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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 » planner

150+ Different Names for a Brain Dump

February 15, 2022 4 Comments

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

I don’t mind the term ‘brain dump,’ but I know many people don’t like it. Which got me thinking – what are some different names for a brain dump?

I use different names for brain dump all the time each month (or quarter) I tend to include some sort of thought-catching page. Though I didn’t realize it, I’ve done this in my bullet journal from the very beginning. I have to confess that since coming up with this list of alternate names for brain dump, I rarely title the page ‘brain dump.’

Here are some alternate names for a brain dump. I’d love to know what you call your recorded thoughts! Leave a comment below on what you call your ‘brain dumping ground’ page.

Edited – Originally Posted 05/09/2019

Need a different name for brain dump? I've organized 150+ alternate names for brain dump - perfect for your bullet journal or planner | ChocolateMusings.com

Table of contents

  • First of All – What is a Brain Dump?
  • Alternate Names for Brain Dump
    • General
    • If You Feel Like the Thoughts are Neverending or Your Brain is Whining
    • Creative Names for Brain Dump
    • Idea Generation
    • Lightbulb
    • Gold / Pirates / Treasure
    • Travel
    • Weather
    • Zen
    • Dark
    • Animal / Bees
    • Creepy Crawly / Halloween Brain Dump Alternatives
    • Harry Potter
    • Beach / Water
    • Plants
    • Food Related Names for Brain Dump
    • Science
    • Space
    • Money
    • Cartoon / Book / Quote
    • Games
    • Gray Matter / Brain Anatomy
    • Close to the Name “Brain Dump” but Just Different Enough…
What is a brain dump? And all things brain dump + 150 different names for brain dump | ChocolateMusings.com

First of All – What is a Brain Dump?

If you’ve never heard of or done a brain dump, it sounds weird. In my experience, you can do brain dumps in several ways. One way to think of it is downloading your thoughts from your head to paper or electronically so you can categorize them and organize them. Once you’ve written down everything flying around your head now you can sort through the information and ‘mine the diamonds in the rough.’ Meaning to pick out the good things and pursue them.

Another way to brain dump is to focus only on one topic and write about it. Though concentrating on one topic might be more brainstorming instead of brain dumping.

For a more in-depth explanation about brain dumps – check out this post.

Alternate Names for Brain Dump - Header | ChocolateMusings.com

Alternate Names for Brain Dump

Need a brain dump synonym? Though I’m 100% positive that this list is not exhaustive, it’s a good start. I’d love to hear your ideas – if you have a different name for a brain dump, leave me a comment below.

What names have you seen or brain dump page names you’ve used. I’d like to see your creations, too if you’re inspired by these different names for brain dump – tag me on Instagram @ChocolateMusingsCreates.

General

  • A to Z (a little doodle of Amazon’s arrow logo might be fun for this brain dump page)
  • All the Things
  • All the Things in My Head
  • Hello Thoughts
  • Jots & Tittles
  • Landing Page
  • Let me Sleep (this brain dump name is perfect if your thoughts keep you up at night)
  • Meeting of my Mind
  • Mind Tricks (Magic tricks come to my mind with this alternate brain dump name)
  • Mind Unzipped (wouldn’t this be a fun illustration?)
  • Mindless Wanderings
  • More than Just Shower Thoughts
  • Musings
  • Musings & Mutterings
  • Recorded Thoughts (this brain dump alternate reminds me of an 80’s tape deck)
  • Sandbox
  • Shower Thoughts
  • These are Mine
  • These Thoughts
  • Thinking
  • Those aren’t voices; they’re my thoughts speaking to me
  • Thoughtful Things
  • Thoughts – Everybody has Them
  • Thoughts Anonymous
  • Wander through My Wonderings
  • Wonderings
  • Write it Down! If you’re like me – you might need an instruction to write it all down instead of trying to remember the details. Sometimes you just need to a reminder to write it all down.

