August Setup

For August, I switched things around quiet a bit. July's layout didn't work for me. There were too many different pages, too many trackers, and I was starting to judge myself to harshly with the CLC.

I simplified my layout for August. Well, sort of....I have two very intense spreads, but that's it. I condensed all of my recurring tasks into either the tracker spread, or added them to the monthly calendar.

Simple cover page. My theme this month is summer foods and picnics.

On the left is my monthly calendar. The red items are planned events, the blue are recurring tasks that I plan to add to my daily task on that day. These are items I do less than 4 times a week.  More than that, and it goes on the tracker. Yes, it's a bit more crammed than expected. If this style works, I'll probably use abbreviations or symbols with a key.

On the right, you see my goals for the month, and the beginning of my task list. Goals are more of the things I'd like to do, and tasks are the things that should be done.

And finally we have the tracker. While many of these items are tasks that need to be completed almost daily, a lot of these are simply measurements. Particularly the bottom, where I track things that happen multiple times a day or for specific quantities a day (like yoga or hula-hooping).

And that is it for monthly pages. I'm also going to attempt to forgo weeklies again.

And here is the first daily of the month!

What does your monthly layout have this month?

10 Bullet Journal YouTube Videos I Love

1.  You should start here with the official Bullet Journal video. It's the best way to learn the basics of the system and to decide if the system is right for you.

2. Mariana's Study Corner has a video "10 Bullet Journal Hacks" which summarizes some common, but clever bullet journal hacks. I had seen some of these before being used, but not explained. This video cleared up a few "how"/"why" questions for me.

3. I love BuJo Boosted! BuJo Boosted has lots of really good ideas about design and layout, and he develops new more effective methods for tracking productivity. For example, here is his Checker Life Check video.

4. I also love Bujo Boosted's Ultimate Productivity challenge! It's a fun way to keep track of a larger project or set of goals. You can watch the video

5. And once again! Here's another awesome video on QUALITY tracking by BuJo Boosted. He's thoughts on quantity tracking vs. quality tracking vs. habitat tracking has played a huge role in my current BuJo layout.

6. Here's his video on quantity tracking. I promise that is the last Ricardo video! I can't help it, he's my favorite. :)

7. Everyone makes mistakes in their Bullet Journals, even those pros on YouTube and Instagram. AmandaRachLee gives some great tips for how to fix those mistakes in "How to Fix Your Bullet Journal Mistakes".

8. I like the perspective and the approach of Letter and Journal's "One Man's Bullet Journal". I enjoy the focus on functionality, and I love his guiding principles and tactics method. 

9. Boho Berry has SO many wonderful videos on bullet journaling. I highly recommend taking a glance at her playlists and seeing if any look helpful...or just watching things straight through. I recommend watching one of her first flip-throughs to get a sense of everything that is in one person's journal. 

10. I also like That Kind of Thing's "Starting a Bullet Journal" as she gives an honest behind-the-scenes look at mistakes, and makes a point about not getting it perfect.

 

My Favorite Bullet Journal Collections: Bujo Boosted's Checker Life Check

One of my favorite collections/mods I've added to my Bullet Journal lately is the Checker Life Check invented by Bujo Boosted.

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This is a summary of how accomplished I feel in various areas of my life over the course of a four week period. I fill it out at the end of the week (though I make a mini version in my daily spreads so I have something to work with) and then reflect on what things I can change over the course of the next week to improve certain areas.

The areas in the middle should be the highest rated (in my case green/blue) and the ones at the far corners should either be the same or less. You are rating the categories by importance. 

To make one yourself, check out BujoBoosted's YouTube Video:

New Section! Bullet Journaling!

My latest obsession: Bullet Journaling!

My Bullet Journal is one of my new favorite things for so many reasons. In fact, it is right up there with "Cats" "Disney" and "The Sims", which is why it is getting it's very own section of the blog. Sure, my husband would be up there too, but I don't think he'd appreciate me writing a blog about him, LOL.

One of my first spreads from right after I started journaling.

One of my first spreads from right after I started journaling.

Bullet Journaling not only has provided me with a fun new hobby that is away from the computer screen and lets me express myself creatively, but it also has played a critical role helping getting my anxiety under control. I will go into more detail in future posts, but a BuJo can help you prioritize what is important, help you track your habits, gives you the comfort of finding everything you need in one place (calendar, to-do lists, meal plans, wishlists, journaling space, doodling space, memories) and gives you a place to play with stickers, washi tape, and awesome pens (if you want to). My favorite aspect is that it is ever changing and evolving. Unlike a traditional planner, where you are confined to a specific system and setup. BuJo's let you add, subtract and alter what you have in it based on your life, needs, time, goals, etc.... You can try out new Bujo tools, but then ditch them if they don't work for you. You can also design and tweak tools until they fit you. It's super fun for someone who likes to plan, but you can also keep it super simple, functional, and totally on white paper with a black pen. All kinds of people use bullet journals from stay at home parents to engineers. It's completely customizable to your life.

The best place to start learning about Bullet Journal is from its founder, Ryder. Who created a video that describes it beautifully: http://bulletjournal.com/