Random Thoughts and Great Ideas Collection | Bullet Journal Brain Dump

September 5, 2017 3 Comments

If you are like me, there are a lot of thoughts bouncing around inside your head all day long.

Some of them are pretty creative. Few are deep. Some are reflections of the past or regrets. Others are just random, funny thoughts. I wouldn’t mind keeping those around once in a while to distract from the crazy of life.

Most thoughts are fleeting, but others I would like to develop and see if something bigger will come of these individual thought nuggets. I had never organized these golden idea droplets into a common space, they were all haphazardly written in various places or lost in the abyss of the day-to-day.

I felt that this collection of thoughts was not just a ‘brain dump page’. If you are not familiar with the term, brain dump can also be known as a ‘mental download’ or a variety of other terms. I’ve called it a ‘brain dump’ because I imagine my brain’s contents being spilled on a page by a dump truck. No organization, no common themes, just all the thoughts being dumped on the page for sorting later – or not.

A brain dump is great for when there are just too many thoughts to process.

I use a brain dump page for when I can’t sleep at night because the thoughts are running in every direction and won’t slow down. In this case, I record every thought that comes into my head until I cannot find another thought to think and my brain is able to {finally} rest.

Why this collection is not a brain-dump:

To be honest, I rarely revisit a brain dump page because its contents are mostly worries and irrational, unfounded thoughts that I can’t seem to let go usually as I am trying to calm my mind down before I go to sleep or when I am trying to work on a project and I am completely distracted. I want to keep my best ideas here. These ideas are more than fleeting. These ideas are pure inspiration that just need more coaxing to become valuable pearls.

The Random Thoughts & Great Ideas Page is not a brain dump. It’s themed with specifically chosen ideas to enhance future creativity and brainstorming.

I wanted a collective place to store these great ideas so I could expand or explore it further when I had more time or could find a connection between other thoughts.

Instead of all the thoughts jumbled together from one session, I am compiling all my great thoughts on this page. I may pull ideas from my braindumps, but it will be selected ideas jotted in this collection instead of all thoughts thrown together.

Make Pretty Designs & Use Them Too

After creating this page I had the initial fear of writing on it. I liked the artwork! This fear was quickly overcome as I have learned in the past: I value the page far more for the content AND the creative backdrop than I value just the creative background. Reviewing my past journals, I enjoy the drawings, doodles, and painting. But when I couple those with relevant feelings or thoughts, the recollection and overall meaning of the drawing meant more than just the artwork by itself.

Reviewing my past journals, I enjoy the drawings, doodles, and painting. But when I couple those with relevant feelings or thoughts, the page meant more than just the artwork by itself.

I cannot wait to see what comes of this page when I fill it with my Random Thoughts and Great Ideas. I may just find ‘my next big thing’ ascribed to its dotted page.

How do you track your ideas and random thoughts? Leave me a comment below.

Follow me on Pinterest for more great ideas!
Follow Me

How I created the page

I outlined the light bulb lightly with a pencil. Using Tombow dual brush pens #055 (yellow) I filled in heavily around the outside. The gray area (you could call it gray matter if you like) I used a Papermate flair to create the outline. Using a water brush pen, I blended the colors outward until achieving the desired effect. Water brush pens are (similar to a paintbrush, but it holds water inside the pen instead of dipping in a cup of water – if you don’t have these, you can just as easily use a paintbrush and water).

I found that using the Tombow Markers with the water pens did not make the page wrinkle as much as when I used watercolor paint on the page. A nice perk.

Find other Idea Organization Spreads here!

Want to know what supplies I used? I’ll tell you.

This post contains affiliate links. The cost is the same to you but, I will receive a small commission to help support my blogging and creativity habits. 🙂 All opinions expressed were solely mine and from my heart.

Creating a Bullet Journal Map Spread

August 1, 2017 2 Comments

Creating Map Collection Spreads for your Bullet Journal

Include a map collection for planning trips, tracking where you’ve been, where you want to go, how much you need to save for that amazing journey you are planning…the possibilities are limitless!