If You Feel Like the Thoughts are Neverending or Your Brain is Whining

My brain usually does this when I’m trying to sleep. I keep a notebook and pen beside my bed and just write things down. Here’s a little secret – I don’t even turn on the light when these thoughts keep me up. So you can imagine the mess on the page when I try to re-read what I wrote. And in all honesty, these thoughts are rarely worth keeping since they are more worries or things I already know.

  • Don’t Judge My Thoughts
  • My 2-Year old and My Brain are alike – They Both Whine (of course you can substitute for any age that whines at you, 16 year olds, 12-year olds, 47-year olds. Whatever you need to compare it to)
  • My Brain is Whining Again
  • Anti-Meditating
  • Anything Goes
  • Free Your Mind
  • Get it all out
  • I’m trying to Quit…Thinking
  • Information Relay
  • Inner Monologue
  • Internal Broadcast
  • Brain Exclamations
  • Nonsense
  • Where Did That Come From?
  • Odds & Ends
  • Peculiarities
  • Random Thoughts
  • Straight out of the Brain
  • Stream of Consciousness
  • Stuff

Creative Names for Brain Dump

I don’t know about you, but sometimes the creative ideas just flow. There were literally times where I sat down and wrote an entire year’s creativity-based ideas in about 10 minutes. So naturally, I like to title these creative bursts appropriately so I can let my creative juices flow. Now, there are a lot of ways to illustrate each of these ideas.

  • Creative Juices
  • Crafting my Awesome
  • Creative Muse
  • Creative Space

Idea Generation

If you use your brain dump as a brainstorm page as well, you might need a page focused more on idea generation. Here are a few names for brain dump which focus on generating ideas. If you’re digging for treasure (in your thoughts, of course) look through the treasure/pirate section as well!

  • Fabulous Finds
  • Idea box
  • Idea Log/Journal
  • Think Outside the Idea Box

Lightbulb

  • Light bulb factory
  • Light switch
  • The Lights are On

Gold / Pirates / Treasure

  • Nuggets
  • Brain Nuggets
  • Thought Nuggets
  • Nuggets of Awesome
  • Pot of Gold
  • Thoughts of Gold
  • Gilded Thoughts
  • X Marks the Thought
  • Pirate Map
  • Mind Map / Mind Mapping (make it look like a treasure map)
  • Treasure Trove
  • Diamonds in the Rough
  • Diamonds and Coal
  • Treasure at the end of the rainbow
Pirate theme Treasure Map Brain Dump | @ChocolateMusingsCreates ChocolateMusings.com #pirate #bulletjournal #bujo

Travel

  • Train of Thought
  • Flying Through my Thoughts
  • Zoom
  • Zooming Thoughts

Weather

  • Brainstorming
  • BrainStorm
  • Down Pour
  • Lightning Strikes
  • Winter Thoughts
  • Spring Thoughts
  • Summer Thoughts
  • Fall Thoughts
  • These Thoughts Keep Falling
  • Thoughts Keep Springing Up
  • Thought Tornado
  • Snowflake Thoughts (because each one is unique!)
  • Stormy Thoughts

Zen

  • My Tangle of Zen
  • Too Tangled to Zen

Dark

  • Don’t Go There
  • Dark and Dreary
  • Dark and Dreary Wilderness
  • Mind-field
  • Fettered Mind
  • Unfettered
  • Do Not Enter (Police Tape Theme)
  • Outer Darkness
  • Brain Limbo
  • Shadowy Thoughts & Reflections

Animal / Bees

  • Barrel of Insights
  • Barrel of Thoughts
  • Buzzing Thoughts
  • Fluttering Thoughts
  • Idea Farm
  • Idea Keeper (like a beekeeper)
  • Untamed Thoughts
  • Wild and Untamed
  • Wild Thoughts Can’t Be Tamed
idea keeping is like bee keepeing

Creepy Crawly / Halloween Brain Dump Alternatives

  • Brewing Thoughts
  • Haunted House of Thoughts
  • Monsters in My Head
  • Spider’s Lair
  • Spooky Thoughts
  • Tangled Thoughts
  • Tangled Web of Thoughts
  • What’s Brewing

Harry Potter

Harry Potter themes provide a treasure-trove of different names for brain dump. Some of my favorites (so far) are:

