Bullet Journal Fails Archives

August 2021 Plan With Me – Surfing into New Beginnings

August 3, 2021 Leave a Comment

I’m excited to share with you my August 2021 Plan With Me in a new Scribbles That Matter notebook. I’ve missed sharing here on my blog and social media. And it happens to be perfect timing to start again, especially since I’m starting a new bullet journal this August.

But first, before I get into the new August 2021 Plan With Me Post, I need to know: do you start a new journal in the middle of the year?

I see many people who can’t seem to bring themselves to start any time except January. I’ll start one any time I run out of pages or if I need a chance to start fresh. I see this question come up a lot in various Facebook groups. People think they are doing something wrong by starting in the middle of the year.

Like Gretchen Rubin, one of my favorite authors, I believe in new beginnings around the start of school. However, I believe in starting over no matter the time of the year if needed.

Start Fresh No Matter What Time of Year
There is No Place for Guilt Trips in Bullet Journaling
August 2021 Plan With Me Inspiration
August 2021 – Theme Plan With Me Video
Surfboard Art – August Cover Page
Washi Tape to the Rescue – Covering Mistakes
Brain Dump Page – Thought Wave
Surfboards & Silhouettes – August 2021 Plan With Me Bullet Journal Theme
Random Holidays to Celebrate
Habit Books I Recommend
Supplies

Surfboard & Beaches August 2021 Plan With Me Theme Set Up & Inspiration | ChocolateMusings.com

Start Fresh No Matter What Time of Year

I’m here to tell you that there is nothing wrong with starting with a clean slate whenever you need it. I needed a reboot like many others out there because Covid-19 did a number on my well-being and mental health. So I started a new journal in September last year.

But then my poor old cat died, which sent me back into a depression spiral. It felt like the end of an era (she was 18). That event compounded with all the other struggles we were going through. If I would have picked up another book and created a new beginning again, I think it would have shortened the time for me to come back.

There is No Place for Guilt Trips in Bullet Journaling

Instead of allowing myself the grace I needed, I gave myself ridiculous guilt trips for leaving an entire book nearly blank. Sometimes, we are our own worst enemies. Don’t hold yourself back and think that you are doing something wrong. Give yourself a little grace and allow some breathing room, especially when you’re struggling.

Give yourself what you need, and pay no mind to the mind-numbing guilt trips. If you need to start a new book, do it. If you need to stop doing something you’ve always done, by all means, change it up. These actions will likely help you move beyond what was holding you back. The sooner you start anew, the sooner you can start to heal.

I’m not sure if that speech was for me or any of you out there. I hope it helps. Now, I think it’s time to start sharing my August 2021 Plan With Me now!

August 2021 Plan With Me Inspiration

Without further ado, I’d like to introduce my August 2021 Bullet Journal Theme: Surfboards. This plan with me post is filled with beaches and surfboards.

Earlier in the summer, we had a huge family reunion for my husband’s parents at the beach. Although his family planned this trip for about three (!) years, they were able to keep it a surprise. An incredible feat since there were 50 people who came from all over the United States and some from Puerto Rico to attend.

We enjoyed the beaches and surf at Cocoa Beach, Florida. Though I don’t surf, I loved watching the surfers. I’m also fascinated with surfboard art (not just the art of surfboarding). We also visited Cape Canaveral and walked among the rocket gardens and imagined ourselves blasting off to the moon as these seemingly larger-than-life astronauts did.

Don’t be surprised if you see rockets, moons, and outer space in the coming months. (Even though I already have used space/planets as a theme in April 2018, May 2020, and an Eclipse Weekly theme in 2017). I know I missed traveling during 2020 because I always get so inspired by my travels. I think that traveling is one of the best ways to overcome a creative block.

Traveling is one of the best ways to overcome a creative block.
-Tricia @ Chocolate Musings

August 2021 – Theme Plan With Me Video

Want to see how I created all of these spreads throughout the month? Watch the theme set up video below & be sure to subscribe to my YouTube Channel!

Surfboard Art – August Cover Page

Throughout the month of August, I plan on filling in the cover page with different doodles on each of the surfboards. It’s a fantastic way to include a doodle page in your monthly pages. Once it’s filled, I’ll update the post with a completed version of my August cover page.

Tip: If you have a desire to start a drawing practice every day, include a doodle page with squares, circles, or other shapes (like these surfboards) already set up in your notebook. so you can just pick up your pencil and draw without an excuse.

