Begin Your Bullet Journal – Don’t be Afraid to Start

May 24, 2018 6 Comments

If I could open up a drawer of all planners past, there would be an excellent collection. You’d find all different kinds of planners. I tried them, and I didn’t use them. I liked the idea of them, but then I’d neglect them for a month or so and have all these blank pages in the middle of my book. Then I faced a with a problem. Do I tear out the pages? Do I leave them blank? Usually, I would abandon the planner altogether. I found the bullet journal system and haven’t looked back. Here’s my advice to you as you begin your bullet journal.

Bullet Journaling is Versatile

Starting a bullet journal can be daunting and overwhelming. Maybe you’ve thought these before:

Where do I start? (If you haven’t watched video on the original Bullet Journal by Ryder Carroll here’s the link begin here, so you understand bullet journaling’s foundation)
What should I include?
I’d like all the collections, but what do I do with them? Where do I start?
Everyone has pretty lettering and how do I get that?
I need all the fancy on my pages.

The critical thing to know is that your bullet journal will morph with you. If you need to track appointments, start with a Future Planner of some kind, a Monthly Log or Monthly Calendar and a Weekly log. That’s it! Once you are comfortable with your journal, that’s when you start customizing. My journal has morphed into an art journal/art therapy notebook. MommaBearLife.com explains this concept in her blog post. Check it out!

Future Log: 1 month to a page - large goal planning areas & space for lots of to-dos

Recap: Where to Start:

Future Log – somewhere to put future appointments and plans
Monthly Calendar / Log – overview of the month
Weekly Log – if you don’t know how much you need, start here, if you have a lot to plan or keep track of on a daily basis, switch out with a daily log, you can also use the space to write a journal entry

Minimal monthly welcome page wreath with calendar

Begin Your Bullet Journal: Follow a Set Format to Start

Begin your bullet journal with the basics. Start with your monthly calendar in a log format which is simple, straightforward and easy. Start with weeklies and work in dailies if you need them. Find a simple, easy-to-create format for your beginning weeklies. Set aside 2-5 minutes every day to plan your day or the following day to make it a habit. Eventually, you’ll become comfortable with the style of a bullet journal and morph it into your own personal style.

I don’t have a lot of plans per se in the day both when I was beginning a bullet journal and even today. There are things I to do, but I don’t have an exorbitant amount of appointments I need to meet and tasks done weekly, rarely on a set day. So using weeklies has been my go-to planning style. If you are a lot busier and have tasks that need to get done on a specific day, use a daily log, either one page or part of a page for each day when setting up your bullet journal. If you use dailies, the needed space will expand and compress based on the day.

My Inspiration

I started watching planning videos with Alexis at strangecharmed.com and found my way over to Kara at Bohoberry.com. Clark Kegley and his method of journaling also profoundly influenced me. Quickly adapting many ideas from these inspirational entrepreneurs and others and created a style to fit my needs. I started my own YouTube channel, and I love going through the planning process with you! Follow me on YouTube. To inspire you, I have a new series in the works creating headers for collections and other pages, and I am very excited to share it with you! Follow along!

Need to Track Something Instead of Appointments?

Ani over at TheAniKay.com said that she started slow – with just an exercise tracker. Then eventually added more things in, she’s recently switched to a digital planner, and I love seeing the evolution of her planning journey.

My very first and most important recommendation if you are considering bullet journaling – choose the most important thing to track for you and track it. Need to track appointments? Start with a weekly or monthly calendar and add the dates there. If your goal is to lose weight – by all means jot it down! Start with that and add the other stuff in later.

We Manage What We Monitor - handlettered quote #change #habits #handletter #quote #handlettered

Unfinished Projects Bullet Journal Spread

Creative Outlet

In desperate need of a creative outlet? Choose a drawing or doodling challenge, map out a week at a time with seven boxes and doodle one thing every day. Start small. Do not try to do everything at once and do not expect perfection. My bullet journals have at least one mistake per spread, and it’s one thing I’ve learned to accept. Sometimes a whole spread, but the benefits to me of this little book for me outweigh any mistake. Begin your bullet journal adventure without a lot of frills, and begin your bullet journal for you.

