It is important to plan your goals in life. One person can have multiple things they want to plan and track. They could have a study plan, a plan to lose weight, write a book, drop some habits, or a plan for their chores. It is tedious to keep a separate planner or habit tracker for each goal. The paperwork can be bulky and hard to manage. The best solution is to have everything in one place. Source online for a creative custom bullet journal and use it to plan and track all your goals. It is easy to track your progress or add new goals without making your custom bullet journal look clogged.
Table of Contents
- 1 Bullet Journal Templates
- 2 What is a bullet journal?
- 3 Key things to include in a bullet journal
- 4 Tips for using a bullet journal
- 5 Printable Bullet Journals
- 6 Benefits of a custom bullet journal
- 7 How do you structure a bullet journal?
- 8 Custom Bullet Journals
- 9 List of things you can include in your bullet journal
Bullet Journal Templates
What is a bullet journal?
When you think about a bullet journal, think about a hybrid diary where you can write and draw. You can use it to fill your to-do list or plan your holiday. It contains several sections where you can record your daily lists, keep a weekly calendar, and track your monthly goals. You can use a bullet journal to write down your notes and record both your short-term and long-term goals. The same journal can be used to track both your physical and mental health.
Key things to include in a bullet journal
A custom bullet journal must include the following key elements.
- Daily log. Your daily log is the core thing that must be in your custom bullet journal. Every time you create your bullet list, you should give priority to the things you want to be done for that day. The daily log cannot contain tasks or events for the next day. You can record your daily logs using a dot for the day’s tasks, an open circle for the day’s events, and a dash for notes.
- Weekly log. Weekly log records your logs for the next seven days. Instead of jotting the tasks daily, you save time by jotting all the tasks for the week. You must remember to give allowance for adjustments. Unexpected things can come up, and they affect you from strictly following your schedule for the week.
- Monthly log. A monthly log includes two main things. It has a list of events on one side and a list of tasks on the next side. These are events and tasks for the month. It is easy to customize the monthly log using the traditional 30 days calendar.
- Future log. A future logo in a custom bullet journal doesn’t mean tasks or events that will come many months away. They could see the events or tasks that will come in two months. You can record them so that you keep remembering and planning for them.
- Index. An index is a list of pages you’ve added to your bullet journal. Each time you add a new page, you must write its description on the index page. The description indicates the page number and its content or what information you have recorded on the page. It is not necessary to add every page. Your indexes will soon be full or make it hard to read. It is better to add only the pages that you need to refer to often.
- Collections
The collection is a bulleted list of the things you want to track. You are not limited to the number of lists you can add such as:
- Goals
- Weight loss tracking
- Books to read
- Weekly/monthly memories
- Meal planner
- Recipes
- Projects to do
- Habit tracker
- Health goals
Tips for using a bullet journal
Whether you are using a printable bullet journal or a digital bullet journal template, here are tips to remember. The tips will help you learn to use and write your lists in the bullet journal.
- Begin by practicing
If you are not used to different bullet journal formats, you can feel confused when you start to use them. Before you start using your digital bullet journal template, make your first journal your practice book. Keep trying different lists and styles. Check the mistakes you make or what works out best for you.
You can also try out using any type of notebook that you find in your house. Once you feel comfortable with entering information and using it, download your digital bullet journal template and start recording your events, goals, tasks, and notes.
- Begin with the basics
You might get confused if you start by recording all your tasks and goals. The best way out is to record the basic tasks/goals. As you get acquainted, keep adding more information.
You may start the first month with the basics and then keep adding from the second month. By about the third month, everything will be easy for you, no matter the volume of information you want to include in your digital bullet journal template.
- Keep the information in your bullet journal simple
You may want to record detailed information about your events, schedules, or lists. Your bullet journal will only look too complicated. The main idea of using a printable bullet journal is to make everything simple. The information is mostly recorded in point form to serve as reminders or records of your achievements. Focus on the purpose of your journal and avoid complex details.
- It is okay to make mistakes
The purpose of using a printable bullet journal is not for perfection but for information. It is okay to make mistakes multiple times. After every mistake, learn, correct, and move on. Some people give up recording information in bullet journals after making several mistakes. The document forms an important part of your life. Keep recording your progress daily.
- Use a pencil
It is okay to use a pen to record, but if you make a mistake, it becomes difficult to erase to make changes. A pencil is more useful when your printable bullet journal layout is more complicated.
- Sketch your ideas before recording them
You may decide to directly record your ideas in the digital bullet journal template. The only challenge is that you might think to adjust, remove or add some ideas after a few hours. You could have a lot of ideas that you want to add. First, use a notebook to sketch them.
