• Home
    • Home
    • About Me
    • Privacy Policy and Disclosures
    • Contact
  • Blog
    • Blog
    • Blog Archives
    • Search & Blog Categories
  • Get Inspired
    • Get Inspired
    • Inspiring Words & Quotes
    • My Muses – Favorites & Inspiration
    • Challenges
    • Product & Book Reviews
  • Get Creative
    • Get Creative
    • Start Handlettering
    • Handlettering Fun Styles
    • Tutorials & How-To
    • Creating Art – Watercolor, Painting & Drawing
  • Start Planning
    • Start Planning Here
    • Planner Spreads & Themes
    • Plan With Me Archives
    • Organization
    • Habits & Trackers
  • Find Your Happy
    • Find Your Happy
    • Random Holiday Archive
    • Journal Prompts & Ideas
    • Health Journey
  • Shop
    • Shop
      • Lost password
      • My account
    • Cart
    • Checkout
    • Orders
  • Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
    To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Pinterest
    • Etsy
    • Facebook

Chocolate Musings

Set your goals - make the plans - artfully create your life - live it beautifully. Grab the good chocolate and find your muse.

  • Home
    • Home
    • About Me
    • Privacy Policy and Disclosures
    • Contact
  • Blog
    • Blog
    • Blog Archives
    • Search & Blog Categories
  • Get Inspired
    • Get Inspired
    • Inspiring Words & Quotes
    • My Muses – Favorites & Inspiration
    • Challenges
    • Product & Book Reviews
  • Get Creative
    • Get Creative
    • Start Handlettering
    • Handlettering Fun Styles
    • Tutorials & How-To
    • Creating Art – Watercolor, Painting & Drawing
  • Start Planning
    • Start Planning Here
    • Planner Spreads & Themes
    • Plan With Me Archives
    • Organization
    • Habits & Trackers
  • Find Your Happy
    • Find Your Happy
    • Random Holiday Archive
    • Journal Prompts & Ideas
    • Health Journey
  • Shop
    • Shop
      • Lost password
      • My account
    • Cart
    • Checkout
    • Orders
Home » collection

Idea Organization – Miscellaneous Pages I use in my Bullet Journal

November 11, 2018 3 Comments

November Already? Plan With Me Video & Idea Organization

Well, it’s a few days into November, and my new journal and I’ve already filled up to page 94. Well, this book won’t last long. I had a sudden burst of ideas and flurries of thoughts since I set up the journal and they needed a place to go, so nearly 100 pages later, here I am.

Idea Organization for your bullet journal - what I do with all the extra thoughts in my head | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #bujo #braindump

I’m working on organizing these ideas – but when you fill 75+ pages with notes it takes time!  I can honestly say, I am glad to be back in a journal that I can use a pencil as my primary writing utensil. I couldn’t do that with the black page journal!

Watch the planning video below and then look through my list of additional brainstorm/notes pages below. I hope that sharing my ideas will inspire you to add some note pages in your planner/journal and get those ideas out of your head and into progress!

Watch the November Plan With Me Video on YouTube and don’t forget to Subscribe!

 

In addition to my regular monthly pages & weekly pages I have lots of idea organization spreads:

Layout Guidelines  – perhaps one of my favorite pages and one of my most often referenced spreads. It’s not pretty, but it sure is functional. (Look for a later post on how I set this up.)

Layout Guidelines customized for each bullet journal | ChocolateMusings.com

Finances – Frivolous Spending Record – I’m working on getting those little transactions under control

Savings Log – we have a goal to have one month’s expenses in savings. Then we’ll work on 3-6 months too.

Window Savings Log – replacing windows are expensive!

Budget – I planned out our regular bills, and which paycheck they came from so I knew how to schedule them. We use YouNeedABudget.com to track our finances online, but there’s something about writing it down that makes it feel more real and make more sense. Thus why I use a paper planner as well.

savings and budget logs bullet journal | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #bujo #savings

Goals – When I write down my goals, I am more likely to work on achieving them!

