Step-By-Step Guide to Bullet Journaling + How to Start Your Own

Aloha there!

Today, I’m going to tell you about Bullet Journaling – a system that has helped me so much and that I hope will help you, too.

A Bullet Journal is a planner, diary, to-do list, scrapbook, tracker, anything you want – all in one place. It’s a way to keep track of every area of your life with only a notebook and a  pen. Pretty amazing, right?

All of that sounds great. But what is this Bullet Journal thing exactly?, you ask? Well, I’d prefer to let the creator of the Bullet Journal himself answer that – click right HERE to visit his official website, and head over HERE to check out the explanatory video. When you’re done with that, come back to this post, and I’ll explain a little more. 🙂

So, you might be left feeling a little mind-boggled. What I’d advise is to get some Nutella (that always helps) and to just start a Bullet Journal; there’s no better time than the present. Don’t worry – this post is going to be a step-by-step guide on how to set one up and how to use it once you’re on your way.

So, just grab a notebook – any one will do – and a pen. You don’t a lot of time to set up a bullet journal, or to use it, so please don’t let that set you back from starting one. It’s totally worth it.

Step 1: The Index

 Flip to the first page of your notebook and write ‘Index’ at the top. Then, on the next line, index your Index. XD Basically, write ‘Index’ (again) along with its corresponding page numbers, presumably 1 and 2.

The Index holds your Bullet Journal together. You’ll want to put everything in your Index, except for your individual daily entries. In that case, for example, index all of your daily entries of, say, April under the name ‘April Dailies – pgs. 5-17’. With the Index, you’ll be able to find everything in your Bullet Journal easily. It’s going to be one of the keystones of your journal, so you shouldn’t skip this, however  futile it may seem at the moment. 🙂

Also, a little note: as you probably saw from the video, you’ll need to number your journal’s pages as you go along. Seemingly cumbersome? Yes. Definitely worth it in the end and also only takes up about a second? Yes again.

If numbering your pages really irks you, I’d suggest getting a Leuchtturm 1917, which come with pre-numbered pages. 🙂

Step 2: The Future Log

Flip to the next page and write ‘Future Log’ at the top. Then, grab your calendar, planner, or random sticky note and list out all the events coming up in the next year.   Anything from your friend’s birthday party to your biannual dentist appointment will go here. 🙂

The Future Log is really what allows your Journal to help you manage your whole life. Anything that’s coming up after the current month can just be written here – no need to remember to transfer it later. It’s brain dump of events that can be filed and left alone until they come up. Remember to number this page and put it in your Index! 😉

Step 3: The Monthly Log

On the next page, write the name of the current month. If you’re reading this in July, write July. If you’re reading this in November, write November. It doesn’t have to be January to start a Bullet Journal! Then, write the days of each month down in a vertical row. You can add what day of the week it will be on each day, but you don’t have to – it’s up to you.

When you’re done with that, you’ll want to list out your events that are happening during the upcoming month, next to the appropriate day.

This helps you to have a visual image of the month and what’s going to be happening. Along with events, I like to write out my weekly classes and indicate if I’m going to be on vacation. This helps me get an even clearer idea of when I’m going be busy and when I’ll have more time.

Step 4: Dailies

Almost there! Now, turn the page and write today’s date at the top. List out what you need to get done today and where you need to go. Look at your Monthly Log and see if you’ve written down an event that’s happening today. If so, add that to today’s journal entry.

Throughout the day, check off what you’ve completed and add to the list if more things come up. You can also make notes on what you’re reading, a lecture you’re attending, and anything else in your entry. If you want, feel free to add quotes, Bible verses, inspirational words – anything that makes you happy, essentially – to add a little spark to the page.

Remember, your Bullet Journal is yours and yours only: you can use it in any way you want, since it is such a flexible system! 😀 That’s the amazing thing about it!

The Bullet Journal system really helps me to stay organized and be less stressed. I hope you’ll give it a try! If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments below. 🙂

What are your thoughts on the system? Are you willing to try it? If you already are using it, how are you using it and what is your favorite/least favorite part? 

Last-Minute Christmas Card DIY

It’s never too late to make some cute little Christmas cards for your family and friends . . . even if it is Christmas Eve!

So, let’s get right into it – before it gets any later! 🙂

MATERIALS 

You’ll need white paper, a pencil and an eraser, fine-tip pens (I suggest red, green, and black), and envelopes (optional).

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1

Plan it out! Even just writing out a couple of ideas can really help getting your creative juices flowing. This is also a good time to test out markers and pens. Here’s my planning sheet:

Step 2 

Measurements, measurements, measurements! Grab a ruler and figure out where the center of your paper is. This will make it easier to center any text that you might be putting on it. 🙂

Step 3

Start out by decorating the front of your card in pencil. Since this is last minute (but still needs to look nice), I suggest writing out a simple holiday greeting in a nice font or maybe some lyrics to a favorite carol. If you want, you can add a couple doodles as well.

Step 4

Now, just trace and color in! Don’t worry about making it perfect – little imperfections and mistakes can make art beautiful.

Step 5

You’re almost done – write a simple ‘Merry Christmas!’ on the inside, or a personalized message – whatever floats your boat. 😉

Ta-da!

Do you enjoy making Christmas cards? 

DIY: Plot Board

Calling all writers! Calling all writers!

Today, I’m going to show you how to make a writerly DIY – a plot board!

Note: I used this tutorial to make my plot board, but I tweaked it a bit when I made my own. 🙂

To do this, you’ll need a poster board – mine’s horizontal, but a vertical one will work too.

Sorry for the bad photo quality – the bad lighting wasn’t helping! 😉

You’ll also need Post-Its and a pen or pencil, although I’d suggest a pen, since they show up better on the Post-Its.

Put a Post-It near the top of the board, and write ‘Project’ on it. You can also write this directly on the board.

Then, write the name of your novel, or if you’re not sure about the title yet (like myself), just put ‘W.I.P.’.

In the top left-hand corner, I suggest making a Character Code, or a list of abbreviations for your characters’ names. This helps when space is a little limited, i.e. on the Post-Its. 😉

Next to the Character Code, if you want to, you can put notes about the novel, though not necessarily things that are going to happen in the story. For example, I put that one of my characters had a true love that died. Poor true love.

To the right of where it says ‘W.I.P’, you can the space that is commonly referred to as ‘Random-Plot-Pieces-That-I-Haven’t-Figured-Out-Where-To-Put-Yet Land’. The name pretty  much explains what it’s used for. 😉

Then, we can get on to the real plotting! In the space below, write your plot (or what you have figured out as of yet) on the Post-Its, like this:

See that blue Post-It with the arrow? You can add notes about a particular part of the plot by adding an arrow or something else that makes your note stand out. 🙂

In the bottom right-hand corner, I added a space for discarded plot bunnies or failed Post-Its.

When you’re finished, your plot board should look something like this:

Ta-da!

Some bonus pics:

Are you going to make this craft? Do you have any writerly crafts?