Art Journal Every Day: Bullet Journaling - Part 1

If you're new to Art Journal Every Day, there is a short introduction here.  All of the previous posts can be found archived here.  Remember, it's just ten minutes of nourishing your creative self every day!  No need to finish anything or even like it. If you've done some art journaling this week, use the hashtag #artjournaleveryday so that we can all take a peek.  Even if you're not on social media, you can see everything (from twitter, pinterest, instagram, and facebook) that uses that hashtag here. 

I have fallen in love with Bullet Journaling.  I am obsessed.  Obsessed!

What is Bullet Journaling?  I'm so glad that you asked!  A while ago I posted a link to the article that got me excited about it.  

I thought Bullet Journaling and all those fancy planners were incredibly stupid:

• Why would I do that when I use Google Calendar?!  Well, I still use Google Calendar, but I use my BuJo (Bullet Journal) for nitty gritty planning.  This will become more clear later in this post.
• Why would I spend all that time making a pretty planner? Isn't it supposed to be practical?!  My bad, it is practical and the pretty comes later!  (Or not at all.)
• Would I ever really use a paper planner?!  As it turns out, absolutely yes!  Every single day!  I have always written notes and to dos down on pieces of paper that litter my life.  My Bullet Journal is the perfect receptacle for all those lists and notes.  I no longer have to search high and low for, "that piece of paper I just had in my hand."

Today I'm going to share the basic concept behind the way I do my weekly spread -- the heart of my Bullet Journal:

• I use a dot grid notebook.
• I use my own version of a "time ladder" organizational system.  A time ladder is usually a vertical organization of your day, broken down by hours.  That concept doesn't quite work for me, so I use a ladder broken up into morning, afternoon, evening, and notable.  As a freelancer, this really helps me organize my work day.  This has been quite a revelation and really made me more productive.
• I draw out the grid for each week:

• To make my life easier, I have a little tag where I wrote down the formula for my weekly spread:

All I need to do is count the dots (that's what the numbers represent) and then draw a line.

• After drawing the grid, I fill in the basics (dates and appointments) for the week with a black pen:

• I use a red pen for to-dos:

• I don't necessarily fill in all the to-dos for the week at once.  I put "big picture" to-dos in the area at the top of the page.  And then often, the night before, I fill in the to-dos for the next day.  
• The time ladder allows me to see what "free time" I have in a given day to get stuff done.
• I use the classic Bullet Journaling system for marking to-dos:
  • All tasks are marked with a bullet.
  • Migrated tasks -- tasks that did not get accomplished -- are marked with an arrow (with the original bullet point incorporated as the arrow) indicating that they have been moved to another day.
  • Completed tasks are "x-ed" out, with the with original bullet point incorporated into the center of the "x."

• As the week goes on, I'll use a blue pen to write in any personal notes or reflections.  In this way, my Bullet Journal becomes a memory tool.

• Once the week is over, I'll add in quotes and decorations.  Not right away.  Instead, I treat the empty spaces in my Bullet Journal Weekly Spread as doodle opportunities.  I simply add bits of color and pattern as I have time.

A Bullet Journal is so much more than a Weekly Spread (and I will share more soon), but the Weekly Spread is definitely my favorite part of it.

Do you Bullet Journal?

Thanks for stopping by!