Bullet Journaling in the New Year

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There’s not a lot about January that excites me. I do, however, love the opportunity to start anew. And I love any reason to buy a new planner or journal. Opening a new planner makes me a little giddy. This year I’m excited to continue bullet journaling

In the past, my new year’s treat to myself was a new Sugar Paper planner from Target or Amazon. I’d get a thrill from filling out the blank calendar pages with events coming up. I would even feel a little disappointed when I ran out of things to put in it. I needed something more than just upcoming appointments and playdates to plan my year with. But besides a few pages for notes in the back, there wasn’t room for anything but a weekly to do list. That was ok with me, until a friend of mine showed me her bullet journal

What is a Bullet Journal?

According to bulletjournal.com the bullet journal is a “customizable and forgiving organizational system that will teach you to do more with less.” It’s the journal of all journals and the planner of all planners because it is both those things. At least it is if you’d like it to be. The beauty of the bullet journal is that it can be any and everything you want it to be.

Bullet Journaling in the New Year

In a typical planner, the months and weeks are already lined out for you and you have a certain amount of space for certain things. The bullet journal is blank; you pick what you want to record or plan and how you want to lay it out. If you run out of room, no worries! You simply turn the page and create a new one. It’s incredibly freeing!

 

Why Bullet Journal?

I decided to try bullet journaling because it looked like fun! I’ve always been a fan of notebooks and typically had at least 3 lying around at one time. I’ve also always loved to draw and doodle even though I’m not very good at it. When my friend showed me her journal, I loved the idea of combining my planner and journals as well as having a place to doodle and brainstorm. 

Bullet Journaling in the New Year

The bullet journal can also be a fun creative outlet for a busy mom who might not have time for crafts and things like that. If you search “bullet journal” on Pinterest or even Instagram, you’ll find a community of bullet journalists with beautiful spreads that a are fun to try and immulate or just look at it!

 

Bullet journaling has helped me stay more organized, has given me a creative outlet, and has provided a central place for all my lists, calendars, and goals.

How to Start a Bullet Journaling

Bullet Journaling in the New YearGetting started with a bullet journal is simple. All you need is a notebook and pen. Most bullet journalists use a grid notebook, which I would definitely recommend. But really, any notebook would do.

Before beginning your bullet journal, I would go to bulletjournal.com and check out other journals on Pinterest and Instagram to see how you want to lay yours out and make your journal work for you. This post is really only scratching the surface of bullet journaling. There are many tutorials and blogs out there on how to get started. 

I would also recommend keeping your other planner around for awhile just in case you hate bullet journaling or if your toddler has a reputation for spilling liquids. My journal got destroyed the week before we left on a big trip. I had lists upon lists in that thing. Thankfully, I still had my old planner, and I was able to use that for a few weeks before I purchased a new notebook. 

So what do you think? Do you want to give bullet journaling a try? If you do, snap a picture, post it on social media and tag @abqmomsblog. I’d love to see your spreads.

Happy Journaling in the New Year!