This month I decided to do a planet-themed bullet journal set up. I like to use circles in my planner. You might have noticed that if you’ve explored my blog a bit. Feel free to pin any images for later.
Here are some posts relating to using circles in your bullet journal.
I skipped out on a Planet Welcome Page in May and jumped right into a colorful monthly-log style layout for the beginning page of May. Instead of trying to copy planets exactly, I let the watercolor bleed and blend on its own.
Tip: when watercoloring on something other than watercolor pages – even a notebook with thicker pages – it’s always best to go easy on the water. You can’t use the same amount of water as you do on watercolor paper. Otherwise, you’ll start to see the water bleed through. Sot that means you’ll have to work quickly in smaller sections so you can get the paint to blend together.
Monthly Log/Calendar
I have a habit of filling up my monthly calendar with all the things and never looking at it again. Monthly logs don’t allow me to fill it up – not really anyway. With the #stayathome initiative right now, I figured that now is the time to train myself to list only the essentials on my monthly calendar as an overview then use my weekly planner to record all the nitty-gritty details.
I find that if I keep my habit tracker on the same page as my monthly calendar, I refer back to the bigger picture more frequently. That’s a benefit if you’re like me and get lost in the details. So once I add my monthly appointments, I’ll add a circular habit tracker down in the left-hand corner of the page.
Monthly Log – Artwork
Using the idea of layers behind and in front of the band featuring dates/days, I used my favorite circle drawing tool – the helix circle maker to create several different sizes of circles. Then watercolored them in various shades.
No Matter Which Notebook I use – You’ll Always Find These Supplies Close at Hand
For this planet-themed bullet journal set up, I decided to use a lot of bright colors and fun, wiggly lines outlining the planets. I used artistic interpretation of planets and used inspiration from our own solar system, but created a few of my own.
Tip: If your artwork doesn’t look realistic, it’s ok! Add black outlines (maybe two or three!) around each planet and turn your artwork into a whimsical peice. It creates a style all its own and doesn’t require realism.
The inspiration for creating the outlines around the planets came directly from my ‘floral wreaths’ post. It creates an enjoyable, whimsical, playful style. I’d expect to see it in a children’s book or as a children’s room art piece.
You can check out the floral wreaths post here:
May Weeklies – Continuing the Space/Planet Theme
Week 1 – Planet-Themed Bullet Journal Layout
Each week has its unique feel, but they are all cohesive due to the style. The first week has six planets laid out along the centerline of the page. If you used this design, the week’s tasks & daily agenda could be logged at either the top, the bottom, or vary back and forth if you wanted.
Underlying Design
This design is the underlying layout for nearly all of my weeklies in April. You can see that I continued it into May. The basic design is the same, but the graphics are very different.
Week 2 – Sunburst or Orange – You Decide
The 2nd week, my little girl told me it looked more like an orange. I intended it to look like the sun with solar flares or sun-rays. But since I sectioned off the center part for the days, it does look more like an orange. You can be the judge of which one it is.
By the way, if you want to know how to break down a circle into (relatively) equal parts, visit this post.
Weeks 3 & 4
The third & fourth weeks use a horizontal layout similar to the bike layout from April. I LOVE the look of the spaceship and multi-colored stars. The inspiration for the balloon-planets comes from a t-shirt I bought my husband. The colors and stripes of the planets are so bright and cheery. It makes me happy.
Final Planet Themed Page in my Bullet Journal for May – Brain Dump Page
The last page for the month is my brain dump page. I don’t always call it ‘brain dump’ – in fact, I came up with 150+ different names for brain dump (and have come up with more since then) so check out that post if you’re looking for an alternative to the term’ brain dump’.
My brain dump is the catch-all page for thoughts that don’t fit nicely into my schedule or weekly plans. It’s the place that holds my ideas and concerns and makes me feel like a human once I’ve dumped all the wandering thoughts from my brain onto paper. If you don’t have a brain dump page, I recommend keeping one. Don’t be shy about what you write in it. Believe me, this page will not be pretty once the month is through.
Pro Tip: review your brain dump pages monthly or quarterly – you may find gold nuggets of recorded but forgotten ideas nestled on those pages.
Weekly Tasks
For a couple of months, I drew in a running list of tasks for the week/month. But then I came up with the idea of printing them out and attaching my weekly task list with cute washi tape to each week’s plans. The reason why bullet journaling works so well for me is that I write everything down by hand. If I have it pre-printed or even scheduled on my google calendar, I tend to give the task lower priority than if I write it down with a pen.
So I’ve learned to write down only the tasks that need to be completed for the week; otherwise, I get overwhelmed & don’t follow through. It’s a delicate balance of prioritizing tasks and ignoring them completely.
Planning for the Week – The Process
Before the week’s start, I’ll sit down for a few minutes and assign out the various tasks to a particular day by adding a dot to the day I think I should do the chore. The day I get it finished, I will checkmark it off. Some tasks are assigned to multiple days, others a single day. It’s my way of migrating tasks – if I see no checkmark, the job is not done.
Each night I’ll review & plan for the next day, adjusting as needed. Check out this post for 2 things to do every night to have smoother days.
I Hope You’re Inspired to Add Some Whimsy to Your Days on Earth
I hope my inter-galactic planner adventure for May (aka planet-themed bullet journal set up) gives you some ideas on increasing your productivity and lightening up your days with some fun, whimsical artwork as well.
Let me know if you use any ideas – I’d love to see them tag me on Instagram. Be sure to pin them for later! I’d like a comment below if you try any productivity tips or use the doodle ideas. I’d enjoy finding out what works for you!
Want More Planner & Bullet Journal Inspiration?
No Matter Which Notebook I use – You’ll Always Find These Supplies Close at Hand