Who I am & what I like to do, a definition of me, Bullet journal Collection

Collections

My VERY FAVORITE thing to track in my bullet journal are collections. Collections in your bullet journal are where you can get into a lot of fun. These are things that are uniquely you. Books read, books to read, movies watched, movies to watch. Oh, the possibilities are endless (my ultimate personal favorite is my 10-minute task list). But here’s the deal: Don’t start with everything.

My collections have come out of need. Check out AsARye.com and her array of collections starting the year. Take ideas from sources and turn them into something that works just for you. By the way, I recommend crediting anyone who you reference, they will love it for one thing, and it’s just nice.

Random thoughts and great ideas bullet journal spread idea tracker brain dump

What if You Don’t Want to Mix Them?

So then there’s the age-old question of ‘I don’t want my collections mixed in with my monthly and weeklies – where do I put them?’ A simple answer for me is in the back of the book. One idea is to start on the back page and worked forward, so your planner and your collections meet in the middle.

In March, I started a separate book for my long-term collections and enjoy it. But that is because my journal has evolved with me, don’t try to start too much all at once. Beginning a bullet journal is an ongoing process, it is not going to all happen at once.

Moving to a New Bullet Journal - in the middle of a year

All the Fancy – Begin your Bullet Journal Simply – the Fancy Will Come

There are gorgeous spreads out there, some that are jaw-dropping. I can tell you, mine did not start out that way, and not all of mine end up picture ready (I have quite a few planner-fails under my belt). The pretty lettering and the gorgeous spreads took time; I had to get used to planning out my days before I could use bullet journaling as a hobby. And it took lots of time and lots of practice.

Though I have studied fonts and writing styles for nearly my whole life, I still forced myself to learn the fundamentals of brush lettering so I could make the ‘pretty’ letters on my own. It’s still developing, and I know this: it won’t come overnight, and it will require time, effort and patience.

November Called for Structure

I love the bullet journaling system’s versatility, and you can make it adapt to your needs. For a while, I needed a very structured week/month – see November – Plan with me. I had a theme – it was 12×12 boxes. Really. That was my November theme.

Whimsy Defined December

December was all about free-flowing spreads; there were lots of sketches, lots of open spaces. December was A Christmas Story-themed.

January Used the Best of Both (in my opinion)

My yearly theme is Grow. I fully intended to do flowers and other growing items like leaves all the way through, but sometimes you have to go with what comes to you. That’s my tip now. Don’t try to force it. January’s theme was all about transportation. But I used essential elements from both November and December to have structure and art. Each page uniquely reflected a new mode of transportation. I tried out new ways of creating as well. (Watercolor with markers? Yes. – I show you how I do it on my YouTube Channel). I think the combination of November’s function and December’s form created a cohesive feel that met both my planning and my artistic needs.

January Review - Whats Changing in my Bullet Journal next month

The point is when you begin your bullet journal, it seems scary but if you start with my recommendations of a future log, monthly calendar, and weekly log and then the pages won’t stay blank for long, and soon you’ll find a unique style that fits you. In the meantime, you are welcome to use any inspiration you need from me.

February

The second month of the year tried too many things, and it flopped. Many of these tried-and-not-yet-true details didn’t even make it to the blog (yet), but I learned a lot from them. I hope to revisit some of the ideas, tone them down, and use them later.

March Gave Birth to Two New Journals & April started a Color-Trend

As mentioned above, in March I separated my planning journal from my long-term collections journal. At the rate I was going, I’d start a new journal every six months. The books in my bookcase tracker would hardly have enough time to gather dust before I flipped to a new book!

Hoping to slow the speed at which I flew through the pages in my notebooks, all long-term collections claimed a new house; I have to say, I like it. In April, I started color-coordinating my designs. It developed into a whole Pinterest board (one of my very favorites), and I love it.

April Monthly Plan With Me, I limited my color palette to create a greater stretch of creativity. Love the results! The circular April Monthly will be available in the Chocolatemusings.com shop!

