37 PRACTICAL BULLET JOURNAL IDEAS TO KEEP YOU SANE

Have you heard of the bullet journal system? It’s the ultimate solution to make sense of the chaos in your busy life. it has a lot of benefits and personally has had a huge impact on my personal growth. It provides an opportunity for self-reflection and self-awareness.

No, I’m not overselling it. I’ll just give you some practical bullet journal ideas that you can try at home and see for yourself.

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So what is a bullet journal?

Now that I got your attention, let’s start with the basics.

The bullet journaling method was created by Ryder Carroll as a way to optimize productivity and reach your goals more easily.

In essence, a bullet journal is a fully customizable planner that could also be used as a diary and a creative outlet. You can get a pre-made bullet journal from promply Journals or get a blank one and set it up exactly the way you want it.

And if you use it regularly, I guarantee it could help you improve any area of your life.

Pro tip: If you’re going for a blank journal to customize yourself, make sure you get one with dotted paper. It makes writing and drawing a lot easier.

Shouldn’t you be able to draw?

If you google bullet journaling ideas you’ll find all these beautifully arranged pages with drawings, stickers, and everything. When I first started, I naturally felt compelled to organize my journal in a similar manner.

It was a huge bust. I didn’t have the time, nor the talent to create such colorful pages. And after a while, I realized I don’t have to!

If we go back to the bullet journaling method it’s all about boosting your productivity.

In other words, if drawing is your creative outlet that’s great. But if not, a minimalistic pen-on-paper journal arranged properly will do just as good. If not even better.

In our bullet journal ideas, you don’t need to be able to draw since they are easy and simple.

What to include in your bullet journal?

I literally cannot think of anything that can NOT be tracked using a bullet journal. And while you could write practically anything in it, there are several common sections that you would want to include.

Index

If you really use your journal throughout the year you would surely fill in all the pages. I know I do every time. This is where the index comes to the rescue.

The index section is basically your table of contents. Whenever you add a new Collection (i.e. one or more themed pages) add this to the index to find it easier later on.

Leuchtturm 1917 notebooks have this section pre-made for you and also include numbered pages which save you quite a lot of time.

Future log

The future log is basically a yearly calendar with some space to add notes for each month.

In my journals, I add a future log for the current year, where I log all birthdays, and for the next year, so I could reference it if I need to (more often in the second half of the year).

Monthly log

Your monthly log is a summary of the current month where you could lay out all the tasks and ideas you have for the month before spreading them to each separate day.

I use the monthly log mainly to leave some notes in advance, set my monthly goals, as well as add tasks that should be done sometime through the month but I still haven’t decided when.

Weekly log

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Just your week at a glance. This is the place where you want to place all your habit trackers, weekly tasks, shopping lists, to-do list, etc.

I also like to add a small calendar as a quick reference. For me, the weekly log is usually spread over two pages. The first one with all the common data for the week and the second one is divided into sections for every day of the week.

Daily log

Finally, the daily log is where you track your daily tasks and notes.

How much space the daily log would take depends on how busy you usually are and how many things you plan on noting down.

Some people need a full page every day. While I was still working at the office, I needed half a page for each day to accommodate all my notes and meetings scheduled.

Now, as a stay-at-home mom, I position the entire week on a single page, since I usually have 2-3 important tasks a day, while most of my essential notes are on the weekly page.

ALSO READ: Notebook Therapy bullet journals review

Bullet journal ideas for maximum productivity

Once you’re done with the basic calendar-like section of the journal, the rest can be everything you need it to be.

So without further ado, here are some awesome bullet journal ideas you may want to try:

ALSO READ: 10 Instant productivity boosters

Bullet journal ideas for a Budget binder

Bullet journals are often used to track your personal finances. Here are some bullet journal ideas you could include:

• Income tracker. Add all income you’re expecting to receive.
• Detailed expenses tracker. Have you wondered where you spent your money this month? Write down everything you spend to monitor and analyze your spending habits.
• Monthly bills. Make a list of all the bills you’re paying each month, check them off when you pay them, and think if there’s something you can do to reduce them.
• Savings goals. Do you have an emergency fund? Do you need to save for your dream vacation? Track your savings in the journal to stay motivated until you make it.
• Debt and credit card tracker. It’s easier to get out of debt when you can see your progress day by day.
• Side hustle ideas. Need some side money? Brainstorm some ideas and start your own business.
• Stuff to sell. Make a list of all things you’re not using and start listing them for sale one by one. Check off all the things you managed to get rid of.
• Things to buy in bulk. If you want to save some extra cash, buying in bulk is a great way to do it. Keep track of your inventory and buy in bulk when the numbers are getting low.
• No spend day challenge. I love challenges and this is one of my personal bullet journal ideas favorites. Draw a calendar, set the no-spending rules, and see if you can make it. For best results exclude bills, business and children necessities, and medical supplies and apply the no-spend rule for personal expenses only.

Do you have any bullet journal ideas to add?

Home management ideas

If you’re a stay-at-home mom like me, you know how overwhelming it could be to manage your home around kids. But these bullet journal ideas can help you out.

• Meal planner. Save a bunch of time and money by planning your weekly meals in advance.
• Cleaning schedule. When was the last time you washed the curtains? Now you don’t have to remember. List all your daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly cleaning tasks so your home is always nice and clean.
• Gardening. If you’re new to gardening it’s easy to get lost in all the different requirements for each plant. Write it all down and track how often you need to water each one.
• Home improvement ideas. Seen something awesome on Pinterest? Write it down or sketch it and discuss it with your partner when it’s renovation time.
• Car maintenance. You can track when was the last time you changed the oil, when is your insurance due, how much repairs cost, your miles per month, and anything else that comes along.
• Usernames and passwords. Using the same password all over is convenient but not safe. Set secure passwords for all home usernames and write them down. If you worry your journal may get stolen you can use a code like altering a specific character or anything of the sort.

