journal, the ruler is a great tool to start off with.
Beyond these couple of essentials, there are a plethora of options to accessorize and jazz up your BuJo. Try Washi Tapes, stickers, stencils, larger markers… anything you can imagine, you can use to take your BuJo to the next level.
If you’ve been wondering what the buzz is all about, I hope that you found something here to inspire you to give a BuJo a try for yourself. You won’t regret it!
Have you tried something like this before? If so, what are your favorite bullet journal ideas?
Erin Holmes is a wife and mother living in the Las Vegas Valley. She is the Pastor’s Wife at Journey Church – Henderson, NV and creator of Far Above Rubies – Ladies Devotional group on Facebook.
Leave a Reply