Condensed May + Traveler’s Notebook

Conserving more space (because I didn’t need it), May’s spreads took up all of 10 pages, two of which are welcome pages. Two weeks to a spread works well for my free-spirited summer-itis. Keeping a condensed version of my standard planning style keeps me in the habit of planning and journaling and keeps my conscious guilt-free as I’m not leaving blank pages or too much empty space.

June has a few month-related collections, but the planning is very minimal. That’s what happens in the summer, and I am pleased because I know that when I need more planning space, I add it back into this little notebook and when I don’t need as much space, I consolidate.

May Monthly Layouts & welcome pages - ombre watercolor fades using Crayola Markers - Plan With Me

Sometimes I want to have a template and print it rather than creating it over and over. That’s where my traveler’s notebook came into play. I built one for about $12 and use it for collections or lists and change them out regularly. Over the last couple of months, I’ve used my Alphabet inspiration booklet insert to create new typefaces and practice styles. It’s available in my shop!

What’s the point?

The point is this little system is entirely up to you. Do what suits you best, find your style, experiment, let yourself have fun and know you can change it. Don’t get so stuck on making it perfect or doing too much. The evolution of my first bullet journal to now is eye-opening and utterly fantastic. The bullet journal notebook is the first planner I’ve fully completed, and I look forward to creating many more. I hope you bite the bullet and begin it.

The ultimate point is to begin your bullet journal and put aside your fears of starting. I promise the hardest thing is to make that first mark in your book. Once you do that, you’ll never look back, or maybe you will, and smile because it’s a grand adventure.

Remember to plan your life, so you live beautifully.

~Tricia

From Drab to Fab #2 Finishing off the Fancy Title – Part 2

May 20, 2018 3 Comments

Now What?

In the earlier drab-to-fab headers post, I showed you how to create a header for a page – I use my fancy headers like this on collection pages where I might spend a little more time creating the page because I will refer back to it time and time again. The header looked great ‘as is’ but outlining around the edges of the text is another fun way to enhance the look of the header. Now we will create a border for the header.

Read the original post – “Have 10 Minutes?” 10-Minute task list, clear your mind and the clutter.

Create a Border for the Header

You could call it good. And it would be good! I decided to go a bit further and outline the outline of the text – essentially creating a border for the header. I had all the swirls and flourishes in place – so I knew where the edges were.

Step 1: Outline

To create this outline, don’t worry about all the nooks and crannies of the text, just stay an equal distance away from the edges of the design or text.

Step 2: Blend in a Shadow

After I did that, I wanted some edges on the outline so I could color it in almost as a shadow – but with the same blended technique used on the number 10. I did this just to add more color because the blue blended so beautifully together. So I added more lines along the bottom and the right sides of the outline. Then I added more and more outlines for more depth. I’ll use these lines to know when to start the color blends.

The darkest blend will be the closest to the outline in this case since that is where the darkest part of the shadow is. But you will still start with the lightest color on the outside then blend darker and darker.

Finishing off the Page:

Sub-Headers & Mind-Maps & Task Items

Sort the 10-Minute Tasks into categories by location and create headers for the categories. For my collection, I laid this out mind-map style (start in the middle with the main item, then sub-items expand out, then add list items beyond the sub-headers). I like this method because no one sub-header has more importance than other headers so I don’t neglect the tasks listed at the bottom and only do the items at the top.

I am practicing a new all-caps font so it was a perfect opportunity to do some extra practicing. If you look closely, you can see that I needed to move a couple of tasks. Whiteout tape is a good source for quickly masking mistakes.

So there you go! Please let me know what you think and what you do to dress up your collection pages.

Remember to plan your life so you live beautifully and don’t be afraid to find your inner muse.

~Tricia

Save this layout to Pinterest for later – while you are at it, follow me on Pinterest for more inspiration!

Follow @ChocolateMusingsCreates

Creating Circles in Your Bullet Journal

May 3, 2018 5 Comments

How to Create Circles in your Bullet Journal

Creating Circles in your Bullet Journal: There are lots of ways to use circles in your journal. I have experimented with a few ways to do it. I have several tools that I’ve purchased (most are very inexpensive – as they’re usually intended for school-aged children). So creating the circles is one thing, but getting the spacing even is another thing. My favorite tool for measuring circles is the Helix tool – because it has each degree marked on the outside so once you have your calculations, just find the number and make your marks.