Personal bullet journal ideas

No journal is complete without a personal touch. Here are some ideas for personal bullet journal pages you may want to include

• Mood tracker. Use color codes to track your mood every day. See a lot of dark colors in the tracker? Maybe you need a bit more self-care in your day.
• Self-are ideas. List all the ideas and activities that calm you down and make you happy, and preferably take less than 15 minutes. Turn to this list for inspiration whenever you are feeling down.
• Dream diary. If you are lucky to remember your dreams when you wake up, write them down and see if you can find any patterns.
• Personal goals. Having your goals written down is a huge motivator. Break the big goals into smaller ones and brainstorm the tasks you need to do to accomplish them.
• Morning/evening routine. Picture your ideal morning and evening routines.
• Bucket list. List all the things you’ve always wanted to do and start crossing them off. To give you some inspiration, my current bucket list “40 under 40” includes 40 things I want to do before I’m 40 years old.
• Wish list. Did you see something you like but cannot afford at the moment? Add it to your wish list and refer to it the next time someone asks you what you want for your birthday.
• Books to read. If you love reading like I do, list all the books you want to read at some point. Even if you don’t have time for reading right now. You’ll get to them eventually!

Bullet journal ideas for new moms

Well, after all, I am a mom blogger, so I just need to give you some ideas on how to overcome the stress of being a new mom as well.

Bullet journal ideas for Pregnancy

• Weeks tracker. On the last row of each day section, I have added the exact week+day marker.
• Appointments. With both my pregnancies, I tracked every detail about my OB appointments including dates, what they checked, what were the results, and even what I was charged.
• Baby growth. How much did the baby grow according to each ultrasound?
• Milestones. When did you find out you were pregnant? When did you tell family and friends? When did you see the baby for the first time? Found out the baby’s sex? Felt the first kick? Talked to them for the first time?
• Baby lists. This could include your hospital bag list, baby essentials, and a wish list to coordinate the gifts from friends and family.
• Weight tracker. I was fortunate enough to gain reasonable weight during both of my pregnancies. Still, I was only carefully tracking my weight the first time. My journal spread included stats on the pregnancy week, date, weight, how much have I gained since last week, what are my ideal weight for the week, my reference to the ideal weight, and hip/butt/waist/breast measures.

Bullet journal ideas for Babies

• Naps. The easiest way to track this is to draw a line with hour markings and then use a color pen to mark the baby’s naps. To be honest, I was too zombie-like to keep track of those as a first-time mom.
• Feeding time. If you’re breastfeeding you could use the above line to mark the feeding times with a different color. I’ve also heard other mommies mentioning the importance of how long the baby nurses from each breast. Both my daughters had to be formula-fed so I noted formula-feeding times instead.
• Poop tracker. Ok, don’t laugh but the nurses at the hospital told me it was very important to track how many times a day the baby poop so I made a bullet journal tracker for it.
• Shopping list. I kept a separate shopping list for the baby because we used to go grocery shopping once a week, while the baby may need something every couple of days. The list included mostly diapers, baby wipes, diaper cream, formula, and clothes (I still can’t believe how quickly newborns outgrow clothes).
• Growth chart. Track the weight, height, and head measures.
• Milestones. Note down when your baby sits up for the first time or when you see the first tooth in their mouth.
• Weaning. I track the content and amount of every new food I introduce along with the date and current age of the baby.
• Baby teeth. This one gives me the chills just thinking about it. But I still track when each baby tooth grew and how old was the baby at the time.

Bullet Journal ideas for teachers

If you are a new or experienced teacher, you may have realized now that you need bullet journals to organize your lessons. So here are bullet journal ideas for teachers:

• Year at a glance. What does your year look like as a teacher?
• Sick-leave log and tracker. We all need this not just teachers but any worker. Record how many days you have taken off, and how many you have left.
• The school schedule and term timelines
• term at a glance. If you have a year at a glance, it’s also best to have a term at a glance. Log the events in the school or deadlines.
• And lastly is the teacher’s dashboard. Here you can add to-do lists, checklists, and homework.

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Here are more Journal design ideas for you

Creating a beautiful and unique journal doesn’t have to be hard! You can make your journal extra stylish and personal with these journal design ideas.

Add flowers to the cover

You don’t have to be a skilled artist to add an eye-catching design to your journal cover. Use simple masking tape and color in the petals for a lasting flower design that will look great on any journal!

Decorative washi tapes also work well and come in a variety of colors and designs, giving you even more options when creating your floral masterpiece.

Give It Some Sparkle with Glitter or Sequins

Want to add some pizazz to your journal? Glitter or sequins could be the perfect way to go! You could opt for a subtle sparkling effect with smaller pieces of glitter, or if you’re feeling extra bold, why not try out larger chunks as well.

Incorporate Fun Patterns and Prints into the Cover Design

Incorporate fun and unique patterns and prints into your journal’s cover design to give it some personality.

For example, use bright prints with tropical-themed elements or pick a wallpaper-style pattern and have it printed on the front of your journal. Alternatively, you can add a fabric cover that has a print of your choice – from checkered patterns to polka dots, there is something for everyone!

OVER TO YOU: What bullet journal ideas can you add?

When you’re living on a busy schedule life can get complicated and stressful. But it doesn’t have to be! So give these bullet journal ideas a try and let me know what you think. And so share in the comments section some bullet journal ideas that you can add to our list.

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