  • Catch the Golden Snitch
  • Chamber of Secrets
  • Chamber of Thoughts
  • Fantastical Thoughts and Where to Find Them
  • Horcrux
  • I Think I Need Another Butterbeer
  • Magical Maladdies in My Head
  • Magical Thoughts
  • Maurader’s Map of Thoughts
  • Mischief Managed
  • Quiddich Field of Thoughts
  • There’s a Quaffle in my Brain (Someone let it out!)
  • Tom Riddle’s Diary

Beach / Water

  • Beach It!
  • Beached Thoughts / Beached Ideas
  • Deep Thoughts
  • My Pool Runs Deep
  • Pool of Thoughts
  • River of Thoughts
  • Shell we Think?
  • Submerged
  • Swimming Thoughts
  • Think Tank
  • Thought Waves
  • Wading through Wonderings
  • Water under the bridge
Floral Doodles Bullet Journal Theme - Brain Dump Page | ChocolateMusings.com #floral #doodles #bulletjournal #braindump

Plants

  • Berry Picking
  • Idea Jungle
  • Idea Tree
  • Field of Thoughts
  • Idea Berry Bush / Idea Bush
  • Wilderness of Thought
  • Finding Roses Through the Thorns
  • Prickles in my Brain (Cactus)
  • Garden of Thoughts
  • Maze of Thoughts
  • Seeds of Thought
  • Don’t get boxed in, grow your way out
  • Idea Bush – Let your Ideas Grow

Food Related Names for Brain Dump

  • Delectible Ideas
  • Hot Dog! Those are a lot of thoughts! or (Hot Dog! What a good idea!)
  • Fruits of my Brain
  • Pot o’ Honey
  • M&Ms (musings & mutterings)
  • Thoughts are Poppin’
  • __________ Pieces (include your name – for instance: Tricia’s Pieces)
  • Seedlets
  • Seeds of Thought
  • Grape Thoughts
  • My Thought Vine
  • I Need Chocolate for these Musings (Can you tell where I got this idea?)

Science

  • Brain Waves
  • Radio Waves
  • Spectrum of Thoughts

Space

  • Brain Warp
  • Thoughts at Warp Speed
  • Galaxy of Thoughts
  • Out of this World Thoughts
  • Flyby Thoughts

Money

  • Penny for your Thoughts
  • If Time is Money, Thoughts Make Cents!
If time is money, thoughts make cents! Different Name for Brain Dump | ChocolateMusings.com #braindump #bulletjournal #bujo

Cartoon / Book / Quote

  • Think, Think, Think (like Pooh Bear)
  • Curiouser and Curiouser
  • Where the Wild Thoughts Are
  • Dump it to Crumpet
  • Fifty Thoughts Freed
  • Not All Who Wonder are Lost
  • Mindcraft / Mindcrafted
  • One Thought to Rule Them All

Games

  • Scribble Scrabble in My Head
  • Scrabble Tiles
  • Word Search
  • Crosswords
  • Know When to Fold ’em (Know when to keep ’em)
  • Brain Games

Gray Matter / Brain Anatomy

  • Wandering Through theBrain Folds
  • Gray Matter / Grey Matter
  • My Gray Matters
  • Cranial Purge