All the Things – this is my regular journaling page, and I love it. It’s simple, has just a few headers, and I don’t have to complete it every day.

Monthly Review & Next Month Planning. In my monthly review, I ask myself what I did well, what things I can improve, & things I left undone. I find this is a gentle way of redirecting any distractions since I tend to be very hard on myself.

journaling pages for all the thoughts in my bullet journal | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #bujo #journaling

Video & Blog Notes Pages – Just a note page dedicated for blog posts or video posts. These pages usually include items I need to link or things to do before the post going live.

General Blog to do. If you’ve visited before, you’ll notice that I redesigned my website this month. It’s still not 100%, but I like the direction so far. I made notes of things I wanted to include and things I wanted to avoid.  I also add notes about minor changes or items I need to do in general. The following pages detailed my categories & plug-ins so I could see what changes to make there too.

blog planning bullet journal pages | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #bujo #tasks #planning

Washi Tape Paint Bucket Samples | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #bujo #washitape

Washi Tape Samples – just for fun!

Podcast notes – notes from an inspiring podcast. I always take too many notes (this one took up 4 full pages – 2 spreads in my journal).

Bullet Journal – what works and what doesn’t. List of things that do and do not work for me. I love having designs and art in the background of my notebook. Sometimes it’s hard to balance beauty and function. I have lots of ideas for this – and I’m trying to sort them out.

Retro to do – things I’ve done in the past that need some tweaks now.

Content Calendar Notes & Creation – I am working on streamlining a lot of processes in my life, but I need to list all the things that need to do so I can create a process for each of them.

Blog Post Schedule – days and ideas for posting content. I’m a visual learner, so this is perfect to show me what and when.

misc bullet journal idea organization spreads | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #ideas #bujo

Idea Doodles – I LOVE doodling and find inspiration all around me. So I LOVE having a place to doodle ideas. I went back to my first journal recently and was astounded at the rich source of information I mindlessly jotted down. And I was ever-so-pleased to find even more ideas and past thoughts

Life Goals – I have a day job, and most days I’m just there, I don’t enjoy it on most days. So I wrote down a list of things I want to do and how I’d make money doing those things.

Product Notes – I wrote down a process for doing something in Photoshop because I find myself Googling it all the time. If I write something down, I’m more likely to remember it.

Production Notes – I’m asked regularly to create a particular product. So I wrote down my procedures so I could set my expectations and their expectations from the start.

Challenge Ideas – I love hosting challenges on Instagram (though I haven’t lately at work). This page is a list of ideas for challenges.

Blogs to Read – just like it sounds, a simple list of blogs to read.

Cleaning to do list – Lists of daily, weekly monthly, quarterly, & yearly chores

Product Posting – if you haven’t noticed, I have a lot of ideas. A lot. But I also have distraction syndrome. I will get a product almost done and forget to post it or need to make a few tweaks but never get it all the way done and published because I’m distracted by the next project. I’m working on completing projects 100%, and this page helps me do that. Also, I have a goal to finish 50 projects/products in the next 90 days. (That’s a LOT!)

Personal Goals & Aspirations – All the things I want to fit into my weeks/months/years on a personal basis. Just a general list so I can pare it down and figure out what matters.

misc bullet journal idea organization spreads | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #ideas #bujo

  • More Product Notes – again trying to commit something to memory instead of Googling every single time.
  • Resources  – a list of places to find sound clips, images, etc.
  • Email Automation – This one is kind of embarrassing. My husband has worked with email automation for various companies for the past 10 years.  I struggle with it – probably because I haven’t written my ideal flow yet or ideas.
  • Travel Notes – planning a trip and all the fun things to do while there.
  • Video Schedule & Unposted Videos – I created a list of short videos on my YouTube Channel (not posted yet) and when I will post them. Many are tidbits or real-time videos showing a process in more depth

There is Consistency in my Mad ‘Idea Organization’

One thing that is consistent across all of my pages, no matter how random they may seem: I love to include headers. Headers help me further organize and remember where to find a particular spread.