'Before' August Welcome Page + Daily Doodle Page 2021 Surfboard Plan With Me | ChocolateMusings.com

Washi Tape to the Rescue – Covering Mistakes

I love to watercolor paint in my bullet journals. Even though the paper handles paint very well, sometimes I add a bit too much water, and that’s when bleedthrough happens even in a 160 gsm notebook. It’s easy to forget that these notebook pages are not watercolor sheets.

On my monthly calendar page – I was so busy trying to blend the colors on the surfboard that I didn’t notice how soaked the page was getting. Well, it turns out that my habit tracker page bled badly, and my cover page is splotchy in one area. Since the area on the habit tracker page was blank, I decided to use washi tape in the shape of a surfboard to cover the mistake.

Sometimes it’s the mistakes that trigger new, interesting ideas. If you’re looking for a fun way to swatch your washi tape, create surfboards sampling each washi tape. Surfboards come with so many designs. This would be a great way to feature each strip of tape! Need help dealing with mistakes in your bullet journal? Here are some ways to cover them up or overcome the need for each page to be perfect.

Surf inspired Monthly Spread -I love the mix of bright colors and minimal boxes on this monthly bullet journal spread | ChocolateMusings.com

Surfboard Habit Tracker + Notes Page - fun theme + simple habit trackers | ChocolateMusings.com

Brain Dump Page – Thought Wave

I tend to get stuck on all the bad ‘what if’ scenarios or play negative thoughts on repeat in my brain. So I included the phrase in this month’s brain dump page, “Ride Only the Good Ones,” of course referring to riding waves on a surfboard and reminding myself to focus on the good things in life as well.

Thought Waves Brain Dump Page - Ride only the good ones - a reminder to focus on the good thoughts instead of the negative ones | ChocolateMusings.com

If you’re looking for more unique names for “Brain Dump,” find 150+ different names to call ‘brain dump’ in this post. Whenever I come up with new names, I add them to my ever-growing list of alternate names for brain dump.

Synonyms for Brain Dump - find 150+ alternate names | ChocolateMusings.com #braindump #collections #bulletjournal

Surfboards & Silhouettes – August 2021 Plan With Me Bullet Journal Theme

Here is a taste of each surfboard page this month. I loved the challenge of finding different ways to feature a surfboard throughout the month.

I love the personality of each page and can feel the excitement for starting fresh in a new month. Anticipating a fun theme in my bullet journal helps motivate me to use the book and keep going, which is one reason why I love including planner themes each month. So I declare the August 2021 Plan with Me a success! Let’s ride the waves.

Whose driving to the beach? Travel in style with this adorable van stacked high with surf boards. You'll make it to the beach in no time! Add a space for each day of the week in this Horizontal Weekly Bullet Journal Layout and you'll arrive in style! | ChocolateMusings.com

Loose floral rose surfboard design + Vertical Weekly Layout - a fun, yet simple layout with bright colors and simple space to record your week | ChocolateMusings.com

Random Holidays to Celebrate

When completing my August 2021 Plan With Me, I always like to look through the upcoming random holidays for the month and jot down a few to celebrate. Here are the ones I’m excited to add to my calendar.

Simplify Your Life Week – 1st week of August
3rd – Watermelon Day
7th – Lighthouse day – I think I might paint a lighthouse this day!
9th – Book Lovers Day – Let’s celebrate by reading a good book!
11th – World Calligraphy Day
15th – Relaxation Day – Yes! I’m looking forward to relaxing this day.
19th – World Photo Day
25th-31st Be Kind to Humankind Week – this is a week I think we should all celebrate. What random acts of kindness have you experienced?

These are just a few on the calendar. Each month I’ve curated a list of fun holidays that might just add a bit of joy to your everyday schedule. You can check out each month of my curated random holiday choices and add a few fun holidays to your calendar as well!

Here are some books I’ve read on organizing, decluttering, and habits. I’d love a recommendation and add it to my list. Let me know if you have more to add in the comments below.

Supplies

Here are the supplies I used for this August 2021 Plan With Me. All are affiliate links.

Scribbles That Matter A5 Notebook
Daniel Smith Paints (Variety)
Archer & Olive Paper Pad
Winsor & Newton Fineliner
Teal Washi Tape
Skinny Washi Tape
Zebra Mildliners
Dr PH Martins Bleed Proof White
The Pigeon Letters Brushes – find on thepigeonletters.com
Coliro Pearlcolors
Tombow Mono Correction Tape

No Matter Which Notebook I use – You’ll Always Find These Supplies Close at Hand

Notebooks: What’s the Difference Between Ghosting & Bleeding?