List all the ideas that you readily have in your mind and then the others that you get inspired with as you write. You may want to search online for more ideas that can be included in a digital bullet journal template.
Once you are done, arrange the list in priority order. Your final step is to begin recording them in your digital bullet journal template. Break down the lists into daily, weekly, and monthly lists.
Printable Bullet Journals
Benefits of a custom bullet journal
There are different types of bullet journal formats, but they provide the same benefits to users. Anytime you use the different types of bullet journal formats, you get the following benefits.
It is customizable
It is easy to customize a bullet journal. It gives a combination of a diary, daily to-do list, and planning events, and you still get more space for creativity. Any important thing you may think about can be jotted in the custom bullet journal.
- To-do lists
- Not to-do lists
- Ideas for business
- Writing ideas
- Reading lists
- Passwords
- Accounts lists
- Wish lists
- Habit lists etc.
It is easy to set up
A custom bullet journal is easy to set up. Regardless of the bullet journal formats you choose, you need to organize your ideas and start to record them in the bullet journal. You can write texts or use numbers, letters, colors, or whatever thing that will help you keep track of your lists.
It combines everything
You don’t require several books to record your goals. You don’t need a separate book to track your Calories intake, another one for exercise, business goals, and another for your financial budget. Your custom bullet journal contains everything you need. Here are the things you can include in your custom bullet journal.
- Places I want to visit this year
- People I want to meet this year
- My goals for this year
- Must read booklist
- Habits I must drop this year
Helps you create a routine, clarity, and mindfulness
The bullet journal helps you to keep things on track. You can use it to keep referring to your to-do list and tick it whenever you accomplish a task. It helps make your goals clear according to priorities. You become productive because you feel encouraged to move on to the next goal after completing one. It helps you find purpose, and you become more mindful about your life.
It helps you stay organized
It is important to organize your goals to help you stay focused. Every time you record your goals, remember to begin with the daily lists according to priorities. Tick on every complete task so you will only have the to-dos. It helps you to stay organized and to keep focused on your goals.
How do you structure a bullet journal?
It is easy to structure your bullet journal when you have everything that you need ready with you. The journal holds both your short-term and long-term goals. You can customize it by diving into daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly columns or goals. This is how you structure a bullet journal.
Choose the right template
Depending on the items you want to include in your bullet journal, you can choose a simple, moderate, or complex bullet journal. From a wide range of bullet journal formats, select the right color/design. It will help you record your lists with ease.
Create your bullet journal index
An index is a record of the contents of your journal. Each page you add will have a number and specific content. The index will show the page number and title of the content. For example, page 3 of your bullet journal could be titled “The books I must read this year” and then a list of the books. In your index, record the page number and the title.
Create your future log list
You might not have today’s list immediately, but you could have your future lists. Create them on one page. The title of the page should be “My future log” and the list them according to months.
Create your monthly list
Depending on the month you are starting, create a list of the next six months. Go to the next page and starting with the current month, begin to create your lists with the name of the month on top. Your monthly list can record things such as:
- Birthdays
- Projects
- Clients to contact etc.
Create your daily log
On the next page, create your daily log. These are the things that require to be done daily. List them in bullets starting with the current date. You can list things such as:
- Wake uptime
- Dry clean
- Vacuum the floor
- Talk to the vet
- Write an essay, etc.
Personalize your bullet journal
Create symbols of how you will be recording your done and to-do lists. You may choose symbols as follows:
- // = tasks
- S = notes
- T = scheduled tasks
- X = complete tasks
- = events, etc.
Every time you have a new entry, remember to update your index page.
Custom Bullet Journals
List of things you can include in your bullet journal
The first thing you should think about is why you want a bullet journal. Think about the things you want to achieve and how you want the bullet journal to help you achieve them. With that idea, think about the main things that you want to achieve. Under each main idea, list the ideas of lists to include. For example:
You can have main ideas as follows:
- Home
- Blog
- Fun
- Personal
- Work
- Health
Under home, you can list items such as:
- Favorite recipes
- Family chores
- Family budge
- Debts
Under health, think about things such as:
- Weight loss
- Exercise
- Food log
- Things to stop
Under personal, think about things such as:
- Personal goals
- Diary
- Study
- Writing
- Gratitude
- Habit tracking
Under work, think about things such as:
- Meetings
- Business goals
- Work schedules
- Projects
- Managing time
You can think about as many items as possible as long as you are able to keep track and do them. Keep the index updated for ease of reference. After achieving each goal, mark what is to be done to avoid confusing it with undone lists. It helps to keep your bullet organized.
