MY BULLET JOURNAL SYSTEM – AND HOW IT’S WORKS FOR ME

I always needed a calendar, because my memory is terrible. Honestly, this is one of my weakest points. So I should write down everything, not to forget. But previously (before bullet journaling) I wrote everything in different post-its and papers. And of course, I usually lost them before use or I forgot where that information is actually. So my first and most important rule is:

1) WRITE EVERYTHING IN ONE BOOK. This will be your bullet journal. So first of all, you should choose an empty book. Only one. (Later you can use more, if you want) This book should be NICE, because you will see it every day and STRONG because you will use it very often. Someone like dotted pages, other ones prefers blank, but my journals are lined. You should choose what fits for your writing style. (If you draw a lot and you like messy-artistic pages maybe blank is the best for you. For freedom and string together, you should try dotted pages. And if the biggest pleasure for you is writing, you will enjoy the ruled ones.)

my last and actual bullet journal books

Ok. But how could I organize all the things I need? I use the basic bullet journal system with my specifications.

2) NUMBERED THE PAGES. This is really boring, but basically important. Because, with numbered pages you will find everything and you can make a system.

3) MAKE A SYSTEM. Yes, you need to create your own system. Sorry. But my system fits for me, yours will works for you. But don’t worry, I will show you mine as an example. And you can improve mine or make a completely different. 

One thing matters:  IT SHOULD BE EVIDENT AND NATURAL FOR YOU. 

My system has two big parts: collections and planners. In the original “bullet journal” system, these two parts are not separate, you can put your collection pages between your planner pages. But this is too messy for me. (Hello perfectionism!) I like to put the same things in the same place. So I have a big “collections “part before all my planners. 

In collections you can make any pages you need. To be structured I organize them in different ‘small parts’.  In this way I can find everything fast and I am absolutely more productive. For example, when I fulfil my ‘total monthly expenses’, I can check my ‘total incomes’ too. Or I see my ‘happy box’, next to my ‘sadness solutions’. And when I put a movie on my ‘should watch’ list, I can also track the series episodes I’ve already watched.

My small parts are:

- BASIC INFOS: here comes KEYS, RETURN page (with my address, in case I lost my book) INDEX and USEFUL in which I collect all the codes, phone numbers and most important and basic info I need. 

BASIC and YEARLY parts

This is my 'KEYS' page (these are mostly used in monthlies and planners):

keys and codes I use

- YEARLY THINGS: here is my BUCKET LIST including my yearly goals, my coloured yearly MOOD TRACKER, my LADY TIME TRACKER and an average WISHLIST.

Bucket list and yearly mood tracker

- BUDGET PART is very important for me. Before bullet journaling I couldn’t control my finances. I didn’t know exactly for what we spend the most of our money. So I made a very detailed system to check our expenses and incomes and put them to different categories to summarize and find sequences. After I saw the actual routines I can break some of our bad habits and it helped us to control and plan our finances.

 

In this ‘budget part’ I summarize and collect monthly data in different categories: monthly INCOMES and EXPENSES, track our BILLS, LOANS and DEBITS, collect the important tasks and data about our CARS and FLAT, and I also follow my ONLINE SHOPPING here. I have a page about our entertaining cost (like parties, eat-outs or journeys) called ‘PAY FOR FUN’ and an idea page: ’BUY &SELL’ about how I can make money to sell our unused things and what the ‘big buys’ we should plan in the near future.

I track our bills here

- FUN PART includes all about my recreation activities and hobbies. 

I put here all the BOOKS I actually read or I should read, MOVIES and SERIES I am watching or I should try.

The THEATER plays I have seen and all the performances, courses and any of cultural occasions I am took part. I put here the things I’d like to get know better as a WEBSPLORE (= should explore in webJ), and all the places I’d like to visit on my WANDERLUST page. I also write down here my journaling ideas – because I already learned: If you don’t write it down, you will forget!

- HOUSEHOLD PART. I have three little son, so my home is a war scene all the time and I fight against the clutter and mess. In this part I can track my tasks and the fights I won. 

 

I have a yearly cleaning plan HOUSEHOLD CHORES and CLEANING TRACKERS, a lot of tasks on my to do lists, like FIX IT, HOUSE TO DO and some pages about basic and important info, which belongs to my household too, like our PETS and our garden (PLANTING PLANNER). And some useful master lists, as WHAT SHOULD I COOK? and a MASTER SHOPPING LIST.

my yearly cleaning tracker

- KIDS PART. Here comes everything about my sons.

Here are their actual “MILESTONES” and their favourite MOVIES and BOOKS to remember. 

And some useful info about their day nursery, and all of their sicknesses and the pills they took in the SICKLIST page. And some pages for and about fun with them e.g. why I LOVE THEM so much, where were we together, which family trips and adventures we have – all in a big doodled-colouring mega tracker in my PLAYTIME TRACKERS. 

And finally a good play for me: I count my successes and how I take care of my sons in a PARENTRIS game.

- ME PART. The last part is about me. Pages about my thoughts, my feeling, my wishes. It is very important to know myself better and also it is a fun too. Here is everything about my mental and physical health, my personal goals and develops.

My second big part is the ‘PLANNER PART’. I use the basic bullet journal system.

First I have a FUTURE LOG – here are my yearly date-specific things events and tasks together, like in a normal calendar.

Then I collect all of the important BIRTHDAYS and EVENTS.

And I also have a RUNNING LIST and MUST DONE list about non-date-specific, but very important tasks.

These COLLECTION things above are predetermined in my journal. When I start a new bullet journal book, first I decided which pages I need, and then I range them into groups. These groups will be my small parts like BUDGET PART, KIDS PART etc. Then I assign their exact place and pages and mark them on the top of the page and write down their titles in my index (with pencil). When I have time and feel like doing them, I settled them the predetermined place. After I made a page I write its final title in the index with ink, and fulfil and perfect it during I use that book.

So I don’t do everything previously, just make a shell and a sculpture of my book before use, to be evident and logic to me. These pages are for long-term use, so they often change and modulate during the actual usage and they mostly get their final shape after I finished that book.

My other big part included my MONTHLY PLANNERS. These ‘monthlies’ I set up in the end of the previous month. All of the actual and short term things belong to here. Next time I will show you my well-structured MONTHLY LOG – and how my monthly set up works and look like. Click here to read it.

*these photos above are all from my bullet journal books, these pages I made myself, if you share please ask me before: createmysunhine@gmail.com.

** you can find more pics from my journals here: https://www.instagram.com/createmysunshine/