How I use my bullet journal as a busy teenager + common myths debunked!
Greetings children, we are about halfway through the school year. Are you holding up? No? Well, that is ok my dear, because there is never a designated time for everyone to get their crap together. Only you have the power to motivate yourself to get it together. Hopefully, I can help a little bit with it and add some insight. But I wish you all the best, especially my fellow upperclassmen :)
Definition of a bullet journal that I found on Google:
"The Bullet Journal is an organizational system in a notebook that keeps track of anything you would like to write down in a coherent way."
Here is my personal definition:
A bullet journal is a journal that you can customize in three ways: planar, art, and writing journal. You can only use one of the three or combine all of them. It just depends on how you like and what FUNCTIONS for you. Start with a blank notebook and pen, and get started.
-You have to be super creative and artistic.
↳Nope. It can be black and white, messy, minimalist, whatever you like. And besides, no one starts off with beautiful calligraphy (just look at me!)
-It takes up an absurd amount of time.
↳It is all about how much time you put into it. If you are just starting and wanting to make it really simple, then it does not take up too much time. I have been bullet journaling for 3 years now and it takes PRACTICE to come up and improve art. And practice takes time.
-If I make a mistake, I can't do it anymore.
↳Guys, I make mistakes ALL THE TIME. The secret is just how do you hide it ;)
I actually like to combine all three elements. My bullet journal is a creative outlet for me to release any feelings I can't put to words, relax after a long day, and document memories to look back on. A couple of days before the beginning of the next month, I will sit down on a night where I don't have much homework and do my monthly spreads. Your monthly spreads are just a couple of different trackers, organizers, and logs for you to keep track of throughout the month.
-Habit & Mood Tracker (a grid where I label each day and fill in whether or not if I completed my normal tasks like taking my vitamins or reading)
-Monthly calendar (an actual calendar where I write everything going on that month. It gives me a good look to see what weekends are free, how to split up study time, etc;
-Month goals (some are personal, some are just seriously "Have fun at homecoming!" or read 2 books. Set realistic goals that you can achieve with a work ethic, that way you don't disappoint yourself because you didn't achieve any goals)
-Monthly playlist (this one has slowly become one of my favorites. I create little spots to write songs, and throughout the month I will write down any songs that are my favorite at the moment.)
-Sleep Tracker (as a junior in high school, I think tracking your sleep is important because it gives you a good idea of how much sleep you are getting, and set aside more time to recover.)
After I have all of that setup, I will normally set up my weekly spreads. Normally, I don't have all seven days in one spread so I can spread out my days and have enough space for everything. I will normally have about 4 days in each section just because I have a smaller journal that most people, and so I have enough room to journal.
-Aesthetic pictures- I kid you not, I have a huge Pinterest board that is pretty pictures organized by color. That board is kinda my pride and joy. Anyways, I will copy and paste them onto a Google document, arrange them how I like, then send it to one of my parents who can print it out at work. I then spend my evening cutting them out and put them in my little box filled with pictures meant for my bullet journal.
-Half Pages- Sometimes, I will do spreads where in the middle there is a half-page just for the heck of it. The actual term for it is "Dutch doors", I didn't think the Dutch had such significance to bullet journaling (that is such a dad joke, I'm sorry) You can write your calendar on the half page, or any notes and reminders.
-When things get busy- I make my weekly spreads in advance, so I sometimes know that a specific week will be extremely busy with events or tests. I step back from the ~*aesthetic*~ of making spreads with colorful pictures and I just make one that is vertical. One that has enough space for all of my tasks and one that doesn't demand huge amounts of time because I am directing my time for something different.
Here is my personal definition:
A bullet journal is a journal that you can customize in three ways: planar, art, and writing journal. You can only use one of the three or combine all of them. It just depends on how you like and what FUNCTIONS for you. Start with a blank notebook and pen, and get started.
Common myths about bullet journals:
-You have to be super creative and artistic.
↳Nope. It can be black and white, messy, minimalist, whatever you like. And besides, no one starts off with beautiful calligraphy (just look at me!)
-It takes up an absurd amount of time.