I saw a collection not long ago similar to this and the ideas for what I wanted to do and incorporate it into my bullet journal started flowing. Seeing things visually helps me envision other possibilities. So I LOVED the idea of tracking travel. I knew I had to do something with it! Getting it into the pages were a little tricky since I wanted a two-page spread instead of just a single page spread. It’s also tricky because the lines are so intricate.

Watch the video on how I planned & created this spread

With a little planning, the two-Page Map Spreads aren’t so Tricky!

I searched and searched for maps that would work and planned the center line for my United States map. Right down the line where Montana/Wyoming meet up with North Dakota/South Dakota/Nebraska and down to the line separating New Mexico & Texas seemed like a pretty good separating line in this case. I didn’t choose a very large map to start with, partly because when I sized the map larger, it was a little pixelated and I didn’t like the detail I got from the map. It also afforded more margin for other opportunities. The map could also go on a single page. (Don’t worry, you don’t have to search and search, I created free printables for you!)

When planning the spread for the European map, it was more difficult to plan for the center split. I thought it would interrupt too many countries to be on two pages – so I decided to do a “Pop-Out” map view, basically, a zoomed-in map for enlarged detail of Europe. I have to say that I really like the way that turned out.

TIP: Make sure that if you are tracing through the blank back of a page – it will make it so much easier to find the details. Otherwise, you might find some random words or miscellaneous marks on the paper traced from the opposite side of your paper to your map. I used my tiny washi tape to hold the map sheets in place temporarily. (Side note – when I ordered the washi tape – I totally expected a larger width! But it has turned out so useful and unique!) Starting from the center and working outwards seemed to work really well for me – it helped me gain my bearings a bit.

I started with a pencil and planned to outline it with a fine pen afterward, erasing the pencil marks for the final product. I used Sakura Micron 005 (.20mm) for the world map after seeing how large the .45 mm marker was – (.45mm marker tip large?!? Yes, it seemed monstrous in comparison to the .20mm!). The detail using this minuscule marker was simply amazing once I erased the pencil lines. These pens didn’t bleed or smear when I erased them. I foresee myself using them in more projects!

The details are not perfect, but they do not have to be!

World/US travel tracking Map creation steps for the bullet journal or planner

I grew up in the United States, have gone through United States Geography through my whole life. So the outline of the US is familiar to me. When I started outlining more unfamiliar countries of the world and Europe, I found it hard to get the details just right. I don’t {currently} own a light box otherwise I would have used that. I grabbed my phone and couldn’t find the app that made the screen display white. Darn it!

Instead of searching forever for this essential app, I took a picture of a white page, changed the brightness to 100% and the contrast to 100% and the screen glowed in just the right white. I learned not to touch the screen while I was tracing because it changed the screen and took away my perfect mini-on-the-go light box. I just had to remember to trace lightly with the pencil. What a find! Forever more I am going to use that trick for tracing.

Use your cell phone as a mini-on-the-go light box

Final Product

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below! Want more travel planning ideas? Follow me on Pinterest. I created a short list of ideas for using a Map Page Tracker in your collections, If you have used a map spread in your journal…or you plan to – let me know in the comments below what you’ve done and other ideas you’ve incorporated. I would love to see what you have done!

World Map and European "pop-out map" Spread in your Bullet Journal

United States (US) Bullet Journal Collection Map Spread

Ideas for adding a Map Page Tracker in your Planner:

Use it as a travel log:

Keep track of where you have been
- Countries
- States in the USA
Keep track of the places your kids visit – we took a cross-country trip when my oldest was just a baby, so technically, he has been in 15 + states. We flew out west when my little girl was 2 1/2, she has been in only four states. My youngest has been in two states. I should probably track these visits so I can tell them when they ask me where they have been but keep it super-secret from my kids in the meantime if they discover it and it turns into a “mom loves me more than you” competition.
Wanderlust – what you’d like to do and places to visit
If you wanted to get even more detailed, you could do a state or even a county map of things to do and places you’ve been

Education:

Learn the state capitals
Learn country names and capital cities
Interesting facts about each place

One idea I may carry out – because it’s really that awesome of an idea:

If you there is a significant event in your life on a particular day, write down the newspaper article headings {found online} for that state/country on that date.

Trip Fund Meter Tracker:

“Fill” up the countries as you save money for your trip by coloring in from bottom to top as you squirrel away the funds for the trip.
- If you didn’t want to fill in the countries, fill in the water/ocean around the countries to track your savings goals.