Creating Circles in your Bullet Journal

Do me a favor – click on the little red ‘subscribe’ button in the video. I’d appreciate it.

How I use Circles in My Pages

Here are some ways I have used circles in my bullet journal: Weekly logs, Accents for pages, I use it in my Gratitude Log, & Level 10 life my January 2018 Habit Tracker has one of my very favorite circular trackers. I am sure there are hundreds of other ways to use circles. All of my pages for April have a circle theme.

They add some fun to the layout. I know, it’s tricky creating them and getting the spacing right. Keep reading for the tools I use and the calculations to create the circles. I’ve created a circle measurement guide that you can print and keep in your bullet journal for reference. I am working on a printable for those who want to print, stick and go too!

Ready to include some circles? Here are some calculations and some examples to use:

Some Basic Knowledge:

A circle is made of 360 points or degrees, so you take the number of sections you want and divide that into 360.

To Divide by 7:

360 / 7 = 51.42…… well that’s not going to divide evenly. So now it’s time to get creative.

You could do 51 degrees for each – it will be a little harder to measure – so turn your wheel carefully.
Using the Helix: make a mark at 0, 51, 102, 153, 204, 255, & 306 the last will be just a little bigger than the rest, but it’s tiny.
You could do 50 degrees for each and have a little sliver left over – that’s what I did for the penny farthing bike in January.

To Divide by 6:

360 / 6 = 60

Layout Idea: Combine the weekend into one segment.
If you wanted everything even and are ok with a combined weekend, that works out.
You’d make your marks at 0, 60, 120, 180, 240 & 300.

To Divide by 5:

360 / 5 = 72

Layout Idea: use it ONLY for weekdays and leave the weekend for another location) this makes it a little more complicated, but it’s even!
Make your marks at 0, 72, 144, 216, 288.

To Divide by 4:

You’re now dividing into quarters – 360 / 4 = 90

Ideas for this layout: To-Dos, create two circles one with 3 and one with 4 for the week, or two with 4 and have a meal planner
Make your marks at 0, 90, 180, & 270.

To Divide by 3:

360 / 3 = 120

Layout Idea: You could have two sets of circles for the week and combine the weekend
Make your marks at 0, 120, & 240

Other Ideas:

Another idea is to create 7 circles, one for each day and split them in half for to-dos, appointments & meal planning or split it into 3’s. I used one like this for a weekly spread. I liked it! It was different than normal.

Here is one other idea – divide by 12. Think I’m crazy? It turns into a clock. An inner circle is the AM, and the outer circle is PM.

360 / 12 = 30

Make your marks at 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210, 240, 270, 300, & 330.

Multi-Layered Circles for Tracking

Now I’ve opened up a whole other realm. I will do another post about making multi-layered circles for habit tracking and mood tracking – just like the mood tracker in January.

Want a quick measurement guide for making circles? I created one for you.

Save this to your Pinterest board you’ll want it for when you create circles in your own bullet journal. Who knew you’d be reaching back to the time you were in grade school and doing math? I guess those teachers were right. You would use math every day. Well, at least when you need to count out those dots and measure circles in your bullet journal.

How to Turn a Ring Planner into a Traveler’s Notebook for $12

April 15, 2018 3 Comments

Traveler’s Notebook

So, I did a thing. I’ve wanted a Traveler’s Notebook ever since Kara from BohoBerry.com introduced them on her channel. If I logged my hours looking at different options, well, I don’t even want to know how much time I’ve spent. That’s why I didn’t record my hours. (Watch the video on her channel here).

I could never convince myself to just to buy one, without testing it out to see if I liked it. I create my own pages sometimes, and especially for my blog, it is easier to use printed templates than it is to recreate it every time (trackers which are big and cumbersome on a page).

Separation of the Journals

This month, I separated my long-term collections from my planning journal so I could keep the collections for a more extended period and hopefully stretch out the planner journal longer too. (Read the post here.) But how great would it be to have a financial planner insert, current travels insert, maybe an art journal or a doodle calendar insert?

