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Here is some more bullet journal inspiration!
Having a bullet journal really put me back on track!
I love love having a physical planner and have been making my own spreads in (multiple) bullet journals for the last 5 years or so. But in the last few months, I have found myself in the depths of my depression and it made it hard to get anything done; Let alone set up my planner for the week.
This threw everything off track. Without a visual layout of everything I planned to accomplish, I got less done, felt unfulfilled with my work, and didn’t see the point in continuing due to this vast sea of tasks that kept raging towards me. It was just too much!
So, I told myself, “Make a simple layout for September and plan for the entire month! Not just one week at a time.” And so, I did.
Check out my how-to guide on How To Prepare for School (with Anxiety)!
In the past, I have always set up the basics at the beginning of each month, like a habit tracker, and monthly goals. But whenever it came to actually planning my week, I would do it one week at a time. This is extremely inefficient! (At least in my case).
Having everything done in advance makes everything feel so much less stressful. There is already a lot on my plate, the last thing I should be doing is stretching out a task that can be finished in 1 (max 2) day(s).
Recently, I purchased a clear, A5, jelly binder to serve as my new bullet journal. I have standard, bound journals, but they can be a hassle with someone like me who makes plenty of mistakes. Being able to open the rings whenever I want to slip in a new page, or even take one out, very much piqued my interest. It can be a little difficult to write in when the rings get in the way, but after a few weeks of having used this setup, I realize that I like to take the pages out and work on them individually, so this bother doesn’t happen often.
For theme ideas I like to think:
- What color does this month feel like?
- What is the main goal of this month?
Of course, sometimes I just have a cute idea I want to convey, but by giving my planner purpose all the way through, making it through the month feels like an accomplishment in itself.
September makes me think of flowers, a soft gold, and pinks, and I began the initial sketch of my planner with these colors in mind. However, as often happens, my sadness took full control and the bulk of everything was turned different shades of blue. Definitely not my first choice, but you know… I like it!
The main goal that I had in mind for this month was all about this blog. I tried to set things up so I felt encouraged to keep pushing on (even though learning how to do so many new things is quite difficult).
- My September Bullet Journal Cover
- September Breakdown
- Habit Tracker
- Just One Good Thing
- Miscellaneous
- Week 1
- Week 2
- Week 3
- Week 4
- Everything I Used
My September Bullet Journal Cover
![](http://www.doviejakobsen.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/IMG_1110-1024x683.jpg)
I’m not the biggest fan of my cover for this month, but it serves its purpose well. I used 3 different washi tapes, 1 thick and 2 thin, in different shades of blue. Considering that I chose to use the Archer & Olive Kraft Paper, white ink was extremely necessary if I was going to keep the page as bright as possible.
I have quite a few little stickers and cutouts of vintage adverts, and things of the sort, that I would like to incorporate more into my spreads. And because this month is all about working on this blog, I chose a little drawing a person hard at work on their project like I planned I would be this September!
September Breakdown
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As you will notice in the rest of my bullet journal setup, I like to have my week begin with Monday and end with Sunday. This just works better to plan my school week and makes me accomplish more before the weekend (when we all need a break!).
I try to make my breakdown fairly simple by doing a literal outline of the month and then blocking out each day. I label each row with a letter for the day of the week and create a corresponding Key.
Things I often put in my key for the month are:
- Appointment
- Therapy (a specific type of appointment so it gets its own category)
- Exercise (I don’t usually put it to plan in advance more to see at the end of the month how many times it was done)
- Assignment(s) (you can never be too prepared for the next due date)
There are a few more but these almost always make the list.
By making each one a different color I am able to make little dots in said colors to indicate what needs to be done on those days instead of squeezing it in, in tiny writing.
I also added a faint yellow scalloped border for a little more detail.
Habit Tracker
![](http://www.doviejakobsen.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/IMG_1115-1024x683.jpg)
Habit trackers are a must for me. Some months I even make extra pages for a mood tracker, a sleep tracker, and basically anything else that can be tracked. But this month was all about simplicity to get me back on into the habit (haha) of keeping a schedule.
Just like with my September breakdown, I cut pieces of paper into the shape of the month and pasted them onto the page. I tend to usually have 9 trackers. It seems to be the most I can fit without it being too overwhelming to go through each day.