Rather than outlining in black, you could outline the different countries/states in a different color. This would need a variety of colors…but… #excuses, right?

Leave me a comment & let me know what other content you would like to see.

P.S. I would LOVE to see how you ended up using these maps.
Follow me and tag me in your posts. I can’t wait to see your inner muse spread a light throughout the world inspire yourself and others around you.

Wishing you joy and creativity every day,

Tricia @
Chocolate Musings

The maps I created are from http://d-maps.com – the ones I selected don’t even scratch the surface compared to what’s available. If you need a county map in the United States, showing the major roads, cities, and rivers, they have it. “Dead useful” to quote Hagrid. As far as a map resource goes. They also have ancient maps which piqued my interest. But alas, another day, another time for that. The site is gracious enough to allow me to use the maps for my purpose asking only for a link in return to the map that I used.

World Map Europe United States Africa Americas South America Central America Asia Australia

Four Ideas to Supercharge Your Habit Tracker {that you may not have thought of before!}

June 20, 2017 4 Comments

Implementing any of these 4 items could increase your habit tracker effectiveness – and help you achieve even more!

Ever heard the quote “What gets measured, gets managed”? Logging month-to-month totals and/or percentages creates a quick overview of your habits each month. Use it to supercharge your habit tracker.

Implementing any of these 4 items could increase your habit tracker effectiveness – and help you achieve even more! Ever heard the quote “What gets measured, gets managed”? Logging month-to-month totals and/or percentages creates a quick overview of your habits each month and facilitates improvement. Want to know how to set up a habit tracker? Here is my step-by-step instructions on setting-up your own habit tracker.

You’ve been tracking your habits, and making some progress! (Good for you!) I know that my habit tracker in my bullet journal has helped me make some major improvements in my life, simply because I like filling it out every day, and I can’t fill it out unless I do the things that are in the tracker! This practice has boosted my motivation, and I have seen a difference in making positive changes. It really helps to hold myself accountable.

Would you like to see more progress or easily compare last month’s tracking numbers without flipping back and forth pages? Here are some super simple ways to help you keep track of your past ‘tracking’.

Idea #1

I have seen some yearly or extended trackers for each habit, but even a double-page spread is simply not big enough to accommodate multiple months with multiple habits. So one month ends and you start a new month with a new habit tracker. The past is in the past right? But aren’t you trying to create a habit? If you don’t know where you came from, then how do you know when to improve? Wouldn’t it be good to see your progress from the previous month?

Bullet Journal Habit Tracker Percentage Chart — Track percentages in your bullet journal habit tracker

Supercharge your habit tracker Idea #1:

Add a “Last Month” Totals Column. Track the same habits over and over again? Add a column at the end of your tracker showing how many days you accomplished your habit last month. Competition with yourself? Yes, please. But no smack talking.

Idea #2

Idea #2: Add a “This Month” Totals Column. {Or a ‘Last Month’ vs ‘This Month’} Prefer not to carry forward the numbers? Add a column for “This Month” or “Totals” to the end of your tracker. When you flip back in your planner to see how you’ve done, you have a quick reference. You could always add a ‘last month’ column and a ‘this month’ column at the end of the tracker – creates a great comparison month to month. An end of journal reflection (because seriously, who can use a single journal for a whole year?) will show improvement at a quick glance month-to-month.

Idea #3

Idea #3: Track Percentages. Really serious about the improvement of your habits? Include a percent field. (To figure the percent – take the total number of days you did your habit – say 13 and divide by the total number of days in the month = percent.) Hate math? no problem. I’ve created a graphic for your reference.

Idea #4:

Idea #4: Cross out days for seldom-tracked habits. Do you have a habit that you want to track, but don’t do it every day – cross out the days that don’t apply for that habit so you don’t become discouraged for only having completed 3 or 4 days in the month.

Use these tips to help change not only your habits but change your character. After all, “it’s never too late to be who you might have been.” -George Elliot

What gets measured, gets managed - Peter Drucker

Leave me a comment below – let me know of any tips or tricks you might have for your bullet journal habit tracker. I’d love to hear from you, and try out some things you like to do too.

Save