bullet journal set-up Archives

November Bullet Journal Set Up – Bright Colors & Falling Leaves

Despite failed attempts and soaked notebook pages recently, I was itching to create a November themed bullet journal layout with watercolor. So here’s November’s Bullet Journal set up & inspiration.

It’s been a while since I posted a Bullet Journal Set-Up post. Mostly because I haven’t felt that I had much to share. I’ve had some bad luck with notebooks lately, so I’ve had to scrap everything and restart multiple times. I feel like a notebook vagabond, a stationary hobo, glassy-eyed, stumbling from one journal sheath to another. Never lingering long, just enough to warm my fingers against the pages before moving on.

Have you been there? Either where inspiration never strikes or when you start creating, your medium doesn’t cooperate? Hopefully, my November Bullet Journal set up gets your creative brain working.

November Bullet Journal Set-up Fall Inspiration | ChocolateMusings.com #fall #leaves #bulletjournal

November Planner Inspiration

It was so warm in October that the leaves didn’t have a chance to lose their green and turn colors. The first week of the month was close to 100°F or 37°C all week long! With this in mind, I wanted to create fall colors and a fall attitude somewhere – so why not in November’s Bullet Journal?

In addition to bright colors, I decided to try out some new techniques I desperately want to try and share with you! So let’s dive into the leaf piles and experiments for November’s Bullet Journal Set Up.

Brightly colored falling leaves are a sure sign of fall to me, but something else speaks fall to me as well – and I’m not quite sure why. Finding the moon above the barren treetops and watching my foggy breath rise around me in the cool, still night speaks peace and reflection and reminds me of the transition from warm nights to cool crisp evenings. My welcome page doesn’t look cohesive, but to me, it’s all the elements of a perfect fall.

Fall Bullet Journal Welcome Page - November Bullet Journal Set Up | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #plannerinspiration #bujo #welcomepage

Want to Learn How I Created These Pages?

There are some parts of November’s Bullet Journal Set up that I want to explain further – such as cutting pages, flip-out pages, & the expanded monthly log. I’ll explain those in separate posts.

Bullet Journal Ideas: Idea Tree Instead of Brain Dump | ChocolateMusings.com #braindump #bulletjournal #ideas

Highlights for November’s Bullet Journal Set-Up:

Hopefully, this provides some inspiration for a future spread for you. Minimal design, but bright colors and thick, black outlines give a whimsical look to all the fall & thanksgiving elements. Don’t get stuck thinking you have to create realistic views and doodles. NO! Not necessary! Sometimes blobs of color with a thick-black outline create the best story.

Want More Planner & Bullet Journal Inspiration?

Find more plan with me ideas | ChocolateMusings.com #planwithme #ideas

The well-loved golden-bound book has seen better days, and it is time to move into a new bullet journal. See this ruby beauty? I’m hoping it will last me more than a year for planning. And this lovely Azure book? It’s becoming my long-term collections journal. I’m moving to a new bullet journal. You read that right! I’m moving to not just one journal but separated into two for March!

Moving into TWO new bullet journals + Video set up

Why the Separation of the Journals?

I split my journals for two reasons – one I wanted a planner that lasted more than 6 months (I got almost 6 months from both the last journals (purple then yellow). But I didn’t want to move all my long-term collections to a new journal. Short-term collections I will keep in my red planning journal.

The Need for a Long-Term Collections Journal

About half-way through the last journal, I realized that I needed a long-term collections journal. There are lots of things I jot down that are not for the immediate short-term. Some things are years in advance. For instance, I created a ‘new home wishlist’ and a ‘repairs list’ for my current home. We are not purchasing in the next 6 months, and it will take longer than that short span of time to fix up our current house.

The split allows for longer-term goals and projects and does not get lost in the day-to-day planning minutia. I am very excited about this move and look forward to making beautiful, functional spreads for both my weeks and months and my collections.

New Journal in the Middle of the Year?!

I admit it would have been nice to start the new journal in January. But starting a new journal shouldn’t have to be done just at the beginning of the year. In fact, the more I thought about it, the bullet journal system is flexible so you can start in the middle of a year with no problems. If you need to go back and complete the previous month’s future logs, go ahead, there’s no reason why you can’t. In fact, I did that when I started my purple journal last April!

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

The New Journal Set-Up

Moving to a new bullet journal requires a little bit of what I call planning-the-planner. I write the titles of the page in pencil and plan the flow. Since it’s in pencil, I can adjust and move around some of the pages.

Future Log

I have two future logs in this new journal. Silly? Maybe. One is a very high-level overview, and the other one allows me more in-depth goal planning. I discovered something in my Leuchtturm1917 journal, and I am a little ashamed that I didn’t see it before. Keep reading, I’ll tell you.

Broad Overview Future Log

There are 52 columns on a spread in an A5 Leuchtturm1917 and 52 weeks in a year. I don’t know why I didn’t make this connection before, but I was interested in creating continuing year’s calendar with this information. Using my trusty Google Calendar which conveniently shows the weeks of the year, I created a full year’s continuous-flow calendar. To see the year’s broad overview in one peek.

FYI: The washi tape serves no purpose other than to cover up the marker from the opposite page where I was too heavy-handed and used too many layers to blend colors.

Goal Planning – Future Log “Common Area”

The second future log has two months to a page and 4 sections. Writing the month’s name down the middle of the page and separating one big area into 3 smaller parts for appointments, random dates to note, and blog post plans. The largest, unseparated section I plan on using for goal setting & notes.

I call this my common area – thinking back to my high school days where we had a big ‘commons’ in the center of the school. Many hallways and offices split off from this large space, so it was a place of gathering and meeting up after various events or classes. Just like my common area is a place to meet back after one month and gather my thoughts for the next.

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

March Plans

For the start of March, I wanted to see If I could use the March ‘common’ future-log as a calendar. So the welcome page is minimal with just a bit of text, a wreath, and a calendar. I’ve been practicing drawing circular wreaths, and this was an excellent opportunity to use one.

Tip: If you draw free-hand circles, try to use your whole arm (from the shoulder) to make the circular movement. I find that I make a much better shape that way than trying to draw from my wrist.

The First Week

The first week of March started on Thursday. Lately, I’ve been keeping the months together (beginning each month fresh – no matter when the month starts). I created a partial week spread and decided that the other half would be for my habit tracker for the month.

Watch the setup video below for the first month and week of my new bullet journal. As I was editing the video, I realized that part of the problem with me getting things out on the timelines I set, is that I promise WAY too much from the video. I don’t have all the things done, so I will update this post and the YouTube description as I complete my promised items. 🙂 Learning to scale my projects to meet my deadlines is definitely a work of art.

I hope this gives you some confidence to start a new journal no matter what month it is or where you are in your life. Do not wait for the perfect opportunity. Make it the perfect opportunity.