As you can see, I put a yellow border around each tracker with different shades of blue flowers on each corner to incorporate my flower idea.
You may have noticed that in some trackers I have dots, and in others, rings. Well, this is to indicate multiple things.
A dot means that the task has been completed, but I like to fit in multiple accomplishments that don’t have their own dedicated tracker. For example, reading a book. If I didn’t actually read a physical book today, but I read an article online, or a comic book, then I will put a dot to show that I did read. However, if I read a physical book then I will put a ring.
Doing this makes me feel like I am accomplishing things even when I am not reaching my previously assumed goal. Little things like this really help keep me going.
Just One Good Thing
![](http://www.doviejakobsen.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/IMG_1119-1024x683.jpg)
This is a page that my therapist LOVES for me to keep in my bullet journal. You may have guessed based on the heading that this page is to write just ONE good thing that happened every day of the month.
I often find it difficult to find that anything good has happened in my mind. I look back on my week and I remember everything that went wrong as use those things as a timeline to structure the backstory of my life. To avoid this, in a way, I have forced myself to write something good that happens every day. Some days this means writing, “I made it through a very emotionally difficult day.” And that is a great accomplishment in itself!
Using 2 different colors to alternate every day keeps things tidy and easier to look back on at the end of the month. When using just one color it can tend to look like one big paragraph which hurts my eyes.
Miscellaneous
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I always make a (fun) blank page. You never know if there’s something you want to write down or doodle.
More importantly, my therapist often gives me little things to think about when we aren’t in session that I like to keep in my planner. One month, she had asked me to write down every bad thought I had about myself, no matter how small. I wrote them all down on my blank page and we went over it at the end of the month.
Having this page filled with negatives paralleled with my page of only good things made me think a little bit more about my accomplishments.
As for washi tape, I made sure to have at least 1 of each color strip on each page for balance.
Week 1
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Week 1 of my bullet journal, I decided to do straight columns and rows to have 4 boxes on each page. This leaves space for all 7 days of the week and in the very bottom right corner, I keep my weekly goals.
Little strips of white paper helped give the pages more personality.
The round sticker on this page is of a small child rolling dough. I chose this to signify the beginnings of me working towards my goal this month of establishing this very blog that you are reading right now!
Week 2
![](http://www.doviejakobsen.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/IMG_1135-1024x683.jpg)
Week 2 of my bullet journal has a change in design but a similar structure with 4 boxes per page, 7 boxes for the days of the week, and 1 for weekly goals.
As you may have noticed on the previous pages, I used a white Gelly Roll (10) pen to write out each day of the week.
The picture in the bottom right of a small child and a fairly large-looking bunny rabbit was to remind me that even though this week would be hard, I am not alone. Doing new things can be fun and all, but taking on all this new pressure is also super scary.
Week 3
![](http://www.doviejakobsen.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/IMG_1136-1024x683.jpg)
Week 3 of my bullet journal has the same layout as Week 1 (with white boxes in different areas).
The drawing on this page is of two children; One has a large sun hat, a cute dress with a large bow, and an ice cream cone in their hand, while the other is in a swimsuit trying to get some of the ice cream along with their doggy friend.
I chose this to represent my assumption that by week 3 of September I would feel like a little businesswoman taking on the ropes of building my own website.
Week 4
![](http://www.doviejakobsen.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/IMG_1144-1024x683.jpg)
Week 4 of my bullet journal has the same layout as Week 2 but is much shorter considering that this month ends on Thursday. This final photo of a youngster with a box of Ritz was to act as a callback of sorts. During week 1 I used the image of a child baking and working towards a goal. Now, in week 4, the item has been baked and I am able to enjoy some of the fruits of my effort. In this case, that is being able to say that I have my own website! Wooh!
Everything I Used
![](http://www.doviejakobsen.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/61SOnr9bIPL._AC_SL1500_-884x1024.jpg)
These are currently unavailable but there are many like them.
![](http://www.doviejakobsen.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/61vHEOsmljS._AC_SL1500_-934x1024.jpg)
As well, I have a clear glitter A5 gold 6 ring binder. I cannot recall where I got it from but it looks like this.
Don’t forget the use of scissors, a glue stick, tweezers, and lots and lots of patience.
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