Close to the Name “Brain Dump” but Just Different Enough…

  • Brain Farts (though this doesn’t sound much nicer than brain dump – I thought someone might get a kick out of it)
  • Brain Dumping Ground
  • Download
  • Mind Dump
Idea Tree - Alternate Name for Brain Dump for your Journal | ChocolateMusings.com #braindump #doodles #lightbulbs
Hate the name brain dump? Me too. So I came up with 150+ different names for brain dump - perfect for themes in your bullet journal or just to change it up! | Chocolatemusings.com
Need a different name for brain dump? I've organized 150+ alternate names for brain dump - perfect for your bullet journal or planner | ChocolateMusings.com
Habit tracker & Brain Dump Bullet Journal Sea Creature Theme | ChocolateMusings.com
Not all thoughts are black and white - that's why we have grey matter - Bullet journal brain dump page | ChocolateMusings.com
Building Outline Brain Dump Spread - Wander Through my Wonderings | ChocolateMusings.com
Shimmery Shiny Ink Building Outline Drawing | Chocolatemusings.com
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
Out of this world - brain dump page for my bullet journal - use different name for brain dump | ChocolateMusings.com
Different names for brain dump: This Month it's an Idea Bush - Keeping with my leaves theme, but I love the lightbulb bursting with leafy ideas. Bullet journal spreads & Ideas | ChocolateMusings.com
Brain Dump Floral Wreath - Don't get boxed in - grow your way out Bullet Journal Spread | ChocolateMusings.com #bujo #bulletjournal #braindump
Shadow Thoughts & Reflections - Alternate Names for Brain Dump | ChocolateMusings.com #braindump
Alternate names for brain dump - Shadowy Thoughts & Reflections | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #braindump
Brain dump alternate name: Delectable Ideas | ChocolateMusings.com #braindump #creative #watercolor
Out of this world thoughts brain dump watercolor bullet journal spread | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #bujo #braindump
Yellow Airplane with Cloud Text Brain Dump Page | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #braindump #headerideas
Seeds of Thought Brain Dump Page - Simple Floral Border | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #braindump #floral #linedrawing
Bullet Journal Ideas: Idea Tree Instead of Brain Dump | ChocolateMusings.com #braindump #bulletjournal #ideas
If time is money, thoughts make cents! Different Name for Brain Dump | ChocolateMusings.com #braindump #bulletjournal #bujo
Idea Tree - Alternate Name for Brain Dump for your Journal | ChocolateMusings.com #braindump #doodles #lightbulbs
Floral Doodles Bullet Journal Theme - Brain Dump Page | ChocolateMusings.com #floral #doodles #bulletjournal #braindump
Floral Doodles Bullet Journal Theme - Brain Dump Page | ChocolateMusings.com #floral #doodles #bulletjournal #braindump
Pirate theme Treasure Map Brain Dump | @ChocMusings ChocolateMusings.com #pirate #bulletjournal #bujo
Random thoughts and great ideas bullet journal spread idea tracker brain dump
Random thoughts and great ideas bullet journal spread idea tracker brain dump
Random thoughts and great ideas bullet journal spread idea tracker brain dump
Random thoughts and great ideas bullet journal spread idea tracker brain dump

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Filed Under: Blog, Bullet Journal, featured, Find Your Happy, Get Organized & Start Planning, Journal Prompts & Ideas, Planner Header Ideas, Planner Spreads, Start Planning Here Tagged: #BuJo, alternate names for brain dump, brain dump, brain dump ideas, Bullet Journal, different names for brain dump, planner

April Mid-Month Habit Check: Humility & Progress

April 15, 2019 2 Comments

April Mid Month Habit Check - The theme: Humility | ChocolateMusings.com

Mid-Month Habit Check Time!

It’s mid-month habit check time! Mid-month habit checks are where I groan and squirm uncomfortably because this is where I’m accountable for my actions for the month so far and give myself a chance to improve in the second half.  P.S. I still love my transparent habit tracker used in February & April!

First of all, let me tell you why I track habits because I didn’t for the longest time. I thought it was silly and time-consuming. But this spread in my journal has probably been the reason why I kept bullet journaling or planning for so long.

Note: Here’s a post showing you how to set up a habit tracker, and why I like to track habits.

Tracking your habits gives you power over yourself like nothing else I can explain. I don’t monitor a tremendous amount of habits. And sometimes I list a habit on the tracker to start reminding myself to think about doing it. I started reading habit books and found that what they said was true – you manage what you monitor. I can attest to that.

This month I tracked ten habits:

  • Patient Parenting
  • Scriptures
  • Prayers
  • Learning
  • Blog
  • Product
  • Productive
  • Clean Daily
  • Plan
  • Time Out
April Mid-Month Habit Check - are you on track? | ChocolateMusings.com

Most of them I’m pretty good about doing. I give myself half points some days because I know I tried, but could be better. Patient parenting scored a lot of half-points where I’d be fine for most of the day, and then something would light my fuse, and I’d blow up or become angry.