I’d love to know what random pages occupy space in your journal. Let me know in the comments below!

3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Bullet Journal, Get Organized & Start Planning, Planner Spreads, Start Planning Here Tagged: #BuJo, Bullet Journal, collection, collections, ideas, journal pages

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.

Dress up your Bullet Journal Collections with Fancy Titles - step-by-step instructions to create this one + Printable

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!

Learn to create fancy titles like this in your bullet journal, includes step-by-step instructions + a printable

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.

Create fancy titles - start with a pencil outline in your bullet journal and add the words

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.

Create fancy titles - blend the colors together

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.

Create fancy titles - outline the main text, then fill in the downstrokes on your faux calligraphy

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!

Follow @ChocolateMusingsCreates

Sign up for the Chocolate Musings Newsletter

[mc4wp_form id=”782″]

 

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.)



3 Comments
Filed Under: #InMy10Minutes, Artsy Planner Spreads, Blog, Bullet Journal, Get Creative, Get Organized & Start Planning, Planner Header Ideas, Planner Spreads, Tutorials & How To Tagged: #BuJo, #InMy10Minutes, brush lettering, Bullet Journal, bullet journal spread, collection, collections, creativity, hand drawn, header, how to, how to blend letters, how to hand letter, how to letter, how to make a header, how to make your page pretty, in my 10 minutes, mind map, page layout, tips and tricks

A Confession of Unfinished Projects

February 19, 2018 2 Comments

How unfinished projects seem to take over my life, and how I broke out of a rut and coaxed creativity to come out of hiding.

I get all wrapped up in so many big and small projects. Then thinking that the best way to get the things done, I constrain my creativity and it all backfires, and a week later I’m waking up from a veritable coma of uninspired late nights where I accomplished nothing except me feeling sorry for myself and the amazement of how much time has passed.

A Confession of Unfinished Projects

I confess: I’ve fallen into a slump, I tried to blame it on ‘monthly’ woes, but that’s not going to work anymore. I just can’t find the motivation to do the things that I usually do.  There are so many unfinished projects needing attention that I don’t know where to start. Moping around for the past few days wishing I had the energy or the deep-down willpower to just muscle through skip a few days of sleep to get everything done.

I know many people fall into this dazed state where they don’t know where to begin or what needs attention the most. For me, it’s unedited raw videos sit waiting on my hard drive. Images in various stages of editing, and ideas floating around my head and never doing anything about them. All of these unfinished projects vie for a snippet of time, and I am trying to keep them all straight but never focus on one.

There is my problem.

The Problem

The problem is my focus (or lack of focus). Choosing one thing during a block of time to complete (and be entirely done) and then move to the next. The other problem is trying to remember everything. Um… I bullet journal remember? That magical dotted notebook is supposedly the keeper of my secrets, my tasks, my second brain! That’s a big problem, and I wasn’t using the most obvious solution to help me organize these projects.

How Did I Get Here?

Recognizing the path that brought me to this point is essential so I don’t repeat the same mistake again. Why didn’t I just use the obvious solution of using my bullet journal to organize these unfinished projects?

I realized that the reason I didn’t use a bullet journal to organize myself is that I am moving into a new notebook and haven’t transferred over spreads yet. In fact, to combat having to go through this move situation in the future, I am moving into two notebooks: one for planning and one for collections.

In the middle of that transition… well… I decided to put together some tutorials using my real-life experience to create these tutorials. But since I was moving into a new notebook, I had nothing to guide me and tried to do it all in my brain and became overwhelmed. If I had had a journal to help me keep the tutorials straight, I would not be in this mess. Aaaaaah, classic catch 22.

The Solution for Unfinished Projects – Why Didn’t I Think of That Before?

In my collections notebook, I made a list of my unfinished projects. HUGE ‘duh’ moment – why didn’t I think of that before? I considered scrawling a quick list of projects. Unfortunately, that is the type of list I will ignore once it’s written. If I’ve learned anything about myself by bullet journaling, it’s that it’s got to be ‘pretty.’ I feel like a bee attracted to beautiful and fragrant flowers. But in this case, I didn’t want to spend a lot of time creating this ‘project list’.

