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Chocolate Musings

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

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Home » page layout » Page 2

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

A Deliciously Simple Layout

November 13, 2017 4 Comments

A Deliciously Simple Layout – Minimal Spread

The week of Thanksgiving. We are deep in fall and this week can sometimes be rather hectic depending on what your holiday plans are. If you are traveling long distances or you are hosting this festive holiday, a big, elaborate weekly plan is probably not going to happen.  What you need is a minimal spread. Then add to it only the essentials. A weekly tracker, shopping list, sleeping arrangements, travel itinerary. Weeks like this need some versatility, and minimal designs add a lot of versatility.

Weekly Plans

For me, this week is low-key. I will work Monday, Tuesday, and part of Wednesday (maybe) but then off on Thursday until the next Monday. My kiddos are off school for the week. My husband is working from home the first part of the week (maybe – he might just take the week off). I created a deliciously simple layout and then I doodled my anticipated Thanksgiving menu down the center of the page. What a fun way to dress up this minimal weekly spread.

I really wanted a minimal weekly plan without a schedule so we could enjoy some time off as a family. I have no set plans other than Thursday, so I think we will play everything by ear. On Thursday, Thanksgiving, we will celebrate with some friends – who by the way is a trained chef. So excited to see what she cooks up for us. I am bringing muffin cup stuffing. So delicious! And some desserts because #yum.

A Deliciously Simple Weekly Bullet Journal Spread Vertical Open Squared Weekly Bullet Journal Planner Layout with large center margins

Watch the planning video, click through to YouTube and hit ‘Subscribe” for more videos. Be the first to know when a new video is available.

I’ve loved the other week’s layouts for November. The minimalistic style has been great for some much-needed time to ponder and plan without being overwhelmed with the ‘to dos’. That has been so good because this month has been a pretty hectic one emotionally, which turns into pretty taxing on my physical well-being. It’s just one of those months that I have to ‘muscle through’.

Here are links to this month’s layouts:

  • Welcome Page | Planning for November Starts…Yesterday – November Title Page
  • November Monthly Set-up | November Plans – Focus on Simplicity and Gratitude
  • Goals & Plans | Give your Goals a Defined Timeline
  • 1st week | And like that…It’s November – 1st Week of November – Minimal for Function
  • 2nd week | Give Yourself a Little White Space – in design and life
  • 3rd week | Life is Happening Now – Layout Your Planner To Keep it on Track
  • Habit Tracker (I will add a link once completed)
  • Christmas Shopping Plans (I will add a link once completed)

Next Month’s Plans

I think that I may include more painting and whimsy next month for my planner spreads. Whimsical seems like a great word to describe the month of December. But one thing I have learned from this month’s minimalistic style is that it creates a creativity all on its own. It is very interesting how that works out.

Below are the measurements for this weekly spread. I did not include a timeline, but one could be easily added – they are 12×12 boxes just like the other weeks in November. I left the boxes open to the side just to change-up the design. Sign up below for a free printable of this measurement guide.

A Deliciously Simple Weekly Bullet Journal Spread Vertical Open Squared Weekly Bullet Journal Planner Layout with large center margins

Thanksgiving Menu Planning (or drooling over the plans)

What is your menu for Thanksgiving? This is what I plan (hope) to eat on Thanksgiving. Just a bit of each, not a heaping plateful. I realized after I finished doodling and started to paint that I included two sets of pea dishes. Or I just forgot what the one on the left was under the gravy. I turned it into a salad. Maybe it was cranberries. I don’t really like cranberries, so that’s why I forgot about them.

Thanksgiving Dinner Planned out in my Deliciously Simple Weekly Bullet Journal Spread Vertical Open Squared Weekly Bullet Journal Planner Layout with large center margins

Remember to plan your life so you live beautifully.

~Tricia

4 Comments
Filed Under: Artsy Planner Spreads, Blog, Bullet Journal, Plan With Me 2017, Planner Spreads Tagged: #BuJo, box, Bullet Journal, bullet journal spread, cursive writing, DIY, free printable, layout, leuchtturm1917, minimal, minimalistic, open box, page layout, weekly, weekly bullet journal layout, Weekly Layout, weekly log, weekly spread

Life is Happening Now – Layout Your Planner To Keep it on Track

November 9, 2017 2 Comments

Life is Passing by so Fast! Keep Life on Track.

Ah yes. November is zipping by. November is great here in the states because the focus seems to shift to gratitude. A whole month dedicated to gratitude. And food.  But it really is a nice time to reflect on the year gone by.

One thing I am thankful for – my planner. It keeps my life on track because I don’t just watch it pass by. I may seem like I have my nose stuck in my planner all day; but in reality, I plan at night when the kids are in bed as my creative release. My planner actually reminds me to put down my phone and have ‘kid time’ and enjoy their moments.

Life is Happening Now Hand Lettered Quote

If We Could Just Pause Time

My husband was talking to my two oldest children – they were trying to both climb on his lap. He told them that they were getting so big that they weren’t going to fit anymore and he would like for them to stop growing up right now.  Needless to say, the 6 and 8-year-old were not agreeable to that notion. They look forward to all the things in their life. They have so many possibilities to look forward to! But as their parents, we know that this time is all too fleeting.