This month, I also struggled with prayer & scriptures. I don’t know if you pray or similar, but it’s an act of humility. And I struggle with that. Lots of reasons why come to mind, and that is most definitely a post for another time. But sometimes realizing why we are struggling with something makes it easier to fix.

Mid-month habit time is an excellent time for me to do some introspection and assess what I’m prioritizing in my life or what is not a priority and what I should consider changing. I’m guessing if I show more humility and pray like I intend to do when I wrote my habit checks, my patient parenting score would go up.

Always Progressing

If I make an effort to do any of these ten things daily, I know I’m trying, I’m progressing. Never consider yourself a failure because you tried. Sure, there’s room for improvement, but it’s not a failure.

That’s why I post my mid-month habit checks, to remind myself that it’s ok as long as I’m trying. And to give me a chance for the rest of the month to increase my effort. Sometimes I realize I’ve focused on the wrong things. Other times I realize I put too much on my plate.

It’s a great time to evaluate and give yourself a chance to rejuvenate your focus. How does my mid-month habit check compare to yours? Do you see any patterns?

2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Get Organized & Start Planning, Habits Tagged: #BuJo, #bulletjournal #bujo, 2019, april, Bullet Journal, habit tracker, habit tracking, improvement, mid-month habit check, planner

Creating Circles in Your Bullet Journal

May 3, 2018 5 Comments

How to Create Circles in your Bullet Journal

Creating Circles in your Bullet Journal: There are lots of ways to use circles in your journal. I have experimented with a few ways to do it. I have several tools that I’ve purchased (most are very inexpensive – as they’re usually intended for school-aged children). So creating the circles is one thing, but getting the spacing even is another thing. My favorite tool for measuring circles is the Helix tool – because it has each degree marked on the outside so once you have your calculations, just find the number and make your marks.

Creating Circles in your Bullet Journal

Do me a favor – click on the little red ‘subscribe’ button in the video. I’d appreciate it.

How I use Circles in My Pages

Here are some ways I have used circles in my bullet journal: Weekly logs, Accents for pages, I use it in my Gratitude Log, & Level 10 life my January 2018 Habit Tracker has one of my very favorite circular trackers. I am sure there are hundreds of other ways to use circles. All of my pages for April have a circle theme.

They add some fun to the layout. I know, it’s tricky creating them and getting the spacing right. Keep reading for the tools I use and the calculations to create the circles. I’ve created a circle measurement guide that you can print and keep in your bullet journal for reference. I am working on a printable for those who want to print, stick and go too!

Ways to use circles in your bullet journal - find the printable guide on chocolatemusings.com

Ready to include some circles? Here are some calculations and some examples to use:

Some Basic Knowledge:

A circle is made of 360 points or degrees, so you take the number of sections you want and divide that into 360.

To Divide by 7:

360 / 7 = 51.42…… well that’s not going to divide evenly. So now it’s time to get creative.

  • You could do 51 degrees for each – it will be a little harder to measure – so turn your wheel carefully.
  • Using the Helix: make a mark at 0, 51, 102, 153, 204, 255, & 306 the last will be just a little bigger than the rest, but it’s tiny.
  • You could do 50 degrees for each and have a little sliver left over – that’s what I did for the penny farthing bike in January.

Measurement guide for adding circles to your bullet journal

To Divide by 6:

360 / 6 = 60

  • Layout Idea: Combine the weekend into one segment.
  • If you wanted everything even and are ok with a combined weekend, that works out.
  • You’d make your marks at 0, 60, 120, 180, 240 & 300.

To Divide by 5:

360 / 5 = 72

  • Layout Idea: use it ONLY for weekdays and leave the weekend for another location) this makes it a little more complicated, but it’s even!
  • Make your marks at 0, 72, 144, 216, 288.

To Divide by 4:

You’re now dividing into quarters – 360 / 4 = 90

  • Ideas for this layout: To-Dos, create two circles one with 3 and one with 4 for the week, or two with 4 and have a meal planner
  • Make your marks at 0, 90, 180, & 270.