September 12, 2019 2 Comments

What’s the difference between Ghosting & Bleeding in a notebook?

What's the difference between ghosting and bleeding in your notebook? | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal

Ever heard of the term ghosting or bleeding when bullet journaling or planning? Not sure exactly what ghosting or bleeding means? And what’s the difference between ghosting and bleeding? Don’t worry, you’ll be a pro in no time.

Hint: it does not mean that your planner is haunted or died a tragic death (although my bullet journal fails could argue otherwise).

Ghosting Vs. Bleeding in your notebooks - what's the difference? | ChocolateMusings.com #bleeding #bulletjournal

What is Ghosting?

Ghosting in a notebook is when you can see the ink or text you’ve written from the other side of the page. But the ink doesn’t come through to the opposite side. It’s like showing a ghost of the other page.

I used Leuchtturm 1917 A5 notebooks for a long time, and they ghosted on every single page. In all honesty, I didn’t care too much, as long as the ink didn’t bleed through to the other side. But when I started posting consistently on Instagram, I didn’t like the fact that you could see the previous page’s use.

You could say that the previous page haunted me. Oh wait, I said that your notebook wasn’t haunted.

If the ink seeps through the page, that’s when it’s called bleeding.

What is Bleeding?

When you write on one page, and the ink appears in full color on the opposite page, in spots or blotches or more. I find that notebooks bleed when they can’t handle the amount of liquid a pen or marker lays onto the page.

I started using fountain pens in my notebooks, but have reverted to gel pens and fine liners. But using Tombow Dual Brush Pens and Crayola Supertips for headers and coloring is almost non-negotiable for me and a notebook, so the pages have to withstand some coloring abuse. I also like to watercolor (with limited water in most journals). This tends to break through the fibers and bleeds through, especially if you use too much water.

Too much water trying to blend the marker made the ink bleed through | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal

How Can You Test for Ghosting or Bleeding in a Notebook?

When starting a new notebook, I flip to the end pages and do a pen test using the most common pens & markers in my planner. Scribbles that Matter notebooks have a page at the back dedicated as a pen test.

TIP: I write the name of the ink/pen I’m using so I remember what it is in the future.

When Doing a Pen Test:

When you do a pen test, put the paper through more extreme examples than you might regularly use in a planner. I do this and it helps me know what the limits are on the paper.

For instance: I take the darkest Tombow Dual Brush Markers and layer them and blend them until perfectly blended. I find that most paper starts bleeding on the 2nd to 3rd layer. Using consistently dark colors will give you a better idea for ghosting as well. Light colors won’t show up as much.

Now you know what ghosting and bleeding are, and how to test for them in your notebooks. Happy Planning!

No Matter Which Notebook I use – You’ll Always Find These Supplies Close at Hand

Use a pen test page in the back of your notebook to see if your favorite pens bleed or ghost in your new notebook! | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #planner

January Week #4: My Bullet Journal Fails (so far) & What You Should Do if You Fail

January 25, 2018 6 Comments

Bullet Journal Fails - why I'm okay with it and what you should do if you fail too

I see lots of comments on Facebook all the time in various groups “I hate the spread I created, I want to throw this notebook away or just start a new one” or “I’m going to rip this page out” or just simple questions “what do you do if you hate your spread in your bullet journal?” Here is my experience dealing with bullet journal fails.

Inspired by January’s Ugly Spread

If you’re coming over here from Instagram – you probably saw the quote lettering video snippet (if you aren’t coming here from Instagram – here’s a link to that post so you can check it out, and while you’re at it, follow me over there…you’ll get to see all the stuff I don’t post here).

Bullet journal page fails - get back up and try again

Ugly Spreads So Far (well… a few of them)

So here’s a list of the spreads that I hate in my bullet journal. I’ll let you know right now it’s not a complete list. Some of my fails I used through the week. Some of them I turned the page, one I taped two pages together. But the point is, I moved on. When I first started this bullet journal journey, I used a ring-bound set so I could remove pages if I messed up on them. But I became so paranoid about messing up, I would only use one side of the sheet and I felt like that was just a waste and it felt incomplete.

My desire to be perfect all the time and have every page look amazing paralyzed me! It wasn’t until I decided that I would just (ahem) bite the bullet and use a bound notebook. It was at that time that I would finally give myself the freedom to ‘mess up’.

