I wrote about my love for journaling a few weeks ago. Now I’m back with an article on my first bullet journal. I’ve always written on whatever I could find. I currently have about four notebooks in my house and I was writing in all of them. The result: My story scattered across many pages in four notebooks, not handy. That’s why I decided to look into the whole bullet journal concept, buy my own and give it a try. I have given it my own twist as I think journaling is very personal and should fit your needs. So here’s a look into my first bullet journal for 2020.
I bought my first bullet journal from Leuchtturm1917 (shop at Bijenkorf or at Amazon). It’s a German brand and after doing some research, I found many people love their journals. I also love their philosophy: Thinking with your hand. That is truly what journaling feels like to me. Writing things down helps me clear my mind. I love putting everything onto paper! I bought an A5-sized hardcover journal from their muted colors collection. It’s a soft pink or lilac color, and I love it! I opted for squared pages instead of the dotted pages.
Mainly because the dotted version was sold out in the store I was. When I got home I realized I prefer a squared print more, because the horizontal lines help me write in a straight line. I know many bullet journals you see online are heavily decorated. Which I think is really cool, because that can be part of expressing your thoughts. I personally don’t draw or doodle that much when I journal. And I don’t use my bullet journal as the inventor Ryder Carroll does. However, I do have a very minimalistic approach when it comes to journaling.
In my first bullet journal I loved using the premade index that Leuchtturm1917 put in there. Journaling is all about organizing my thoughts and rearranging my brain. Filling in the index is such a good way to start. The preprinted index helped me create a journaling layout and system that works for me. I dedicated the first page for quotes to live by. I don’t have a lot of those, but the ones I do have mean a lot to me. It’s nice seeing them every time I open my journal as a friendly reminder of what I stand for.
Then I went in on my goals for 2020 and also my lifetime goals. I also created a trophies page where I can write down my achievements. Mainly because I’m the type of person who will keep on going, without really realizing everything I do. I want to be more conscious about my achievements and writing them down will help me do that. Then I made myself some ‘Rich Bitch’ trackers as I like to call them. It’s a little inside joke with myself, because I want to because rich for several reasons.
I created a nice layout for my blog and Youtube statistics. I also wrote down a few people I would love to collaborate with. I also made a special page for my first album or should I say EP? I got back into music in December 2019 after a way to long break of five years. I’ve always wanted to release an album and I’m doing it this year. So yes, I need a special page for that in my journal so I can’t forget. I’m also a bit scared to actually do it, because music is very personal. But I’ve recorded songs before, and I can do it again!
My first month, which is January of course, turned out really messy. I started filling in the pages right away without a plan, big mistake! I wrote down my goals and practical steps to make, but it looks very messy. After watching a lot of bullet journal videos, I managed to create a way better layout for February. January annoys the freaking fudge out of me, because I want my journal to look perfect. Which is not the point, so I keep reminding myself: Imperfection is perfection.
I started my February page early on with a ‘goal and practical steps to take’ column. Then I made a ‘what went well’ page, where I can write down what went well every day. I’m trying to teach my brain to focus on the positive side of things. That column comes in quite handy. I also made a page for my workouts, arts and crafts and fun activities. I want to live my life instead of sitting at home after work every day. Tracking the fun things I do, hopefully helps me to get out more.
The last page I made for February contains a mood tracker. I recently talked about my period changing and getting rid of Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Keeping track of my mood will give more insight in how my brain works. It’s a cognitive therapy exercise for myself, if you will. I want to understand my brain and why it sometimes steers me in a certain direction. And these are all the pages I’ve made up till now, in my first bullet journal. I look forward to getting better at journaling in a way that really benefits me.
I can’t wait to share the process with you. Stay tuned for more bullet journal updates!
Kaya-Quintana
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