I lettered the title and then sketched in the projects – but I left it unfinished. Fitting for a page that highlighted the unfinished projects in my life. I decided to ‘finish’ the boxes one-by-one as I completed each project. Once the page was complete, I’d create another ‘unfinished projects’ page and continue the trend.

Unfinished Projects Bullet Journal Spread

The Solution: Have a Keeping Place

Mind-map is one of my favorite ways to layout ideas on a page. For one thing, it doesn’t place importance on any one idea. You start with a central theme and spread out. There are apps and software to create intricate mind maps, but mine rarely go more than a couple of levels deep. For example, my 10-minute task list was a mind map.

Tips for completing unfinished projects

Keep It Organized

Even if I am in the middle of moving notebooks, I need to make sure I have a place to keep ideas organized. When I organize my ideas, it makes ME feel more organized and confident. When I am confident, I’m pretty sure I can take on the world.

It’s Got To Be Pretty

Oh, and it needs to have a pretty header. Don’t get me wrong, there is a time and a place for quick note-taking and ‘brain dumps’ but if I intend to spend any time on the page, it has to be attractive. The goal here is to choose a project and get it done not feel more scatterbrained after I look at the page.

This spread is a ‘brain dump’ or idea log of sorts, but it’s more than that. It’s a place where I can sort through all unfinished items and figure out where to focus first. And knowing where to focus is what got me into trouble in the first place.

The After-Effects of This Realization

As I unleashed my creativity and watched my brush pen slowly mark the page lettering the words ‘Unfinished Projects’. I made another realization: when I restrict my creativity and restrain myself from writing, drawing, painting or creating in any form because these do not complete the to-do list I rebel and instead do nothing.

‘Idea Keeping’ is Like Beekeeping?

I’m going to think of this page as ‘idea keeping’ kind of like beekeeping without the stings and the buzzing. If I want the sweet stuff (finished projects), I need to have a place for the bees (ideas) to come home but allow them the freedom to explore, just like giving myself creative freedom to explore. (This is a fun idea! I think I may have to see where that one takes me).

idea keeping is like bee keepeing

Allow Creativity

There will be some days that are more productive than others. If I have learned anything from this experience, it is that creativity spurs my productivity and restricting frustrates me. Taking a lesson from the 10-minute task list, if I need to get things done but am itching to create something, I need to give myself just a few minutes and listen to my inner muse without restriction. Doing this frees my brain to think and organize subconsciously, which, ironically is just the thing that I need.

Sometimes we are our own worst enemies when it comes to productivity and creativity.

Choose the First Thing

I’ve honest so far, so here’s a little more honesty. I am going to choose the easiest thing to check off my list and ignite the momentum. It feels good to get something done, and now that is important to keep me going. I feel the spark again, and it’s lovely. I am sure there will be follow-ups to this post. This breakthrough in creativity has spurred many other ideas. It’s nice to have the spark alive in my soul again.

Question:

What do you do to break out a slump?

My solutions are:

  1. realize why I got here (to prevent for the future)
  2. write down all the things I need to do
  3. make it pretty (so I want to look at it again)
  4. allow time for creativity and not restrict it (helps me mentally sort through the tasks)
  5. choose something from the list and get it done to create momentum (choosing the easiest thing is the fastest way to create that momentum)

All of this will enable me to focus which is essential for feeling accomplished. I know I don’t get anything done when I bounce around from thing to thing, but if I give myself 10 minutes to do something that has bothered me, I can then turn my attention to other tasks done.

I’d love to know what you do let me know in the comments below.