To Divide by 3:

360 / 3 = 120

  • Layout Idea: You could have two sets of circles for the week and combine the weekend
  • Make your marks at 0, 120, & 240

Other Ideas:

Another idea is to create 7 circles, one for each day and split them in half for to-dos, appointments & meal planning or split it into 3’s. I used one like this for a weekly spread. I liked it! It was different than normal.

Here is one other idea – divide by 12. Think I’m crazy? It turns into a clock. An inner circle is the AM, and the outer circle is PM.

360 / 12 = 30

Make your marks at 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210, 240, 270, 300, & 330.

Multi-Layered Circles for Tracking

Now I’ve opened up a whole other realm. I will do another post about making multi-layered circles for habit tracking and mood tracking – just like the mood tracker in January.

Want a quick measurement guide for making circles? I created one for you.

Save this to your Pinterest board you’ll want it for when you create circles in your own bullet journal. Who knew you’d be reaching back to the time you were in grade school and doing math? I guess those teachers were right. You would use math every day. Well, at least when you need to count out those dots and measure circles in your bullet journal.

5 Comments
Filed Under: Artsy Planner Spreads, Blog, Bullet Journal, Get Creative, Get Organized & Start Planning, Planner Spreads, Tutorials & How To Tagged: Bullet Journal, bullet journaling bujo, Circle, circle measurement guide, circles, circular trackers, create circles, how to, how to create circles in my bullet journal, how to use circles, ideas for circles, planner, planner circles

Moving to a New Bullet Journal for March!

March 8, 2018 7 Comments

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.

Question:

How do you feel about starting a new planner in the middle of a year?

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

~Tricia

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Filed Under: Blog, Bullet Journal, Plan With Me, Plan With Me 2018, Planner Spreads Tagged: #BuJo, Bullet Journal, bullet journal collections, bullet journal set-up, Circle, circles, collections, mid-year, mid-year migration, plan with me, planner, planning video, two bullet journals, two notebooks, video tutorial

Plans, Ambitions & Attitude of Gratitude

March 1, 2018 4 Comments

Alright March, I’ve heard you come in like a lion…let’s do this thing. I’ve got ambitions and a bullet journal set-up to prove it. I’ll post the bullet journal set-up later.

Plans, ambitions & attitude of gratitude
Inspiration for picture layout: Patti @as_a_rye AsARye.com

February Review

Unfinished Projects Bullet Journal Spread

One day, because we’re kind of nerdy, my husband and I looked up why February was shorter than all the other months. What I remember of that brief Google search is that they hated that month. Farmers didn’t like that month, and it was a month to be cast aside and anticipate what was coming next. Well, this year, I can’t say I disagree.

My February mid-month habit check was pathetic (my habits and I were on a break) and nothing seemed to work well last month. After some introspection, I discovered that I was not writing things down and I was just trying to keep it all in my head.

Why?

Partially because I was moving to a new notebook and I wasn’t making consorted effort to keep track of all my projects. So I just got frustrated. Then I was frustrated that I was frustrated. Have you ever been there? I know am not alone. A minimalistic mind map layout showing my unfinished projects seemed to clear the fog.

Plans Do Not Have to be Linear

My February weekly spreads are distinct and different week to week! I recorded videos and walked you through how to create them. I even did real-time freehand drawings so you could see more of the process. Well, guess what? I never posted them. During my slump, I wondered if it would even be worth posting. The month ended, and it wouldn’t be ‘in the month that I created it.’

So is it worth it to post? Absolutely! I figure you wouldn’t have used it in February anyway.

I’m Thankful for SunshineRandom thoughts and great ideas bullet journal spread idea tracker brain dump

Thankfully the cloudy thoughts parted, and figurative sunrays enlightened my mind. I realized that just because the week has passed, the information is still useful! So I will post those weeks later. I got so caught up ‘in the moment of relevance’ that I forgot to take time to ‘be in the moment.’ Posting my March welcome page the day before or the week before on Instagram isn’t necessary. I realized that I love seeing past month’s posts from others and it doesn’t matter to me if it is for that month or not. Inspiration doesn’t need a timeline to be inspiring.