↳It is all about how much time you put into it. If you are just starting and wanting to make it really simple, then it does not take up too much time. I have been bullet journaling for 3 years now and it takes PRACTICE to come up and improve art. And practice takes time.
-If I make a mistake, I can't do it anymore.
↳Guys, I make mistakes ALL THE TIME. The secret is just how do you hide it ;)
 |
| cute pink weekly spread :) |
How I use my bullet journal in day to day life
I actually like to combine all three elements. My bullet journal is a creative outlet for me to release any feelings I can't put to words, relax after a long day, and document memories to look back on. A couple of days before the beginning of the next month, I will sit down on a night where I don't have much homework and do my monthly spreads. Your monthly spreads are just a couple of different trackers, organizers, and logs for you to keep track of throughout the month.
My monthly spreads:
-Mood board (a collage of what color scheme/mood I am feeling for the month)-Habit & Mood Tracker (a grid where I label each day and fill in whether or not if I completed my normal tasks like taking my vitamins or reading)
-Monthly calendar (an actual calendar where I write everything going on that month. It gives me a good look to see what weekends are free, how to split up study time, etc;
-Month goals (some are personal, some are just seriously "Have fun at homecoming!" or read 2 books. Set realistic goals that you can achieve with a work ethic, that way you don't disappoint yourself because you didn't achieve any goals)
-Monthly playlist (this one has slowly become one of my favorites. I create little spots to write songs, and throughout the month I will write down any songs that are my favorite at the moment.)
-Sleep Tracker (as a junior in high school, I think tracking your sleep is important because it gives you a good idea of how much sleep you are getting, and set aside more time to recover.)
After I have all of that setup, I will normally set up my weekly spreads. Normally, I don't have all seven days in one spread so I can spread out my days and have enough space for everything. I will normally have about 4 days in each section just because I have a smaller journal that most people, and so I have enough room to journal.
 |
| The top bullet journal is my first one from 2017. My weekly spreads soon shifted to the ones on the bottom with my more recent bullet journals. |
My weekly spreads:
-A tiny calendar- I like adding a tiny calendar to keep track of what I have going on that week and the next. It is a great visual to see what day you are on and see what you have coming up.-Aesthetic pictures- I kid you not, I have a huge Pinterest board that is pretty pictures organized by color. That board is kinda my pride and joy. Anyways, I will copy and paste them onto a Google document, arrange them how I like, then send it to one of my parents who can print it out at work. I then spend my evening cutting them out and put them in my little box filled with pictures meant for my bullet journal.
-Half Pages- Sometimes, I will do spreads where in the middle there is a half-page just for the heck of it. The actual term for it is "Dutch doors", I didn't think the Dutch had such significance to bullet journaling (that is such a dad joke, I'm sorry) You can write your calendar on the half page, or any notes and reminders.
-When things get busy- I make my weekly spreads in advance, so I sometimes know that a specific week will be extremely busy with events or tests. I step back from the ~*aesthetic*~ of making spreads with colorful pictures and I just make one that is vertical. One that has enough space for all of my tasks and one that doesn't demand huge amounts of time because I am directing my time for something different.
 |
| example of verticle weekly spread |
Conclusion:
Bullet Journaling is not as difficult as it seems. It is a system entirely designed by you to plan out your days and months. Personally, looking at a black and white planar from Walmart stresses me out because you feel less organized and not put together because you failed to write down a simple task. Whereas when I work with my bullet journal, I always look at Pinterest and Youtube for inspiration and feel a little bit of motivation to continue. Yes, there are some spreads that don't turn out as well as I hoped, but I keep moving forward and don't cry into pillows because I spelled September wrong on accident. The choice is up to you, dear reader, how you will organize your time and document your memories. I wish you all the best of luck within this upcoming semester and that you do not procrastinate as much as you did last semester ;)
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| Here are my 6 completed bullet journals! I am currently on my 7th bullet journal (not pictured) and 4th year of bullet journaling. |
love,
yo girl emilia
Follow me on my bullet journal Instagram and blog Instagram:
@emilialikesbooks
@yogirlemilia
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