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

~Tricia

2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Bullet Journal, Get Creative, Get Organized & Start Planning, Planner Spreads, Tutorials & How To Tagged: #BuJo, #bulletjournal, breaking out of a slump, Bullet Journal, collection, creativity, how to be productive, how to organize your projects, Inspire, mind map, project list, project management, tips and tricks, unfinished projects

November Mid-Month Habit and Mood Tracker Check

November 19, 2017 4 Comments

November Mid-Month Habit Check + Mood Tracker Update

When I sat down to start writing this post, I realized this is the monthly insight into my life. There are so many emotions tied to habits, so many excuses, so many passions. I can’t write about my habit tracker {and now added mood tracker} without being a little more personal. Of all the things I have in my bullet journal, my habits and my moods show the most insight into my life on a day-to-day basis.

So here is a monthly update on my Habit and Mood Trackers.

Half Circle Habit Tracker in my bullet journal - mid month checkup

November 2017 – Mid-Month Summary

Whew! This month has been – well – different. There were some major things happening at work that made the rest of my life feel like it was spinning out of control. I couldn’t separate my personal life from my work life. It’s not that I didn’t want to or didn’t try. I could not separate them. My friend from work (who got me my job) moved to another company. My employer was very unhappy with this. Alright – I could have gotten around this and helped everyone make peace with it if needed. But we were in the middle of a loan for my friend. There were confusion and so many emotions swirling and information that none of us knew what was true (I am a home loan processor by day, by night I blog, but I am superwoman all day).

I tried to remove myself from the situation, I even banned both parties from speaking further about each other and would not participate if I didn’t agree with a conversation. But being in the middle of the loan where I had to know details so I could do my job made things even more complicated. Every conversation, innocent in intent, kept stirring up more and more. And I couldn’t get away. It was as though dark swirling clouds circled my head.

How All This Affected Me

The stress was taking a toll on my body. The muscles in my back were tight, I had to remember to unclench my jaw regularly and my stomach was so upset for about a week. That coupled with my husband having a cold for two weeks straight and the coughing that kept me up just as I would drift off to sleep wreaked havoc on everything I tried to do this month to improve myself. Thank goodness I tried to get ahead the beginning of the month because, by the middle of the month, I was struggling in more than one way.

In Control or Out of Control

There were many things out of my control – but I used those things to negatively affect my goals and daily life outside of work, which made my life feel even more chaotic. So for the rest of this month, I am going to make an effort to go to bed earlier, wake up earlier and check off my goals before the rest of my family wakes up. When things are out of control in your life, taking command of the things that you can control makes all the difference in having a bad day vs. a good day and a bad month vs. a good month.

New This Month

I created a mood tracker this month – my first. I saw what other people were doing, and knew that I couldn’t group my days into one mood. Both designs are very functional – I am not the biggest fan of the overall look as it is very utilitarian, but like most utilitarian designs, it gets the job done. The more yellow, green, or purple, the better in this case. This month there are a lot more ‘frustrated’ and ‘anxious’ times than I expected.

I classify the moods/sleep by these categories:

Mood:

  • Sad
  • Content
  • Happy
  • Productive
  • Frustrated
  • Angry
  • Excited
  • Blah
  • Anxious

For Sleep:

  • Refreshing
  • Good
  • Restless
  • Bad Night
Half Circle Mood Tracker with sections of the day in my bullet journal - mid month check-up

Design Assessment vs. Functionality

I would like to make a ‘pretty’ mood tracker that is aesthetically pleasing (like the mandalas or feathers or the endless myriad of designs I’ve seen) and still include the times of day to help me see where the problem lies. If I like it by the end of the month, I will figure out a way to make it pretty and functional. The times of day are broken into chunks (you can see it if you scroll down on the graphic):

  • Before – before work, getting kids ready for school (on weekends, I consider this to just be morning vs afternoon)
  • Work – which I blocked off during the weekends
  • After – afternoons when I get off work and the kids are home from school
  • Dinner – often a time of angst because of picky eaters
  • After – after dinner as the kids are going to bed and the time that my husband and I have together afterward
  • Sleep – track how well I slept

For the most part, I feel like this has provided great information into my days, so I think I will keep it! I will be thinking of different ideas to make it prettier for the future. I thought of using this general layout and turning it into angel wings, I would like to do flowers or I saw a hot air balloon idea that may work but  I will keep the segmented times of the day.