What to do when pages don't work - Bullet Journal Fails, advice & Ideas

When You Make a Mistake

First of all – you are doing this with pen and paper. There is no undo or back button. Life doesn’t have an undo or back button. I am a firm believer that mistakes happen and it is how we deal with them afterward that makes the biggest difference in our character.

For the most part, if I make a mistake in my videos, I tend to keep it in the video. I want you to know that I am not perfect and you should not expect yourself to be perfect either. Expecting perfection is debilitating and will only do you harm.

Instagram tracker page mistake, water painted over and quote written on top - Bullet Journal Fails

I Keep Mistakes – Or Fix Them with Whiteout

Whether you call them Bullet Journal Fails or not, your bullet journal will have mistakes. It will have spreads you do not like. Watch the video on my January 2018 Future Log – and you can see where I make the mistake. It’s at about 30 seconds into the video. In this case, I just used a little whiteout tape (yes, one of my best friends) and moved on. The tape is not exactly the same color as the page, but it doesn’t matter in the long run. I barely notice after I use correction tape, in fact when I review the page I am surprised sometimes to find it there.

Pro Tip: I buy my correction tape in bulk (really) and take one with me wherever I go. There are smaller packs for ‘on the go’.

Mistakes will happen that white out can’t fix. So what do you do about those times?

Suggestions:

Here are some suggestions and tips from someone who has messed up in their bullet journal.

After bullet journaling for less than a month, Amy @purplescapedesign (check her out on Instagram) said: “I’ve misspelled words and it’s by no means perfect but it’s mine and it works for me so I’m happy!”

Realize that this book is yours and yours only. It doesn’t matter what other people do or don’t do. I think this book is a conduit to happiness so don’t let it be something that makes you feel bad about yourself.

Misspelled words – write on it “oops” or “oh well” and move on – I misspelled “horrible” on my December Habit Tracker
Missed days – so sometimes you include two Fridays in a week. I’d be ok with that in real life, but to fix it in your bullet journal, white it out and simply write next to it “oops, meant Thursday” and seriously move on.
Turn the page into something else
- Put a sticker the size of your page on top of your mistake.
- Glue or tape two sheets together (I would not recommend Elmer’s glue – I would say to use permanent adhesive.
- I watercolored over this page – and added a quote over top
One thing that I commonly do – just turn the page. Seriously, I just turn the page and move on.
Washi Tape is your friend. You know those piles of washi tape just sitting in your drawer but never touched? Dust them off. Use them to cover up your mistakes.

Examples of page fails my bullet journal from unused trackers (and bad ideas) to messy pages and washi-cover ups. Bullet Journal Fails happen.

The Technical Reason Why You Shouldn’t Tear out Pages

I had a fear of the bound journals because I couldn’t remove pages if I messed up. I knew from past experience with other bound journals that once you tear out a page, it never is the same. Unless the book is ‘glue bound’ where each page is glued to the spine individually, they are actually a bigger sheet of paper folded in half and stitched into sections then the separate sections are bound together.

That’s why on some pages if you look down the center, you will see a thin string running down the page. That page is the center of that section. But each page is connected somewhere on the other side. If you tear out one page, it’s connected page won’t hold in the binding and will fallout.

When one page falls out, it loosens the stitching and makes it so the other pages aren’t held in as tightly. I cringe whenever I hear people say they are just going to tear it out because if they do that, I am sure they will ruin their whole book and be even more upset. Besides that – the torn edges (because who can tear straight) will still be in the book and will be another source of frustration.

Think About This:

One thing that people forget – this spread will be in your life for a day or a week. If it’s on a monthly or yearly log, you won’t refer to it very often. Your life does not revolve around this mistake. And when you turn that page for the next day’s or week’s spread, you’ll forget all about this mistake.

I remember more details about the time in my life where I made a mistake than where I had a perfect layout. And it’s not just remembering the mistake, the details are clearer to me and the memories more vibrant. It’s kind of nice.

Bullet Journal Fails: Smudged words and a page so bad I taped it together

Lessons Learned from my Bullet Journal Fails

When I started in a bound book, I told myself it was a test of being able to forgive myself for mistakes. The second part of the test is to move on either by fixing the problem and finding a solution or by just turning the page. This, perhaps, has been the greatest thing that bullet journaling has ever taught me.

Two Things You Shouldn’t Do – A Challenge For You:

So the first thing you shouldn’t do I listed above – don’t tear out a page. The second thing is more important: don’t give up. Here is a page of quotes I created after I smeared the ink on the quote. I thought it was a great page to turn into a spread of mistakes quotes.