I had pushed aside the thoughts of buying a traveler’s notebook and thought I was past it. Until we ran some errands today and stopped at Hobby Lobby. That store and Michael’s are the bain of many well-crafted financial spread trackers. I wandered down the tote aisle, and I found a planner tote. Had it been black and white, I would have bought it. I thought I was safe, but then I turned around.

But it Has Rings!

Then I found a planner (with rings) that was on clearance for $10 when it was usually $40. Remembering a video that I had seen a while back from Alexis (strangecharmed.com) on how she removed the rings from a binder and used it for her disc-bound system. Even though it’s a how-not-to video, I followed what she did, and it was perfect. (Watch that video here.)

The Process Before & After

Alexis’ process of removing the rings worked perfectly. I didn’t even have to hammer as she did (probably because my planner was more cheaply made than hers). I didn’t have the little discs on the outside, but they were glued on the inside to some cardboard. They were quickly removed with a pair of pliers.

Once the rings were removed, I still needed to thread the elastics through. I thought about poking a hole through the outside and feeding the elastics through those holes (and it would have been easier if the holes went all the way through the cover). But I didn’t want to poke holes if they weren’t already there.

How I Threaded the Cord Through

This is where it got a little complicated. I measured the cords (and actually measured them way too long to start). There needed to be a way for the ties to go through one hole and out the other. I found some bamboo skewers in my kitchen drawer with a pointy end and fed it through the hole.

Well, that worked, but how do I get the laces through? I tried to tape them to the skewer. The tape came free in the middle while I was lacing it. Again, hubby to the rescue! He got a tiny drill bit and drilled a hole through one of the skewers so I could thread the stick like a needle. It worked perfectly.

Now for the Rest

So I pushed the skewer through the slots again and pulled the cord through. Yes! I had one elastic for my notebook. Well, I tend to go over the top with everything I do. I wanted 6 inserts because I’m crazy. I tried the needle trick again, but it got stuck in the wrong place! Hubby suggested I tie the one already pulled through to the others and just drag them. It wasn’t the prettiest solution (the knot was too big), but it worked.

Tie It Off

After consulting my friend, Patti, (asarye.com) who has a ‘real’ traveler’s notebook (by the way it is GORGEOUS check it out) on how tight the bands were, I tied them off and added my journals. For $12 and a little finagling, I think it worked out great! I love the black and white stripes on the outside and the polka dot on the inside.

How I’ll Use It

I added one A5 notebook to the inside. I could comfortably fit two notebooks (without any inserts) if I wanted. Or I could just have one journal and {up to} 5 inserts. It looks like I’m going to have to get designing some inserts! One other amazing thing about this cover is now I can take my journals from Ampersand By Kiki B out and about with me – they will be all snug in their cute, striped cover.

The Result

I am super thrilled with the way this turned out. Loosening those top ‘buttons’ I thought was going to be the hardest thing, but that turned out pretty easy with the mini-screwdriver. Hubby was a fantastic help and threading the laces through using the skewer was such a good idea!

My only concern is that the inside will tear as the bands are slightly tugged on, I will have to think about that!

Question:

When you’ve said ‘I did a thing’ what did you do?

If you’ve bought a traveler’s notebook – where did you find yours?

Remember to plan your life so you live beautifully and don’t be afraid to try something new and find your inner muse.

~Tricia

Save this layout to Pinterest for later – while you are at it, follow me on Pinterest for more inspiration!

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Supplies Used:

I found the cover and elastics at Michaels for about $12 and I had the other tools at home.

From Drab to Fab #1 – Headers, Calligraphy & Outlines – How to Make Fancy Headers Part 1

April 12, 2018 3 Comments

Turn a Drab-Looking Collection into Something Fabulous by Adding a Fancy Header

I love to make pretty headers for my bullet journal. Here’s a guide to dress-up your collection. Organizing the information in the journal is another way to make it pretty. I like lists, but I also enjoy variety (thus a huge reason why I like bullet journaling – I can change things up every single day for variety). Here are some ways to make your lists ‘pretty’ or just change-up the format.