My habits – well they suffered this month as well. I finally read The Miracle Morning and loved it. It is very motivational I started getting up early and enjoying morning yoga and reading. I would get so much done in that short hour, and many of my habits would be checked off in the morning. I discovered that if I am going to do this, I need to go to bed earlier.

If you are curious – these are the habits I track

  • Study – usually scriptures
  • Kid Time – time where I put my phone down and play with my kids, we go to a park, play outside, watch a movie together
  • Exercise – I count yoga in the morning as exercise, a walk, etc
  • Journal – Writing in my journal, even if it is a one-liner or one word in my gratitude log
  • Kind words – speaking kindly to everyone around me and not losing my temper
  • Words – it’s my swear jar in reverse – I fill in a square if I don’t swear all day. Last month I had just 5 days where one of those pesky words slipped out but I’ve already passed up that quantity this month.
  • Healthy Choice – consciously choosing to eat healthily vs. not. Taking a side of veggies instead of seconds of pasta etc – this one will be more developed in the future, but I included it so I could become aware of it before fully developing what I wanted to do.
  • Dishes – do the *&%$ dishes
  • Straighten – choose a room and straighten it
  • Clean a room – vacuum, dust, wipe down, clean it.
  • No Spend – frivolous spending, eating out, extra spending (I don’t count grocery shopping or getting gas)
  • IG – Instagram – keeping up with my challenge!
  • Show Me Your Letters – Hosted by the Happy Ever After Crafter – a great place to start if you want to start modern calligraphy (I will be doing a post later with my favorite lettering resources)
  • Prayers – I will probably separate this into AM & PM later
  • Laundry – ugh this task and dishes are never-ending. Only checked off if I have completed one full load – not just put it in the washer or taken out of the dryer but put away. 

I put habits on my tracker to assess how I am doing before making loads (haha I’m punny) of changes.

Other things I’ve done this month

I read a new book this month on habits. Read is a relative term, I listened to it. But hey! According to “things I am going to do” I wanted to read/listen to more books. I have consumed two books already this month – Better Than Before & The Miracle Morning. Thank you library. I will do a book review of these books later – spoiler: I liked both.

Habits and Moods mirror each other & provide daily insight, half-circled mirrored bullet journal layout, Habit and Mood Tracker

Remember to plan your life so you live beautifully.

~Tricia

4 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Bullet Journal, Habits, Planner Spreads, Trackers Tagged: #BuJo, books, brush lettering, Bullet Journal, bullet journal spread, Circle, circles, collection, habit tracker, Inspire, leuchtturm1917, mood tracker, November, November 2017, page layout, plan with me, self-improvement, trackers

Give your Goals & Plans a Defined Timeline

October 31, 2017 7 Comments

End of Year Planning – Don’t Leave it to the Last Minute

Start Early on Next Year’s Planning with a Super Simple Planning Spread – Give Your Goals & Plans a Defined Timeline. November seems like a great time to set some goals for next year. Specifically the first two weeks of November. Why then? Well because Halloween has come and gone and Thanksgiving or other holidays have not come yet. Visiting family will not arrive yet, and if you are vacationing or leaving, you have some time before the packing begins. There is a certain quiet about this time – the air is still buzzing with excitement that comes from the end of the year activities, but parties and plans have not started up – yet.

Goals & Plans a Defined Timeline - setting up for this month, next month & next year

The other reason it makes for perfect planning for next year is that next year is close, but not too close. You have some time to think. You have some time to reflect. The time is perfect to think about what you want from the next year. I am not talking about achieving anything – though you can certainly include achievements – I am mostly talking about what you want to become as a person. Become what is important to you.  Decide to spend your time doing the things that will give you happiness, joy, and peace in your life.

Use the quiet spaces in the month to plan ahead and define your goal timelines | Start your goals with a timeline, not an obscure 'someday'

Define Your Timelines

This is my variation of the short-term, mid-term, and long-term goal planning. I was never good at using those planning terms – I needed a definition for the meaning of short-term, mid-term, and long-term. So I defined the timelines for me. It makes me work harder because I now have an accountability to time.