There’s so much I want to share with you! Pages and pages of ideas scatter through my notebooks. I hope you come here hungry for inspiration because I want to serve you a feast.  My ambition is to live by the concept of the design rather than the date in my notebook.

My Inspiration:

I have to credit a couple of people for this inspiration. One is my friend at TheAniKay.com – Ani and I got to meet when she was here in Atlanta for work. We got dinner at one of my favorite spots (Tacos & Tequilas), and then we went to Michael’s. It was a good day! When Ani posted her change of mindset on her blog (read it here), and it got me thinking. I am not one to follow the crowd and never have been.

Tales of a 6th Grade Nothing:

In 6th grade at lunch one day, I remember one of the popular girls asked me to sit at her table (an outsider’s dream!). At first, my heart pumped, and I could hear my heartbeat throbbing in my ears with excitement. But then I told her no.

When I told her no in that split second, I knew that I didn’t want to do what the other girls at that table did. Their hair was the same, and their clothes were from the same store, they even talked the same. I didn’t want to be a copy. Most of all I didn’t want to act the way they acted, they weren’t very nice.

Ambitions: What’s coming:

Since then, I have thought a lot about what I wanted to do. I love posting my monthly & weekly spreads, quotes, mantras, etc. That will continue, but maybe not in the order of creation.

I’ve also wanted to curate inspiration from all over to get your creative gears turning. That is, after all, the goal here.  I will be adding a ‘favorites day.’ I want to share with you what inspires me and what my favorite things are.

Who I am & what I like to do, a definition of me, Bullet journal Collection

Instagram Does Not Rule My Life

Instagram’s algorithms display my content days or weeks later than I post. So why does it matter when I post the content? I am not going to live and die by the way Instagram decides to serve (or not serve up) my content. If I am busy living life and don’t get to post something the day I should according to the current platform algorithm, well, good for me. I’m living life.

What Does that Mean?

That means my posts won’t be timely when it comes to weekly & monthly layouts (posting the week/day before the date occurs on the calendar). But I think that timelines are irrelevant when it comes to that anyway. You can recreate a spread from my March into your October or December journals without caring that it came from my March spread.

You can use an idea from a collection and turn it into a tracker or another spread.

This blog is meant to inspire. If it is only inspirational right this minute, well, that’s a lot of effort for just a moment. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and let that take over.  I have three kids, a husband, a house, a job, a cat, church responsibilities. I drive like a civilized human being, I try to smile at strangers (I have an ongoing battle with RBF), and I am trying to make the best of things in my life. Following my advice: plan your life, so you live beautifully. Sometimes living beautifully means that I live on my schedule and I go to the park instead of edit a video.

Ambitions: Help You Find Your Inner Muse

I love creating content for you. Hearing that I helped make a difference in your life and ignited your inner muse is AMAZING. I lived through years of what I call the ‘dark ages’ where I never touched a paintbrush or picked up a pencil. When I finally rediscovered my inner muse, I vowed never to let her go. I intend to help others find their inner muse and enjoy life too.

Life is complicated and messy. My bullet journal has helped restore some order to my life, and for that I am grateful. I am also grateful to create and be creative.

I hope that no matter when you find this content, you will be inspired in some way.  And the figurative sunrays will find their way through cloudy thoughts and lighten your day.

My goal in life is to be happier. I read books on the subject, make goals, create habit trackers, all to lead a happier, more fulfilling life. Forgive me if I am behind on posting my weekly or monthly layouts. I am working on forgiving myself for it too.

Here’s Your Challenge:

Decide who you are and be that. Choose what you do, who you talk to, your friends, when you post to social media, and how you live your life.

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Filed Under: Blog, Find Your Happy, Get Inspired, Habits, Journal Prompts & Ideas, Quotes & Words to Inspire Tagged: #BuJo, ambitions, brush lettering, Bullet Journal, bullet journaling, collections, creativity, inspiration, motivation, musings, my plans, planner, spreads, timeline, welcome page

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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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