But I also know that another key part to refer back to information is to make it look amazing. Making fabulous headers is a very easy way to dress up the page – especially if a majority of the content is a list. I realize that a lot of lists are day-to-day tasks compiled on Daily Spreads or Weekly Layouts. Not every list needs a fancy header. Personally, I just list those out and check them off when done. Because the next day or the next week, I turn the page and rarely refer back to that page again.

A Collection is Different

A collection is something that you’ll probably refer back to time and time again and probably won’t be recreated regularly. These are the ideal page to dress up the titles and organize your lists into unique spreads. A collection is a little more special than a calendar spread. So it can look a little more special.

Side note: I have (for over a year) kept my collections intermingled with my weeklies and monthlies. Since starting my new journals, I have a planning journal and a permanent collections journal and I love it!

10-Minute Collection – Title

I created the “Have 10 Minutes?” collection page in my Bullet Journal on a whim. I started making a list in Google Keep on my phone (you can read the post here and a follow-up here) but then I decided to move the content over to my collections in my Bullet Journal because I knew I would use (more) it if I wrote it down.

My ideas are best started in pencil. Just like a rough draft when writing a paper, the pencil provides a good outline, but you can change it easily as the ideas develop and progress.

Ways I Dressed Up the 10-Minute Collection:

Title – added a fancy-schmancy title with blended colors outlines and swirly-twirly flourished fonts
Sub-Titles – separate sub-titles for each area of my room help organize the page
Organized Lists – Classify each item and list them under the correct sub-title
Mind-Map Layout – Change up the layout – the title doesn’t have to be at the top. Put the title in the middle of the page and spread the sub-categories out and around the title.
Uniform Font List – use a uniform font to write out all the items in the collection

Dressing Up the Title:

The Number

Starting with the number – I wanted that to be big and bold but have a unique look. I looked through my font list on my computer and chose Algerian. I think this is a pretty standard font on most computers. If not – you can find it on fontsgeek.com or myfonts.com or a variety of other font websites. I chose this font because it was thick in parts, thin in others, I liked the flip on the 1 (the serif) and the line on the right side kind of like a shadow.

I sketched out the number and made it bolder than the referenced font so I could blend colors from lightest at the top to darkest at the bottom and have more space to color it in.

Tip: draw inspiration from fonts, but if your font doesn’t look exactly like what you see – now it’s yours.

Blending Colors

Start with the lightest color as the base when blending. Then add the next darker color slightly overlapping the lighter color and so on. I added black to the bottom in this case. Use the lighter color to smooth the edges. Then use the colorless blender or a water pen to further even-out the color. Don’t blend too much or you might make the paper pill.

Tip: Blending colors can sometimes make messy edges on the outside. Outlining the text after blending can ‘clean up’ the lines or disguise uneven edges.

Finishing the Blending

I find that I when I use the next lighter color to blend – it ends up looking more even. But sometimes you need to use the colorless blender to smooth out the edges. The blending marker I have has a stained tip, but if you clean it after each use (just rub it along some paper until it goes clear) it will be fine. I have noticed that the tips of the lighter colors will stain, but that doesn’t matter.

Flourished Text

After sketching the number, I wrote the text in script font. But I didn’t add all the flourishes. I wanted the word ‘have’ to mingle in and out of the numbers – so I could rearrange the text to adjust placement. Once I liked the layout, I added the flourishes with a pencil. After working through the flourishes, I added the thick and thin lines of the text.

Normally I’d have used a brush pen to make the thick and thin lines, but I decided to use a mono pen and thicken the lines on the downstrokes because I thought it might be hard going across the center of the two pages.

Tip: Anytime you pull the pen or marker down, that would be the thick line. When the lines turn up or are horizontal, those are the thin lines.

In the next fancy headers post, I will show you how to outline the text and finish off the spread.

If you’re just anxious to have the header, you’re in for a treat. I have it available in my shop! Click here to visit.

Remember to plan your life so you live beautifully and don’t be afraid to find your inner muse.

~Tricia

Save this layout to Pinterest for later – while you are at it, follow me on Pinterest for more inspiration!

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Want to know what I used in this post? I’ll tell you. (Contains affiliate links – if you click-through and end up purchasing a product, I receive a small commission – though the cost is the same to you.)