I included ‘kid time’ as part of my habit trackers. This has spurred me to play outside with them, invent games, read with them, I remember to put my phone down and live in the moment as their childhood flits by. I am not missing it and for that I am grateful.

Squared boxes for the month of November - Minimal Row Layout with mini time-blocking - Keep Life on Track

Weekly Spread Design

I created this layout in kind with the other weeks in November. Minimal with a lot of white space. The 12×12 boxes seem to work well when I want enough room to plan for each day’s activities and still leaves ample space for doodling or writing in between. The extra box on the bottom right is just for symmetry. Last week I was all about the asymmetry. This week, the rows are nice and even and very symmetrical.

One thing I would do differently if I were to use this spread again – is I would start with Monday and label the days across the two pages to Thursday then start with Friday under Monday. Instead of Wednesday underneath Monday (see the picture versus the digital measurements below). I think it would flow better. It’s what I get for doing a ‘Plan With Me Video’. Sometimes on video things are not as clear as they would be when it’s just you planning. View the video here in the monthly setup post.

I enjoy these weekly layouts, just like I am enjoying life right now.

Guess what?

Life is happening now. And I am not letting it just pass me by. I am enjoying every moment.

I hope you remember to plan your life so you live beautifully and don’t let life pass you by either.

~Tricia

2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Bullet Journal, Habits, Plan With Me 2017, Start Planning Here Tagged: #BuJo, Bullet Journal, bullet journal spread, children, creativity, leuchtturm1917, minimal, minimalistic, modern calligraphy, page layout, plan with me, Quotes, weekly, Weekly Layout, weekly spread

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

Keep the Function of a Monthly Calendar Spread with a Touch of Flair

October 6, 2017 1 Comment

October Monthly Calendar Layout

Near-Minimalist Monthly Spread with Rounded corners

I didn’t always use a bullet journal as my preferred method of keeping track of my life. I used other planners. In fact, I used a planner once as a journal so I would have just a snippet of space to write in. It worked, for a while. But here is the thing, I was flipping through my old planners and they were so boring. The function was there, but the inspiration wasn’t. I have many half-filled or abandoned planners – it’s really embarrassing. There were planners where there months where there was nothing recorded.  It wasn’t until I found the freedom of creating in the bullet journal system that I used it consistently.

Bullet Journaling = Flexibility and Variety

Part of the reason I have stuck with bullet journaling for so long is the variations you can add to your planner. You allow for as much space as needed any given month or week. Be as creative or minimalistic as desired. For me, This may not always be a priority, but now I need that space as a creative outlet. That being said, monthly calendar-style layouts offer the least amount of flexibility. I tried to create a gravestone monthly calendar layout. That didn’t work well because I use my monthly as a way to glance at the month and see what is coming and it was overwhelming to look at – so I just turned the page and did something different.

If having a monthly grid layout works for you, by all means, go, be productive and love the square you are in (I’ll only be a tinge jealous). Maybe someday you can teach me of your ways.

The monthly calendar is so incredibly functional, my month wouldn’t be complete without it! This start of the month page may just be the most functional page in the whole month’s layouts. Can you hear the accusing tone in my words? Don’t get me wrong…functional is essential but it’s usually so boring.

I like seeing a monthly calendar – I am a very visual person, so seeing the relationship between events helps me plan my days. Especially with the monthly calendar with its familiar boxed days. But sometimes, those boxes are just too boxy.

Whimsy and sparkle make a monthly calendar so nice

Just a little change to your monthly calendar makes it look completely new!

Round the corners for a change on the monthly calendar set up, add a bit of sparkle and whimsy with iridescent paints, a couple of cute spiders with webs and your (near) minimalist monthly spread is all dressed up. Keep function and add a touch of flair.

So if you find yourself bored with the same-old-same-old in your planner, tweak your functional layout ever so slightly, adding details that don’t scare you (see what I did there with the Halloween reference) by keeping function but adding some whimsy. It may not take much to brighten your planner and shake off the cobwebs (I did it again!) from your planning routine.

In review:

September’s monthly log was full of color and added elements.

I’d love to hear!

Leave me a comment below: What planner change-ups have you made to spice up your planner? I’d love to know what you’ve done!

Pin an image for your own inspiration and Follow me on Pinterest for inspiration and ideas!
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October Monthly Calendar layout - rounded boxes and combined weekend adds variety. A little cobweb and spiders and shimmery paint - viola! the calendar is all dressed up for Halloween.

 

Want to know what supplies I used? I’ll tell you – contains affiliate links.

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.

1 Comment
Filed Under: Artsy Planner Spreads, Blog, Bullet Journal, Plan With Me, Planner Spreads Tagged: change, DIY, halloween, Inspire, leuchtturm1917, minimal, modern calligraphy, monthly calendar, monthly layout, monthly log, October, page layout, plan with me, spiders, spiderwebs, spooky

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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.

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