Short-term for me is Monthly.

Mid-term is something I want to accomplish in the next 2 months (sometimes I extend it to 3 months). In this case, I will be planning to complete by the end of the year.

“Next Year” I define as ‘by the end of next year’ – these are long-term goals**. I will define these more in-depth for the start of the year. This section is actually the reason I created this spread. I wanted to start thinking about my plans and goals for next year so they didn’t get swept away by the flurry of the holidays.

**I have an even longer-term goal type (more than a year) but I did not include that on this spread.

Break Your Goals into Achievable Times

Break your goals down into achievable times – when you expect to get these things done. Start where you are and give yourself a timeline – not an obscure ‘someday’. Stretch yourself a little, be patient with yourself and make goals realistic.

This month with my focus on simplicity, I made a planning & goals page extremely simple so I was not distracted by all the ‘shiny’ things. I tend to flit from one place to another and never get anything done. So I laid out this page with simple functionality in mind. (The bottom picture shows without lines for an even more simplified look).

Start Early on Next Year's Planning with a Super Simple Planning Spread - Give Your Goals & Plans a Defined Timeline

Whatever Your Plans, No Matter Your Goals

Whatever your plans or goals for the coming months or year might be, take a moment to begin your planning for next year, whether it be to spend more time on self-care, cook more, lose weight, de-junk your house, using a planning & goals page is a good place for jotting down your ideas for yourself.

Do this now before life becomes more hectic so when you are sitting down after Christmas laying out your January planner you smile knowingly at yourself and can think “I’ve already set my goals for next year”. Go ahead, call yourself an overachiever. Because you are ahead of the game.

View the entire Monthly Planner Set up

I’d love to hear what you do to plan out your next year’s plans & goals.

Remember to plan your life so you live beautifully.

Use the quiet spaces in the month to plan ahead and define your goal timelines.

Tricia

7 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Bullet Journal, Find Your Happy, Habits, Journal Prompts & Ideas, Planner Spreads Tagged: #BuJo, brush lettering, Bullet Journal, bullet journal spread, collection, goal setting, hand drawn, ideas, inspiration, Inspire, leuchtturm1917, modern calligraphy, motivation, page layout, plan with me, planner goals, planner layout, planning to plan, self-improvement, timeline, tips & tricks, tips and tricks

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

About Me


Hi! I'm Tricia, the creative behind ChocolateMusings.com, I know how it feels to lose your inner muse. After years of darkness (which I call the dark ages of my life), I found my inner muse hiding in the forgotten corners of my soul, I vowed never to lose sight of her again.

Bullet journaling helped reignite the passion for art and living life again while organizing my days. I also discovered modern calligraphy and watercolor. Since then, my use of the bullet journal system has evlolved and I call it 'creative planning'. Here on the blog, I show you how to use your planner to ignite your inner muse and explore creativity and art while staying beautifully organized and living a joyful life.

I invite you to grab some good chocolate and dive into my musings. Let’s ignite your inner muse.

Read more on the about me page. You can also find my policies and disclosures here.

  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest
  • Etsy
  • Facebook

Cart

Browse Products

  • Shark silhouette Wall Art Printable | Chocolate Musings.com Shark Silhouette Wall Art Printable {Various Colors} $12.50
  • State Outline - Arkansas State Outline - Arkansas $10.00
  • State Outline - Indiana State Outline - Indiana $10.00
  • Little Red Truck with Flowers and "Spread Happiness" text Greeting Card 5.5x4.25 Top Fold Note Card | ChocolateMusings.com Red Truck and Flowers Greeting/Note Card - Spread Happiness {Multi Card Order} $17.00 – $59.00

Search ChocolateMusings.com

Categories

What Do You Want to Do Today?


 

Theme Design By Studio Mommy · Copyright © 2025

Copyright © 2025 · Exquisite Damask Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

 

Loading Comments...